Stokesby is part of the Flegg Hundred, which was an insular district in ancient times and in common with eleven of its neighbouring villages has the Danish termination ‘by’ to its name indicating one of the earliest viking settlements. ‘Stok’ was a word for outlying pasture near water where there was good grazing and the cattle were kept during part of the year.
Stokesby is listed in the Doomsday Book and at that time had a population of around 500 making it the largest village in Flegg and much higher than the present days total of approximately 300.
The heart of the village past and present was the Green and the Village Sign is located on the North side of it. The sign has been restored several times over recent years and features images of the Church, two herons, a horse, and a sailing boat on the Bure.
To find the co-ordinates to the cache which are:
N 52 3A.BCD E 001 3E.FDC
You need to find the building near the village sign which sports a Fire mark. These were metal signs attached to buildings in the 18th and 19th centurys identifying that the buildings had paid for fire insurance and that if fire broke out the local fire brigade would be paid for their efforts in putting out the fire by the insurance company. For more information see related page link.
The fire mark on the building is that of the Sun Fire Office established in 1710.
The fire mark has 6 numbers: DFAE**
The building also has two dates on it one is 1757 (probably the build date) the other is 1C3B.
After working out the correct co-ordinates the cache is a short walk away.
If anybody would like to expand this series please do. I would just ask that you let Smokeypugs know first so they can keep track of the Village Sign numbers and names to avoid duplication.