Fifth in a series of quick events for no reason other than we can!
I'll try to make them all at an interesting or historical place, as close to at least one cache as possible and not too far away from a pub!
This one's by Coggeshall's village sign. Coggeshall's village sign stands on the green opposite the parish church of Saint Peter-ad-Vincula and was erected to celebrate the millennium. The monk represents the Cistercian abbey that was once here in Coggeshall, whilst the other side bears the representation of a Coggeshall wool-merchant.
The sign is made of English oak and the two sides depict the wool trade which brought prosperity to Coggeshall. The post has sweet-pea flowers and ears of corn carved on it, a link with the village's seed producing past. It was carved by Gordon Nield, a Braintree woodcarver from a design by Gail Mooney, a well-known artist and Coggeshall parish councillor. The sign was unveiled in March 2000 by Jonathan Gash, the author of the "Lovejoy" books, watched by children from the local school and the good folk of Coggeshall.
In 1665, the nearby pub was purchased by Thomas Lowery, previously vicar of St Peter ad-Vincula, after being ejected from the Church of England over his Puritanical views following the Restoration. Despite this, he continued to preach and independent congregations would gather under his roof to listen. This is commemorated by a blue plaque at the front of the pub.
This is just a small sample of the history to be discovered in Coggeshall and there are a couple of cracking multis that take you on a tour of the village (Mystery Tour of Coggeshall 1 - History at its best (GC1V774) and Mystery Tour of Coggeshall 2 - Rickety View (GC27EF5).
Meet at the coords any time between 7:00pm and 7:30pm, we'll have a group photo at 7:25pm then off home or off to the nearby pub!
The nearest cache is Church Micro 1017 - St Peter ad Vincula Coggeshall (GC240JJ), which is close by!
The usual trackable bucket will be in attendance. [:-)]
There's parking by the church, in the street and there's a large car park a little further up the road in the village.