Wallingford is now a small, almost non-descript, market town in southeast Oxfordshire but it was once an important royal fortress on the banks of the River Thames. Perhaps because of that, in later years it developed a number of local industries which are no longer in operation but traces still remain….if you know where to look!
This cache (and its partner GC8DF8F) explore locations in Wallingford where you can still see some of the output of the ironworks that were run by members of the Wilder family. Less mundane survivors of their work are featured at GC4M66F and GC4M66H.
There are records of Wilders living in Ipsden as far back as 1658 where they were farmers; however in 1760 Francis Wilder inherited a foundry in the village which subsequently passed to his son Leonard who expanded the business greatly. Leonard had 5 daughters and 8 sons, of whom 5 started their own foundries. Three of these (in Henley, Guildford and Reading) were fairly short-lived but those in Wallingford (founded by Richard) and Crowmarsh (founded by Walter) survived until relatively recently and it is examples of their output you are looking for! As you will be looking down quite a lot during this cache, please take care when crossing roads and avoid bumping into pedestrians!! You will need to look at the gallery to see photos of the items you are looking for.
Your starting point (Stage 1) is close to an example of a Wilder Road Grating – but the main reason to bring you here is to see the second Wallingford foundry which has now been converted into dwellings. From the coordinates you can see two front doors – add together these numbers then divide the result by 4 and you have A. Whilst here, note the factory bell still in situ on the roof.
Go along Mill Lane (possibly the most potholed road in Wallingford!) and at the top you are opposite the rear of the first Wallingford foundry site. Turn left to get to the next waypoint, being careful with traffic as there are no footpaths.
Cross over the road to Stage 2 then look back across the road to the front of the original Fish Street Foundry which became the Wilders home (and is now a hat shop!). A memorial to its former use is on the roof; the man's coat is a particular colour – using the normal way of listing the colours of a rainbow you will get an even number, double it to get B (please note that this question requires daylight!)
Make your way to Stage 3 which is on a street which has significant lengths of Wilder product that is no longer very common. Much of this doesn't indicate the details of the maker or when it does it is frequently obscured by parked vehicles – however at Stage 3 it is always clear! You will also find a house which is held together with letters – using the normal way of converting letters to numbers (A=1 etc) multiply the lower letter on the west-facing wall by 3 to get C.
At Stage 4 you need to find two numbers - the first is on a product from the J Wilder factory (a rare survivor in these parts) in a different town. The number of letters in the foundry's location is D. Within a metre is a different design of Wilders Road Grating with curved bars across it; you need to count the number of gaps that allow water to go through it – that number is E.
The final Stage is close by at the end of St Leonard's Church, where there are some railings. Find where the Wilder name is painted in gold and opposite is a doorway to a property whose name includes a number – that is F.
The cache is located at N51 35.AEB W001 07.CDF. It’s a magnetic micro located at head height short walk away, initially along the Thames Path