Elmdon Park is within the old Saxon “Manor of Elmdon” and was established around 800 AD. The Norman invasion saw Normandy landowners granted English land in return for their support of William the Conqueror. Simon de Whitaker was granted the Lordship of Elmdon Manor and the land remained in the de Whitaker family until 1377. The Manor then passed through several wealthy families until 1760 when it was sold to the Spooner family. Elmdon Manor was then sold to the Alston family in the 19th Century, who resided there until 1930. Ownership then changed to Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council.
The Manor saw many changes over the years. Numerous Norman buildings which were in a state of disrepair were demolished, including a church which had stood in placed since 1297. The present St Nicholas’ Church was built in its place, along with a grand hall, rectory, keeper's lodge, stable blocks, and various other buildings to support the Manor. The only remaining buildings are The Lodge, which located just off the A45 Coventry Road, near the entrance to the old airport, and The Grange which is north of the church. This is the old rectory. Also, still in existence is the Walled Garden, which is leased to the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust.
Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council now manages Elmdon Park which was established in 1944 when the house and grounds of the derelict Elmdon Hall were bought up by the then Solihull Urban District Council. The house was used by the Home Guard during the war years, but the building subsequently became derelict, suffering from a rotten staircase and roof, and was demolished in 1956
The park is now designated a Local Nature Reserve. The cache trail follows the Heritage Walk, which is a 2 mile walk around the park and along two public footpaths. It starts and finishes near to St Nicholas’ Church.
The listed coordinates will take you to the first information board. Follow the route around the park to find the answers to the questions below on subsequent boards to allow you to complete the final location of the cache. The coordinates for each information board have been given to assist in locating them; however, the map attached to the Photo tab should also help locate the boards. The green instructions at the bottom of each information board also describe the direction to the next board. Good luck!
Board 1 – Elmdon Hall (N052 26.537 W001 45.843): F = the third digit of acres acquired by Mr W Walters of Olton
Board 2 – The Walled Garden (N052 26.482 W001 45.645): B = the number of ‘men and boys working in the kitchen and pleasure gardens’ divided by four
Board 3 – The Engine House (N052 26.505 W001 46.023): C = the number of valves multiplied by two. Board is missing so the answer is 4 (2 valves x 2 =4).
Board 4 – The Icehouse (N052 26.566 W001 45.966): G = in the second sentence, the century when icehouses were used from, divided by two
Board 5 – Elmdon Terrace (N052 26.680 W001 45.859): A = the number of cottages in a row
Board 6 – The Keepers Lodge (N052 26.851 W001 45.857): H = the number of bedrooms in the cottage
Board 7 – The Lodge (N052 26.808 W001 45.278): E = the number of eagle finials multiplied by two (also look closely at the photograph on the board)
Board 8 – The Grange (N052 26.687 W001 45.709): D = the position of daughter Catherine in the Spooner family
Board 9 – The Coppice is located on the left-hand side as you return to the church and car park. Although the location is shown on the map, we have not been able to find an information board for it.
Final cache location: N052 2A.BCD W001 EF.GH5
You can check your answers for this puzzle on GeoChecker.com.