Welcome To Chelmsford of A History EarthCache Hope You Have Enjoyed it
History
About the statue
Nicholas Conyngham Tindal was born to Robert Tindal and Sally Pocock on 12th December 1776. He was baptised on 26th July the following year and was educated at King Edward VI Grammar School, where a house is now named in his honour.
Following his education in the city, he graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge with a first class degree in mathematics.
He went on to become a celebrated English lawyer and was responsible for the introduction of the plea of ‘not guilty by reason of insanity’.
He married Merelina Symonds in 1809 and they had four children.
Shire Hall
The Shire Hall was opened in 1791 and displays a ‘classical style’ of architecture, i.e. deriving from the principals of Greek and Roman architecture. Its main use over its lifetime has been as a judicial facility but this ended in 2012 after the new magistrates court was built down the road in New Street.
About the EarthCache
Limestone
Limestone is a common type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, both of which are forms or calcium carbonate.
The formation of limestone generally comes from the precipitation of these minerals out of water containing dissolved calcium. This is mostly through biological processes such as the accumulation of corals and shells in the sea.
Bath Stone
Bath stone is a type of limestone that formed in the Bath area of south-western England. It was at the time of formation under a shallow sea where layers of marine sediment were deposited. Over time, grains of these deposits were coated in lime as the rolled around the sea bed, forming rocks.
As an example of a ‘freestone’, bath stone is especially good for use as a building material as it can be worked easily and ‘squared up’ in any direction by masons, unlike rocks such as slate which forms distinct layers.
Bath stone is distinct in its honey colour and it is what givens the area its distinctive appearance.
Portland Stone
Portland Stone is a type of limestone. Named after the location in Dorset where it is found, it is an oolitic type of limestone. This means that it is formed in a similar way to how a snowball forms when it is rolled in the snow; calcite gradually accumulates around fragments of shell in concentric layers, forming small balls. Over time, countless billions of these ‘ooliths’ become cemented together into what we see as Portland stone.
The degree of cementation of the stone is such that it can withstand reasonable weathering but it is sufficiently pliable that it can be worked comparatively easily by stonemasons. This explains why the stone is favoured as a monumental and architectural stone.
Logging requirements
In order to claim a find on this cache, please send me a message either by email or through the message centre with answers to the following questions:
1. Describe the look and the feel of the stone(s) used for the statue. Please tell me about the colours, size of the grains, and describe any fossils you find.
2. What stone is used for the plinth the statue sits on, and why is it particularly good for its use here?
3. Is this the same stone used to construct the Shire Hall, the large building opposite, facing down the High Street? If not, what stone is used, and why.
Please add a photo at the side of the shire hall the streets sign N 51° 44.080 E 000° 28.363
on it of your visit thank you
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