St Peter's Church was built between 1823–25 and was the first church designed by Sir John Soane in the wave of the church-building following the Napoleonic wars. It is the best preserved of Soane's churches. It was, apparently, the government's fear of the spread of non-conformity and 'Godless mob violence' that led them to commission many new Churches, some of them in the poorer areas of south London where dissent was strong. How rude!
The Rev John William Horsley was rector of St Peter's Walworth in 1894. He was a well-beloved figure in the urban parish, ran a soup kitchen and kept a small miniature zoo for the "amusement & instruction" of the local children. He started with a few guinea pigs, added a hedgehog or two, some pigeons, an owl and found himself gifted with, if not a barrel, the odd monkey or two. Early in 1900, however, one of those monkeys escaped from its leash and bit a girl on the leg!
Sadly, that was the end of Horsley's zoo, but the rectory garden, nicknamed the "Monkey Park", which has since been landscaped as a community garden, remains in his honour. It no longer contains any live exhibits except one wooden resident....
The cache was placed with the kind permission of St Peter's Church and Father Andrew. Please respect the church garden area and, if asked, mention the approval already sought.
28.02.24 - Congratulations to LDNseekers on their FTF
Please use stealth and replace exactly as found.