About Village Sign Caches
This cache belongs to the Village Sign Series, a series of caches based on ornate signs that depict the heritage, history and culture of the villages that put them up (generally on the village green!).
The signs can be made of different materials from fibreglass to wood, from forged steel to stone. They can depict anything from local industry to historical events. The tradition probably started in Norfolk or Suffolk and has now spread across most of the country so we thought we would base a series on them!
More information and statistics can be found at the Village Signs Website - https://www.villagesignseries.co.uk
Hethersett is a large village and electoral ward in the county of Norfolk, England, about 6 miles (10 km) south-west of Norwich. It covers an area of 4.22 sq mi (10.9 km2) and had a population of 5,441 in 2,321 households at the 2001 census, increasing to 5,691 at the 2011 census. In 2013 Hethersett became the first village or town in the United Kingdom to receive a Prime Minister's Big Society Award for its outstanding contribution to the Olympic legacy and sport and fitness in general.
The Parish of Hethersett is, by Norfolk standards, a large one, covering 2,695 acres; it was the main settlement in the ancient Hundred of Humbleyard; it lies in the Deanery of Humbleyard and in the South Norfolk district.
Hethersett stretched three miles from east to west along the line of the B1172 (the old Norwich to London road) and two miles from northwest to southeast. The road cuts it into slightly larger northern and smaller southern divisions; the Norwich to Cambridge railway follows its southern boundary but otherwise the parish has no obvious physical limits and presumably represents the land needed to feed the Saxon settlements that grew up in the area.
Residential developments to the North of the village, toward little Melton has given rise to the discovery of a Roman settlement, including a Roman Villa. Residential development to the north west of the village has been put on hold as a result of the discovery of this Roman find. Trial excavations in late 2020 established that further investigations are needed.
The meaning of the name of Hethersett is not clear; the guide to the church suggests the enclosure for the deer: 'heedra' is an Old English word for heather or heath, and 'set' is Old English for a dwelling place, camp, stable or fold. This would give the meaning as being that of a camp or enclosure on the heath.
Although the name is Saxon, we have evidence of earlier settlers; a New Stone Age long barrow (burial mound) lies in Cantley and two areas of Roman pottery have been found in the northern part of the parish; in view of the existence of a great Roman centre at Caistor St Edmund, the latter finds are nor surprising.
The earliest description of Hethersett comes to us in the Domesday Book account of 1086; it would seem that there were perhaps 400 people in the parish by that time.
On the Village Pump situated close-by is a four digit number, this is ABCD, To find the cache use the following co-ordinates:
N52.35. B+1, A+2, C-1. E001.11. B-D, C+1, D-1. (Checksum = 49)
Please replace cache behind branch.