You are standing on the site where once stood The Wilderness, a house owned by Walter E. Spradbery and his wife Dorothy.
Walter Spradbery was an artist best known for his TfL poster designs, many of which are in the collection of the London Transport Museum. Spradbery’s artwork also adorns roadside signs welcoming visitors to Epping Forest.
His wife Dorothy, better known as D’Orsay, was an opera singer, who nurtured The Wilderness into a local arts hub in the 1930s. With an outdoor amphitheatre in the grounds, The Wilderness became a venue for local performance groups, many of whose participators fondly remembered the place and the Spradbery couple.
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To find this cache, you will need to study a commemorative stone to The Wilderness, featuring a quote by Walter. Find the cache marker to find the stone, and calculate the following:
A = The number of things Dorothy’s grace and beauty were given in service to.
B = The number of things that happened in the garden under Dorothy’s guidance.
C = The third digit in the year the Spradberys moved to The Wilderness.
D = The fourth digit in the year the Spradberys moved to The Wilderness.
F = The first digit in the year the Spradberys moved to The Wilderness.
The final coordinates:
N 51° (A)(A+B).(AxC)(A+B)(BxC) E 000° 0(F).(D)(D)(AxC)
The checksum for the clue digits is 19 and the cache can be found a short distance away.
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The stone clearly showcases the love the Spradberys had for local arts and the local community of Buckhurst Hill, but also the love Walter had for his wife, both of who are now buried nearby in St John’s Churchyard. This cache has been placed to celebrate the creative couple, and the legacy of their commitment to local art heritage.
We encourage you, upon finding this cache, to pop into St John’s Churchyard to say hello to the Spradberys. In front of their headstone is a local heritage sheet with more information about Walter Spradbery, if you are interested in learning more!
(Please return to finding spot once signed)