This cache is part of a series of caches which are placed at or near village halls and community centres. For details and statistics visit the Village Hall Series website Click here
Harwell GeoCache Series
After our recently placed GeoCache Series at Great Western Park (GWP) (cache #1-11, 14, 17-19, 30-32, 35), central Didcot (cache #12-13, 15-16, 20-25, 29, 33-34), Harwell Campus (cache #26), and Chilton (cache #27-28), we decide to place a few more caches in other parts of Didcot and surrounding villages, in order to honour local heros, and to reflect our rich local history, stories and heritage. We hope you will enjoy these new caches and may also learn something when you are caching, thank you!
Harwell #36 - Harwell Village Hall (officially known as Village Hall Series 1778 - Harwell)
The Harwell Village Hall was originally built in the late 1920s and situated in the heart of Harwell village. The recent redevelopment of this village hall was completed in 2018.
The hall is the focus of many groups from the village and the surrounding area who meet weekly or monthly in either the Orchard or Cherry Hall for a variety of pursuits, including fitness and dance for both young and old, various clubs for toddlers and young children. It is also the local Polling Station and the Parish Council have an office by the foyer entrance.
The hall is available to individuals to hire for adult or children’s parties as well as other social events. A registered charity, Harwell Village Hall is funded by the revenue from this hire which is used to cover the cost of insurance, repairs, heating, etc.
Village Hall History
There is an interesting history to this hall. The land was given to the village in 1913 and £2662 was used to build a hall named Harwell Technical institute. It was divided into two halves. The area formally the kitchen was set aside to teach the village women cookery and domestic skills, while the western end of the hall was for the men to learn field crafts and carpentry. The position of the moveable divider between sections can still be seen in the present day hall.
It was renamed Harwell village hall in 1960. In 1971 an adjoining freeman hall was added but in 2010 this was closed as it had become unsafe.
In 2011 it was decided to develop and renovate the hall, £1miliion was raised from events, donations, gift aid and grants and building works commenced in 2015 with the demolition of the Freeman hall.
The newly refurbished building with separate rooms named Orchard hall and Cherry hall along with a committee room were formally opened to the public in 2017.
About this GeoCache
We sometimes visit this village hall for birthday parties and events, and have had many good memories here.
At the published coordinates, you will be facing the entrance to the village hall. To its right on the external wall there is a defibrillator, what is the Box Number of this defibrillator? Let it be ABCD EFG.
For the letters in the above Box Number, translate each letter to a number using A = 1, B = 2, ..., I = 9, J = 0, K = 1, ... method.
The final coordinates are some distance away at:
N51 35. ( B + G ) ( E + F ) ( C - D )
W001 17. ( A + G ) ( ( A + B ) / ( B - C ) ) ( ( A - B ) / ( C * D ) )
The checksum of all the digits in the final coordinates is 49.
Please also note:
Please bring your own pen, and open & close the cache lid carefully so the cache and log book can survive longer. You might need a tweezer to help retrieve the log paper.
Please also replace exactly as found due to obvious reason, and please be careful with the possible thorns, stinging nettles, and overhead tree branches! Long sleeves, trousers, and gloves are recommended.
You do not need to enter any private land or cross any fence.
Thank you and enjoy GeoCaching!
FTF: Congratulations to Lmw1980 for their FTF on 11 December 2025!