A walk around Milborne Port, visiting the historic buildings that now have Blue Plaque status.
The walk should take no longer than 30 - 40 minutes. The Blue Plaque trail starts alongside the A30 which can be very busy at times, so great care must be taken with children and dogs, and when crossing the road.
The cache itself is a disguised, re-cycled 250 ml drink bottle.
Milborne Port, like a good many villages and towns in the UK, has a number of historic buildings that have now been accorded 'Blue Plaque' status by the parish council. The number of blue plaque buildings is being added to, so you may find others that are not included in this walk-about. To include the full details of the buildings being visited is beyond the scope of this Geocache: the blue plaques that you see will, of course, contain a certain amount of information about the buildings.
The Cache
All of the information that you need to locate the final cache will be found on the plaques.
Town Hall
The walk starts in front of the Town Hall at the headline coordinates (the village is unusual in having not only a Village Hall but a Town Hall and a Guildhall as well). Close by are several establishments where food and drink may be obtained (see relevant Geocache attributes). There is limited free parking here, but there is more free parking off East street at N50° 58.000' W002° 27.533'. This car park now sports two electric vehicle charging points!
The Town Hall was built in 1720, originally as a Market House. In 1770, there was an incident involving Messrs Scott and Shepherd. The resulting court case is cited in defining the law of ... what? The number of letters = A.
By 1785 the arches had been filled in and the extension added. Today, the downstairs part of the building extension is used by the WI for their meetings, while the parish council holds its meetings upstairs. The parish clerk also has an office in the Town Hall.
Guildhall
From the Town Hall, walk a few yards along the main road to the Guildhall at N50° 57.975' W2° 27.661, taking care with children and dogs, as the pavement is very narrow alongside the Town Hall. A guildhall has stood here since 1100, but the current building is from the 1Bth century. A lockup was built downstairs in 18CD.
Old Church House
Continue further along to N50 57.964 W002 27.745 where you will find the original Church House which dates from the late 15th Century. Late 15th C roof timbers show this was a late medieval Church House. Downstairs would have had an office for the churchwarden, and and areas for brewing and baking. Upstairs would have been a hall, accessed by an external stairway, and used for social gatherings.
The High Street numbers of these houses are 1E and 1F.
New Church House
Continue along the footpath past the row of houses, towards the churchyard. Turn right and follow round to the current Church House, at N50 57.940, W002 27.770, which was built in 189G.
The new church house is used extensively for receptions, parties, meetings, for the Tuesday Lunch Club, and for talks and presentations. The PCC office is also located in the new extension which has a modernised kitchen and up-to-date toilet facilities (not usually open, except for one of the above functions). From here, retrace your route to the Guildhall.
T******* P**********
Taking great care with the traffic, cross the road to the T******* P**********. Originally called the Tippler in 1H30, it was given its current name after Robert Boyle, scientist and philosopher, who drank there. It was renamed the King's Head in honour of George IV, in 1820, then, more recently the old name was resurrected.
Cross House
Continue walking back along the A30 to the crossroads. Cross over to Cross House at N50 57.990 W002 27.637. In 1810, Edward ??? (J=number of letters in his surname), erected a glove factory in the grounds.
In 1837, Edward's brother Thomas took over the factory. In 1900 the business was sold to Southcombe and Sons of Tintinhull, but still traded under the original name.
Sports and Social Club
This is a private club, where you have to be a member before you can buy drink.
Walk a little way up North Street and cross over to the Sports and Social Club, known locally as the Con Club (correctly, the Constitutional Club), at N50 57.992 W002 27.646. The club was originally built in 191K, and now serves as a social venue for all (members only) (and where you may find me playing skittles on a Thursday or Friday evening during the winter months).
Village School
There is a further Blue Plaque at the village school, at N50 58.073, W002 27.618. As it is not possible to get close enough to the blue plaque to easily read the information, I have not included it in the Blue Plaque Trail.
The school was opened in 1912 and became an infants school in 1944. Extended in 1978, the school combined with the church school to become the Milborne Port Primary School.
The Cache Final
The cache can be found at N50 5(A+D).(C-E)BC W002 27.F(H-J)(G+K)
Checksum = 59
You are looking for a camouflaged, re-cycled 250 ml plastic bottle with room for small, slim swaps or trackable items. Bring your own pen.