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This cache is designed to give the geocacher a brief historical tour of Trowbridge, and a bit of fun with gathering clues for a crossword. Once the crossword is completed you will be able to answer some questions that will give you final coordinates for the cache.
At first glance it may appear to involve a lot of work but give it a try. It will only take about an hour with the distance start to finish approximately 2 miles. All the clues are accessible 24/7, using tarmac and paved walkways.
You will find several places to park around the town but the suggested car park is Tescos at N51° 19.029' W002° 12.116' as this is where we have started the tour.
As you walk through the town, look carefully around you and you will see many old and interesting buildings. Many of these were erected during the town’s industrial boom period of the 18th and 19th centuries. We will pick out a few of these as you progress through the clues and attempt to give you a very brief historical description. Try and imagine the town without Woolworth, W H Smith and the likes and picture what it would have been like. The noise, the smells, the gossip, the clothes……….
Introduction
Archaeological excavations have revealed evidence that some form of settlement has existed on the present site of Trowbridge since before the Roman times. Saxons lived on the site from at least the 7th century and occupied what was then called Straburg. The Doomsday Book of 1086 described Straburg as an agricultural settlement of average size and value, and of being held by a Saxon named Brictric. Brictric was the most important landowner at that time in Wiltshire. The town would have been very basic, consisting of a manor house, a few surrounding dwelling houses and plots of arable land.
Later in the 12th century it is known that some form of castle existed and it would have been around this that the foundations of the urban town of Trowbridge would have been developed. Excavations carried out during the building of the Shires Shopping Centre in 1984 confirm that the castle, probably of a bailey and moate type, would have stood at that very site with the line of Fore Street likely to have been one of the outer walls.
From the 14th century Trowbridge became the most significant industrial town of the west country of England, predominately renowned for the manufacture of high quality woollen cloth. Beginning as a cottage industry, with workers working within their own dwelling houses, it soon developed into factory manufacture, with the advent of the Industrial Revolution. The industry was run by gentlemen known as clothiers who became very wealthy and greatly influenced the town’s development, with the building of their grand houses and factory complexes. You will see some of these on this walk.
Trowbridge, or “Manchester of the West” as the locals called it, held its own in the clothing industry, exporting to countries around the globe until the 19th century when competition from the northern English towns and the newly developing Scottish borders clothing industry became too great. Factories started to close down as mills and new industries moved into the town such as bed making, brewing, printing and engineering.
In the late 1800s Trowbridge became the administrative County Town of Wiltshire due to its ideal rail links with the north and south of the county. This administration is still one of the main employers of the town today with district and county council premises at various locations.
The last clothing factory, Home Mills closed in 1982 and made way for the town’s Shires Shopping Arcade. Bowyers and Waldens food processing, Airsprung beds and Nutricia baby food are still located in the town and many industrial parks are attracting other businesses to the area.
Follow the tour, complete the crossword and answer the questions at the end to find the final coordinates.
DOWNLOAD IMAGE AND PRINT CROSSWORD
The Tour
Start from the entrance of Tesco Superstore at the above coordinates of N51° 19.029' W002° 12.116'. Opposite you will see a zebra crossing that leads to a footbridge across the River Biss. Cross here then at the far side turn left to follow the riverside footpath.
As you walk along this riverside path you will notice to your right a prominent five storey stone building. This is Ashton Mills, built in 1860 and was one of the last clothing factories to be built in the town and formed part of a large industrial complex.
After you have passed through the underpass continue straight ahead. 100m further on turn right and pass through the small alleyway to emerge at a car park in front of Boots Roundstone Chemist.
Now walk to:
Location A – N51° 19.222' W002° 12.183'
To get to location A you will need to walk along Polbarn Road which is up the incline diagonally to your left. As you walk away from the chemist notice to your left Courts Mill and Courtfield House (now a preparatory school). These were built in 1848 and 1752 respectively and used to be part of an industrial complex reputed to be one of the finest in the country, until the main factory was demolished in 1967. Ashton Street, to your right, was the housing development built for the factory workers in the mid 19th century. As you walk further on, (now Polbarn Road), the large buildings to your right are Rosefield House and Homefield House.
At location A you will be in front of Lady Brown’s Cottages, built for widows in 1900 by the clothier Roger Brown, who owned Ashton Mill and Courts Mill, the two complexes you passed earlier.
9 across – What may echo peace? (9)
13 down – What was Roger Browns title? (3)
Walk on to:
Location B - N51° 19.295' W002° 12.234'
Immediately to your right you will notice the latest architecture for the town in the form of the new police station.
At the end of Polbarn Road stands Polbarn House (now a hotel). This was one of the earliest grand houses in the town, built in 1789 by the Reverend John Clark, a minister and clothier. When built, an attempt was made to reproduce a country house and garden in the fact that it possessed a domed observatory in the roof, and a small lake, a temple, a gazebo and a grotto in the grounds.
When you reach location B you should be standing in front of Lovemead House that dates from 1730. In its original form it had extensive clothing workshops to the rear of the main accommodation part of the building.
3 down – What type of club is Lovemead House used for now? (12)
Walk on to:
Location C – N51° 19.294’ W002° 12.400’
You should now be walking along Roundstone Street.
Set slightly back from the road, on your left, you will see Rodney House. Built around about the same time as Polbarn House it too would have had extensive gardens to the rear. To the front, the car park you can see today, were gardens up until 1937.
At location C you should be standing in front of 9 – 11 Church Street, a hall house with cross piece dating from the 15th century. In Emmanual Chapel Yard, just to the left of No9, (if open), can be seen the only visible timber framing, on a building, left in Trowbridge.
13 across – What is No11 Church Street, The Old ……..(5 & 5)
Behind you is St James Church, founded on the edge of the Market Place in about 1200. The present building dates from the 14th and 15th centuries. It was restored again in the mid 1800s and the top section of the spire was replaced in 1990, hence the new brickwork, after it blew off in a storm.
Before walking on to location D visit the churchyard. The first tomb (N51° 19.313’ W002° 12.458’), to the right of the path is that of Thomas Hilliker. He was a cloth worker who was arrested during an anti machinery mill burning riot in 1802 and was subsequently hung for this crime on his 19th birthday the following year. Although he knew who the real offenders were, and vehemently protested his innocence, he never revealed the name of his fellow workers. The inscriptions on the tomb tell the full story.
Walk on to:
Location D - N51° 19.346’ W002° 12.419’
Rejoin Church Street and you will pass St James Court, the former National Schools, and as you turn into Union Street a row of houses known as Almshouses. These were built in 1861, by the Rector of Trowbridge, Reverend John David Hastings. He was also responsible for the restoration of St James Church, the building of the National Schools, the opening of the church yard and widening of Church Street.
At Location D you will be standing in front of the Trowbridge Textile Garden
15 across – What was the surname of the Mayor who opened the garden in April 1999. (7)
Behind you notice the impressive St James Hall and St James Chamber buildings.
Walk on to:
Location E - N51° 19.261' W002° 12.690'
There are several ways to reach location E. I suggest you retrace your steps back to the traffic lights and turn right. Continue along Church Street, passing the Tabernacle (built in 1771 by Joanna Clarke), to reach a road junction. Cross straight over and walk down Back Street (sign maybe obscured due to the scaffolding erected in front of the Ushers Brewery frontage), turn left into Hill Street and then right towards the town bridge.
At location E you will be standing in front of the town “lock up”. Built in 1757, it was used to house prisoners awaiting trial (a vast difference to the constabulary building seen earlier in the walk). It continued to be used up until 1854 when a new police station was built in Stallard Street, near where the railway station stands today.
10 down – What was this building known as Blind …..? (5)
Before moving on to the next location, look along the river towards the multi storey car park. The first building you will notice is the handle house, distinguishable by its perforated brickwork. It was used to store and dry the teazles used as handles over which the cloth would have been drawn as it passed through the gig machine to raise the nap of the cloth.
To the right of the handle house is Studley Mills and Bridge House which formed part of a factory complex that would have included Home Mill, partly demolished to make way for the Shires Shopping Arcade. Further along the River Biss, now obscured by the multi storey car park, is the site where the original “tree bridge” (Trowbridge) may have crossed the river.
Walk on to:
Location F – N51° 19.289’ W002° 12.562’
You will now be walking up Wicker Hill, which forms the lower part of Fore Street. The buildings on your right follow the curved line of what would have been the outer defences of the castle and occupy the sites of houses that would have been built up against the castle wall. The 18th century frontage of Barclays Bank and the adjoining Solicitors, Nos 2 & 3, hide a timber framed Tudor building behind. Next door you will see the façade of Salters, this was the main entrance to Home Mills.
Opposite, to your left are a row of buildings known as the parade, in their time recognised as the finest group of clothier’s houses in Wiltshire. The most prominent is Parade House built in 1730 for the Houlton family. In front of the parade is a path constructed of flat stones set on end, known as a pitched path. It is reputed to have been laid in the mid 1700s.
At location F you will be standing next to a house that is set forward, No 66/7 Fore Street. The c1700 façade hides buildings from the 16th and 17th centuries.
2 across and 1 down – Who was Great Grandmother to Queen Mary II and Queen Anne, who was born in this house? (4 & 8)
Walk on to:
Location G – N51° 19.295’ W002° 12.532’
Location G is only a short distance away and will be recognised as a seven bay façade Georgian building in front of you as you continue up Fore Street. This house, with the front a similar design to Dyrham Park, a stately home just north of Bath, was originally built for the clothier Thomas Cooper. In 1866 it became the home of Wilts & Dorset Bank and for the last 100 years or so has been the town’s Lloyds Bank.
5 down and 9 down – What number Fore Street is Lloyds Bank? (5 & 4)
Walk on to:
Location H – N51° 19.254’ W002° 12.443’
You will now be entering the Market Place where the main trading and social activities of the town have taken place for centuries. This area would originally have developed outside of the main castle entrance in the 13th century which indicates the castle entrance would have been where Castle Street joins Fore Street (where the entrance to the Shires is today).
Across the square from this entrance stands what used to be the George Hotel. A tavern had stood on this site since 1349 and at the time of its closure in 1981, the George Hotel was the oldest surviving licensed premises in Wiltshire. The building you see today was totally rebuilt after 1981, but the front was accurately reproduced as original.
As well as the George Hotel, at least two other Inns stood around this Market Place, The Woolpack which is now the entrance to Knees and The White Hart which is now WH Smiths.
You will see directly in front, of what used to be the George Hotel, a plinth (N51° 19.265’ W002° 12.455’) giving more details of the square and set into the paving a brickwork cross indicates the position where a covered market cross stood until about 1780.
At location H, you will be in front of No 46 Fore Street, now under the occupancy of HSBC.
4 down – Who was the retired Portugal Merchant who lived at No 46?(4&5)
Walk on to:
Location I – N51° 19.209’ W002° 12.408’
At the south end of Fore Street, towering above the square is the Town Hall, given to the town by Roger Brown in 1889 to commemorate the golden jubilee of Queen Victoria, two years earlier.
To the right of the town hall you will see the frontispiece of the Market Hall, built by William Stancomb in 1862 to house the market stalls after the market place was developed into more permanent shops. The five arches are carved with biblical quotations and specific pictorials for the town’s main industry.
At Location I one of the town’s most famous residents, Sir Issac Pitman, is honoured by a plaque. Pitman of course is famous for inventing a system of shorthand.
12 down – How many years did Isaac Pitman reside at Nos 44 & 45 Timbrell Street.
Walk on to:
Location J - N51° 19.056' W002° 12.072'
Leave the town centre by Park Road, just to the left of the Town Hall, but as you do look up to the 2nd floor windows above the chemist. You will notice a window still containing the crossed tape put there during WWII to protect the glass during the air raids. From here you will enter the People’s Park, an area that was purchased by public subscription, again to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. Pass the War Memorial then the crazy golf and tennis courts and head down to the large pond. Turn left and follow the path back to the underpass you passed through earlier.
At location J you will be entering Biss Meadows Country Park.
14 across – What Prince opened Biss meadows Country Park in July 1993? (6)
You have now completed a very brief tour of the Wiltshire County Town of Trowbridge and should have completed all the clues to the crossword. Now to find the location of the cache, which is a 2ltr plastic sealed box containing the usual type of goodies, work out the following from the completed crossword:-
N51° 1(a).(b)(c)(d)' W002° 1(e).(f)(g)(h)'
Where a = Number of Es in completed crossword
b = Number of Rs
c = Number of Ts
d = Number of Es minus Number of Ps
e = Number of Xs
f = a
g = Number of Is
h = Number of Ds plus Number of Ks
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
[Location A] Jevgvat ba gur jnyy
[Location B] Znttvr jnf gurve yrnqre
[Location C] Nobir gur jvaqbj
[Location D] Ba gur sne jnyy
[Location E] Arne gur ragenapr
[Locations F, G & H] Ybbx sbe gur oyhr cyndhrf
[Location I] Guvf cyndhr vfa’g oyhr
[Location J] N ovt ebpx
[Final location] Hc gur tenff fybcr, va gur pbeare.