That which is attached to
my Log Book will help you to find my hiding place. Note well where
the thin cord leads for it will lead you to where I
rest. |
A Nelson: (1) in a 3 column counting system when the
numerical value in each column is identical (eg1/1/1); from the
erroneous idea that Nelson had one arm, one eye and one leg (only
the first being true). The superstition is particularly strong
amongst Australians cricketers. Originated amongst
predecimalisation bank tellers who believed that £1.1s.1d was
unlucky; the bad luck is inversely proportional to the column
values; so, a triple nelson (£3.3s.3d) is more unlucky than a
hendectuple nelson (eg a bag containing 11st.11lbs.11oz of coal you
paid £3.1625 for). Triple Nelson is also the name of a Uruguayan
rock group. (2) any wrestling hold in which an opponents arm is
forced up by arm leverage from behind. |
William Nelson, 1st Earl
Trafalgar |
Horatio Nelson's grandfather and father (both Edmund) served as
rector of Hilborough. During his boyhood Nelson regularly stayed
with his widowed grandmother Mary and his uncle, the rector Robert
Rolfe. William his brother followed in the family tradition
becoming rector in May 1785 and was succeeded in 1806 by his
brother in law William Yonge. In the chancel of All Saints church
there are several Nelson family memorials including Horatio Nelson
(Nelson's second eldest brother who died as an infant in 1751).
Following his victory over the French Fleet at Abu Qir Bay Nelson
was created Baron Nelson of the Nile and Hilborough.
Hilborough takes its name from Hildegarde (Hildegarde's
enclosure) one of the Valkyries who escort fallen warriors to
Valhalla. However, it seems to have stronger association with with
the successors to famous warriors: William became Earl Nelson of
Trafalgar and Merton after his brother's death, and Arthur Richard
Wellesley 2nd Duke of Wellington lived at Hilborough Hall from 1858
to 1863. Unlike his brother William was mean of spirit and of
purse,"his motto is gain gain" - Fanny Nelson (NC8 Lady Nelson's
Fancy); Arthur Richard Wellesley had undistinguished military
and political careers, serving as Tory MP for Norwich - of his
fathers he said "Think what it will be like when the Duke of
Wellington is announced and only I come in". The other famous child
of a Hilborough rector is Julia Harrison (born here in 1945) who
enjoyed fame in the 1970s as author, actress and every schoolboy's
favourite Fiona Richmond; she is now a successful hotelier in
Hampshire and Grenada.
|
To find this cache you will be led on a 3.5 km walk round the
parish. At each of the waypoints below there is a clue provided by
a virtual cache or the contents of a microcache. You will not have
to move any stones or search in any walls to find the caches.
The base row of the pyramid will provide you with the numbers
you seek to find the final cache. Those skilled with constructing
walls of stone are called masons and the pyramid is one of the
symbols of freemasonry. Some Nelson artefacts have Masonic
allusions, such as the Nile Medal and his coat of arms. There is no
evidence however that Nelson was a mason, although the Lodge of
Friendship No 100 in Gt Yarmouth has an oral tradition that he was.
Nelson was a Tory and critical of any Whiggish ideas which took
away from the primary status of the monarch. In November 1800 he
was elected to the Norwich chapter of the Ancient Order of
Gregorians among whose members was Prince William of Gloucester.
Little is known of the Gregorians apart from their preference for
port and the "left handedness" of their ceremonies, the opposite of
the Masonic practice but ideally suited to Nelson's
person. |
 |
Final cache at
52º 34.D??' North, 000º 41.E??'
East |
1 - Swan Inn - Park in the car park of the Swan Inn.
The whole route can be followed on pavement, rights of way and
public access land with a simple return journey to the pub. The
Swan Inn was a tied house of the North Norfolk Brewery in Trunch
(NC3 Turn A Nelson Eye) but is now a freehouse and the
Landlord Mr Ray Nelson may be the first of several Nelsons you will
meet today. The Swan Inn is very popular at Sunday lunchtime and
over the entrance there is an inscription consisting of 3 letters
and 4 numerals:
A = the product of the two largest numerals minus the
numerical value of the third letter.
2 - Micro 1 - Be careful crossing the A1065 which carries
through traffic from the A11 at Mildenhall to North Norfolk. In
medieval times this road was a major pilgrim route from New Market
to the south and Ely in the west heading up to the Holy House at
Walsingham. Walsingham was rated 3rd most important pilgrimage site
in Europe after Santiago de Campostella and Rome. In Nelson's day
warships were also ranked from 1st rate to 6th rate, but only one
of them begins with this letter:
B = the numerical value of my fourth
letter?
Return to the main road through the conservation area passing
the lake to your west. When you reach the clump of small pines it
is best to return to the lane as the access to the main road by the
right of way involves vaulting a ditch and squeezing between a
hedge and a iron fence. The clump of pines hides the remains of St
Margaret's Chapel a pilgrim chapel on the Walsingham Way. Founded
in 1207 with its own endowment of land to support a priest it was
dissolved in 1550 by Edward VI; of course Edward did put the money
raised to good use founding schools (NC2 Half Nelson).
3 - Micro 2 - at a formal function Nelson would be very
difficult to sit in a correct seating - had he survived the Battle
of Trafalgar he would have held honours at every rank of the
peerage (even if some of them were not British); but only one of
these honours begins with this letter:
C = the numerical value of my third letter
4 - All Saints Church - The church dates back to the 1300 and
has benefited from a lack of creative Victorian restoration. Nelson
would still recognise the iron brazier, the Jacobean organ case and
the Arms of James VI and I. Unfortunately the church has suffered
recent break ins and is now locked although it can be viewed by
prior appointment with the rector. All the clues are on the outside
of the church, and below the roof top:
D = the number of human heads on the frieze round the
western door.
E = the quotient of the total number of human heads on the outside
of the outside of the church (ignoring the top of the tower) and
the number of St Michael's swords on the porch.
It helps to count a couple of times as one of the swords and a
couple of the heads are difficult to see until you get your eye in.
Sit down, enjoy the view and relive being back in Primary School
doing sums. If its sunny Hilborough Hall looks beautiful across the
parkland. The house is currently occupied by Hugh van Cutsem an
advisor to the Prince of Wales on conservation matters. Six weeks
before Trafalgar Nelson travelled up to Carlton House in London to
take leave of the Prince of Wales and Lord Castlereagh, the
Secretary of State for War. While waiting for his audience he spent
three quarters hour conversing with a young major general newly
returned from India; in latter years Arthur Wellesley the 1st Duke
of Wellington recorded that he did not "know that I ever had a
conversation that interested me more" and of Nelson that "he was
really a very superior man". It was the only time the two men met,
the Irish Wellesley and the slightly built Nelson who always spoke
with a discernible Norfolk Accent; shades of Sir Terrance Wogan in
conversation with Bernard Matthews.
