In 1663, the landlord of
the pub was rewarded by Charles II for giving support to his
executed father and his royalist supporters - The Cavaliers.
During the Civil War, the pub had been used as a mustering place by
King Charles I, where his personal standard had been raised to draw
royalist supporters in fighting
for his cause against the
Parliamentarians –The Roundheads. Charles II
honoured the landlord by
agreeing to change the name of the pub from The Ship to
“The Royal Standard of England ”, the only pub in the
country with the honour of the full title.
Forty Green's name is Anglo-Saxon meaning 'jutting
forth island of land' which perfectly describes the island of land
contained by Ridings Lane. From the dappled light falling
through the tree at one end, to the grazing pastures at the other,
this quiet country lane offers extensive views of the rolling
Chiltern landscape.
To the north of the cache's location can be seen a
free-standing granary that is typical for this area. It is has a
single-storey timber-framed structure, with weather-boarded
exterior walls and a hipped pyramidical roof. Although some
early granaries rested on wooden posts, from at least the early
1600s a grid of staddlestones or brick piers were used to support
the structure and to keep the grain dry and out of the reach of
vermin.