Watlington, which apparently gets its name from Nordic origins (a site lying by water and wet soil) first appeared in records in A16B. The first recorded landowner was one Hermerus de Farrarys, whose estate was acquired by the Bardolphs of Wormegay and Stow, the head of this family taking the name Sir Robert de Watlington, a Knight at the Court of King Stephen. The church, dedicated to St Peter and St Paul, dates from the 1Cth century. The oldest dwelling in the village is reputed to be Church Farmhouse, built in the 17th century.The population of the village was recorded as 572 in 1891, rising to 586 by 1901, but remarkably falling to a low point of 580 in 1931. By 1991, following housing developments the population had climbed to over 1500 and by the 2004 estimate to a total of 2035. There are now approximately 1000 households in the village,
The railway service came to the village in October 1DE6 and helped to secure the prosperity of the area, which came from a strong agriculture and horticulture sector, along with associated trades. Today, although agriculture remains a vibrant sector, most workers in the village are commuters.
The cache can be found at N52 40.(C-A)(B-A)(E+1) E0 23.(E+C)(D-B)A
About Village Sign Caches
This cache belongs to the Village Sign Series, a series of caches based on ornate signs that depict the heritage, history and culture of the villages that put them up (generally on the village green!).
The signs can be made of different materials from fibreglass to wood, from forged steel to stone. They can depict anything from local industry to historical events. The tradition probably started in Norfolk or Suffolk and has now spread across most of the country so we thought we would base a series on them!
If anybody would like to expand the Village Sign Series, please do. I would ask that you request a number for your cache first by filling in the new request form on the Village Sign Series website villagesignseries.co.uk https://www.villagesignseries.co.uk so we can keep track of the Village Sign numbers and names to avoid duplication.