Here is a short history of Sutton, some of it reflected in the village sign, and much of it the subject of other caches around the village.
Sutton-in-the-Isle, commonly referred to simply as Sutton, is a parish and village in the county of Cambridgeshire in England, near the city of Ely. The "in-the-Isle" suffix refers to the fact that the village is part of the Isle of Ely, once an island in The Fens.
The village was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, identified as Sudtone. There were then 9 sokemen, 8 villeins (each with 7.5 acres), 15 cotters and 7 serfs. In 1109, the charter 51 of Bishop Hervey included Suttune in the lands recorded as being conferred upon the Cathedral Priory of Ely. According to the Ely Diocesan Register, the Manor of Sutton was established in 1292 and belonged to the Priory.
The vicarage of St Andrew's was instituted in 1254 and the re-building of the church of St. Andrew's was started between 1350 and 1360. It was substantially completed by 1370 and has a distinctively-shaped tower that is often described as being in the shape of a pepperpot. Several non-conformist chapels once also existed in the village. These included a Methodist chapel constructed in 1790, following a visit by John Wesley in 1774, and a Baptist chapel constructed in the same century. Both of these closed in recent decades, leaving the Anglican church as the sole place of worship.
By 1599, the village was so prosperous that it became known as “Golden Sutton”. In 1800, it had a population of about 950, quickly rising to 1,862 by 1851. Although a school had been established in the village in 1579, under William Heye, it was not until 1860 that the first purpose-built school-building opened.
During the 1960s, the Sutton Gault hamlet was the site of one of the world's first Tracked Hovercraft, designed by Eric Laithwaite. This hovertrain was propelled by a linear induction motor and ran alongside the Old Bedford River, on a one-mile section of air-cushion trackway.
The village has known a variety of businesses throughout its history. It was once well-known for fruit-growing, but has also been a place for cheese-production. Later, it manufactured road sweepers and now it hosts a monthly auction of construction and agricultural equipment, which is the largest of its kind in Europe.
The cache was placed on crb11's birthday, and following a series of delays, I returned to check before submitting. And it was gone - along with all the ivy from the tree it was originally in. It was replaced in a new location. That one was too close to the school, and I had second thoughts about the safety of the third location. The 4th location was too close to another cache... so now in its 5th spot...hope it stays!
Cache location is at North52 AB.CDA East0 EF.CFD
There is a sign on the sign, with some dates. CDA4 ~ CD84
B = swans a-swimming
E = number of cows on the sign (both sides)
F = total number of non-human lifeforms on the sign (both sides)
.•:*¨¨*:•..•:*¨¨*:•. Congratulations on your FTF Wystan and Mrs Wystan! .•:*¨¨*:•..•:*¨¨*:•.
(Yes, they are my mum and dad, and no, they didn't get any help! They didn't know it was being published until the notification, like anyone else.)
About Village Sign Caches
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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!
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More information, bookmarks and statistics can be found at the Village Signs Website
If anybody would like to expand the Village Sign Series, please do.
I would ask that you request a number for your cache first at www.villagesignseries.co.uk
so we can keep track of the Village Sign numbers and names to avoid duplication.