The village of Eynsford is in North Kent, within Sevenoaks District. According to the 2011 census it has a population of 1,814 in 799 households.
Eynsford is first mentioned in writing in 864, as "Egenes homme". The derivation is unclear, but one possibility is that it represents "Ægen's river-meadow", from the Old English hamm "river-meadow, enclosure". In 1801, the village had the highest population in the Dartford area, at 841 persons.
In the centre of the village, is a ford over the river, with a picturesque hump-back bridge alongside. There are many old buildings including the 16th-century Plough Inn and the Old Mill. The church is dedicated to St Martin and has a ring of 8 bells. In about 1163, Thomas Becket is reputed to have excommunicated William de Eynsford, the owner of Eynsford castle. The excommunication was cancelled by King Henry II and the issue became part of the quarrel that led to Becket's murder in 1170.
Dating from 1088, Eynsford Castle is one of the most complete Norman castles in England. Ransacked in the 14th century, it fell into decay. For years it was used as dog kennels by the Hart-Dyke family of nearby Lullingstone Castle. It is now open to the public.
The village was scandalised in the 1920s by the antics of composers E.J. Moeran and Peter Warlock who rented a house there; Warlock's habit of riding his motorbike round the village naked was matched by his housemate's singing sea shanties on a Sunday morning to try and drown out the congregation in the Baptist chapel next door. Although the time spent in Eynsford was productive for Warlock, Moeran never really recovered.
Eynsford station serves the village with services to Kentish Town station (London Victoria on Sundays) via Catford, and to Sevenoaks. Eynsford is served by Bus routes 403 to Bluewater via Dartford and Swanley and to Sevenoaks, 421 to Swanley and to Sevenoaks, 478 to Swanley and to West Kingsdown, and a 429 Sunday service to Bluewater Via Dartford and Swanley.
And so to the cache. You should be standing next to the village sign and be able to see a number of brass plaques on it. The below info you'll find on them.
The Premier Award was won in which year? ABCD
How many years has Eynsford been the Best Kept Large Village in West Kent? E
The name of the man who inspired the sign (letters in each name)? F G
In how many years has the Silver Gilt Award been won? H
Eynsford was Kent's Village of the Year in JKLM.
I had a couple of goes at trying to find an end point for this VS (damn puzzles!) so sorry about how far you'll have to walk to find it. The cache can be found at:
N51 22.
H-C
B-F
K*A
E0 12.
E*J
M-D
G+L
Please let me know if the log book becomes full.
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.