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!
More information and statistics can be found at the Village Signs Website - https://www.villagesignseries.co.uk
Great Holland village sign depicts a Thames Barge, which would have been able to sail much closer to the village than the present day. Holland Brook used to be a tidal estuary before the building of the Sea Wall by the Tendring Levellers in the late 18th/early 19th centuries, and barges would have been able to sail close to the western end of the village, loading locally grown wheat (also depicted on the sign), and flour from the windmill.
The windmill, also shown on the village sign, was in the village from at least the 13th Century, and was still active in 1912. However, it is now demolished, although the millstone and foundations can still be seen at the site to the west of the village.
The recumbent lion on the village sign reflects the local hostelry, now closed down.
The cache is a simple micro.
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.