Ousby is a small rural community in the Eden Valley. It is one of fourteen villages within the United Kingdom that is 'Doubly Thankful'. This means that all the people who served in both the first and second world wars returned safely. In the first conflict twelve men served, and in the second twelve men and one women served. The village remembers these twenty five people with a stained glass window for WW1 and a wooden lectern for WW2. Both the window and lectern can be viewed in St.Luke's church.
In order to find this cache you will need to visit St. Luke's Church, which is located outside the village. Four questions can be answered from outside the church, and two by going inside. The day I visited the church was open, and I suspect that is usually the case. As well as the stained glass window and lectern, there is also a wooden effigy of a medieval knight within the church. Nobody knows who he was. The story goes that he was found in a nearby peat bog by a farmer. Doubtless the effigy was originally in the church, quite possibly marking the man’s grave, but was moved outside by zealous Cromwellian types in the 1640s who had no truck with earthly decoration in places of religion. Further information about him can be found online.
There is also a visitor book to sign.
My attempts to photograph the medieval knight ended in dismal failure. This image is taken from 'Esmeralda's Cumbrian History and Folklore '
In order to find the cache:
A: Find the wooden medieval knight in his display case inside the church. There is a poem above the case. In the first line a Rill is mentioned. If A=1 etc, what is the value of the first letter of the name of this Rill?
B: The grave of Norman Castle-Clarke is located close to the gate, to the left as you enter the churchyard. (Look for the golden cat) What month was he born? (January = 1 etc)
C: There is a bench at the front of the church to Audrey Jean Farrell. Add the first and seventh digits of the dates on the plaque to give C
D: The grave of Rachel and Robert Ousby is adjacent to the wall of the church, just beyond the door. Rachel died in 197D
E: Inside the church again, in an alcove to the left of the altar, are two framed Rolls of Honour which list the names of the people who served in the two world wars. The total number of Mounsey’s on both lists, plus the number of Jackson’s = E
F: Under the stained glass window is a Certificate of Commemoration. The fourth digit in the date will give you F.
The final cache will be found at:
N54° 42.ABC’ W02° 34.DEF’
