Merstham is a village in Surrey hills, on the edge of the North Downs and is on the route of the North Downs Way. The area has been settled since pre-Roman times, and the village is mentioned in the Domesday Book. The area has long been known for its quarries, and it was as a result of these that the village became a terminus of the world's first public railway. After World War II, a large housing estate was built to the south-east of Merstham village. This area has its own shops and amenities, and is usually known as Merstham Estate. The old village itself is sometimes known as Old or Top Merstham.
The co-ordinates given are not for the cache, but for parking outside Merstham station. To find the cache, you will need to take a walk around the village gathering eight digits A to H, which will then give you the final location.
Merstham Railway Station N51°15.848 W000°09.014
In the railway’s relatively short history Merstham has had three railway stations. The first was built, with the permission of the then landowner Lord Monson, on the edge of Gatton Park by the London & Brighton Railway. It is believed that Lord Monson himself opened the station in December 1841.This station survived for just less than three years when it was replaced by a new station, on the present site, in 1844. The station was then completely rebuilt in 1905 and much of the building remains unchanged today. Merstham lies on the London to Brighton line, while just a few yards to the east lies the 'Quarry line' which carries the high speed traffic avoiding the busy junction at Redhill.
On the footbridge is a cast bridge plate. What number is in the middle of the plate? Halve this number to get A.
Merstham Clock N51°15.809 W000°09.122
Just over School Hill is the first world war memorial. On the other side of the main road (the A23 London to Brighton road) is a building which was once the pub 'The Cottage of Content'. The small house next to it was originally the innkeepers house, before becoming a bicycle shop, then motor garage, before finally an antique shop and now private house. The local residents of Merstham had this clock erected to celebrate a special event.
What year was it erected? Add the four digits together, plus seven to get B.
There is a zebra crossing in the middle of the high street.
The Ironway N51°15.887 W000°09.172
On 26th July 1803, the world's first public railway was opened, between Wandsworth and Croydon. Originally intended to be a canal, the horse-drawn Surrey Iron Railway was used for the transportation of freight including copper, iron, coal and bricks. On the 17th May 1803 a bill was passed to extend the railway to Merstham. This smooth iron road allowed a single horse to pull ten to twenty tons of material from Merstham to Wandsworth, at an easy-paced three to four miles per hour.
Unfortunately the Ironway never paid its way and in 1837 it was bought out by the London to Brighton Railway Company (LBRC). In 1846 the Wandsworth to Croydon section was closed and by 1848 both sections were dismantled. The new tracks for the LBRC were laid along much of the Ironway route and are still used today. In 1972, the M23 motorway completely obliterated the last remains of the Merstham terminus of the railway. The interpretative display and garden has recently been restored by the Merstham Village Trust.
Now take a look at the nearby cattle trough to the south.
Until the middle of the 19th Century, public water was provided by private companies, and was often contaminated. This issue came to a head with the 1854 Cholera epidemic, when John Snow discovered that contaminated water was the cause. In 1859, the Metropolitan Free Drinking Fountain Association was formed to provide safe, clean and free water to the public. The name was changed in 1867, to reflect their expanded role of providing water for cattle and horses. The society was strongly linked with the Temperance movement, and many troughs were installed near Public Houses, to offer a free alternative to beer. By 1879, the society was had built over 800 fountains and troughs, and many still survive in and around London.
When was the Merstham cattle trough built? The third digit in the date will give C.
The Old Forge N51°15.961 W000°09.218
The Old Forge is a historic building at the end of Quality Street. It was originally called 'Cromwell House', but was renamed by the Hicks family when they moved in in 1904. Seymour Hicks and Ellaline Terriss played the leading roles in J.M. Barrie's play 'Quality Street', hence this road being renamed in 1932. The gateposts in the road here mark the entrance to the estate of Merstham House. The M25 motorway now goes through the estate where the house stood.
The Old Forge has a plate on the wall designating it as a building of special interest. Take the first digit of the building number and multiply it by three to get D.
M25 Motorway N51°16.025 W000°09.184
There used to be a small bridge here over the pond between the village and the church, but the coming of the motorway has changed the scene. The new bridge carries the North Downs Way over the motorway, which is sunken into a deep cutting. The M25 motorway circles London, but this is one of the earliest parts to be built along with the M23 just to the east. The M25 was driven through the Merstham House estate, while the M23 removed most traces of the old ironway. There were plans to build a new freight railway parallel to the M25 here, but this has been abandoned.
Add the digits in the distance to Heathrow to the distance to Reigate to get E.
St Katharine's Church N51°16.118 W000°09.128
Merstham was inhabited in the dark ages by a tribe called the Mearsoeti, who built a small wooden church on a knoll of Merstham firestone to the north of the village. Around 1100, this was replaced by a new Norman church which lasted less than 150 years and by about 1220 was replaced by a new Early English Church. The church, which still stands today on that same knoll just to the north of the village, is made almost entirely of the greyish-green Merstham stone.
The paving stones in the lychgate are made from two grindstones taken from the old windmill which once stood in Rockshaw Road. The windmill had been demolished to make way for the ‘Quarry Line’ railway cutting in 1900.
On the church is a clock with a date in the corners. Add the numbers in the top left and bottom right corners to get F.
Please Take care when crossing the A23.
The Merstham Tunnel N51°16.049 W000°08.981
To the north of the station is Merstham Tunnel. This 1 mile 71 yards long tunnel completed in the late 1830s solved one of the London & Brighton Railway’s major problems with its route through the North Downs. When work commenced on the tunnel the area was found to be riddled with disused mine galleries this resulted in slowing down of progress of the line and a spiralling cost. When eventually the tunnel was completed gas lamps were fitted to the walls, which were also whitewashed in an attempt to make the travelling public feel safer in the dark. This scheme was soon abandoned as soot enriched smoke from the steam engines blackened the walls and the draught from passing trains blew out the gas-lamps.
Merstham railway tunnel was the scene of an infamous murder on 24 September 1905. The mutilated body of Mary Money was found in the tunnel and was first thought to be a case of suicide. On inspection however, a scarf was found in the victim's throat, and marks on the tunnel wall showed that she had been thrown from a moving train. The crime was never solved, but suspicion rested with Miss Money's brother, Robert Money.
In front of the tunnel is an arch bridge. Count the number of arches and add 1 to get G.
The Feathers N51°15.890 W000°09.158
Merstham village has two excellent Pubs, the Railway Arms and the Feathers. The Feathers was rebuilt in 1895, and looks substantially the same now with the exception of the stable block. The Feathers has been a significant lanmark in London to Brighton transport, being a stop on the old horse-drawn coach rount in the early 19th century. There is a record of a coach overturning at Merstham in 1813. With the coming of motor transport, the Feathers became the terminus of the London Omnibus route from Camden Town in 1916. It is now a Free House, but is an excellent place to watch the London to Brighton Veteran car run each year.
How many Feathers are there on each side of the pub sign? Take this number and subtract one to get H.
Cache Details
You will find the cache hidden in a large cache container at N51°1A.BCD W000°0E.FGH Permission has been granted to access the cache, as it lies next to a private road, but please do not go any further than the corner. Please take care when crossing the A23, and use the zebra crossing if necessary. I hope you enjoyed this little tour round our village!
Much of this text has been taken from the excellent history at www.merstham.co.uk/merstham, the Wikipedia article and the book 'Merstham as time goes by' by Peter White.