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
Mottingham
Mottingham was first mentioned in records from 862 AD when it was recorded as Modingahema, - the land of Moda's people, commonly interpreted as "the proud place".
Mottingham was originally a hamlet in Eltham parish, in the Blackheath hundred of Kent. In 1840 it was included in the Metropolitan Police District by the Metropolitan Police Act 1839. In 1866 the area became connected to the railway system with the construction of Mottingham station (then known as Eltham station). Also in 1866, Mottingham received separate civil parish status, thus separating itself from Eltham. In 1881 the parish had a population of 779 and covered an area of 642 acres (2.60 km2).
When the County of London was created in 1889, Mottingham was excluded from the new county and now formed a protrusion of Kent, bordering London to the west, north and east. From 1894 to 1934 it formed a detached part of the Bromley Rural District and had its own parish council. In 1931 the parish had a population of 2,120. In 1934 the rural district and the Mottingham civil parish were abolished and the area was transferred to Chislehurst and Sidcup Urban District. In 1965 the urban district was abolished and the area was transferred from Kent to Greater London, to form part of the London Borough of Bromley.
A local landmark is Eltham College, a private school founded in 1842 as the London Missionary Society's School for the Sons of Missionaries, which moved to its present site in Mottingham in 1912. The famous cricketer, Dr W. G. Grace lived in retirement for some years in Mottingham, until his death in 1915.
Mottingham has at least two identical Village Signs, one by the Methodist Church and this one near the War Memorial.
The Cache
The cache, a nano tube, is located a short walk from the sign at a collection of road signs. There is a motorbike shop opposite the Village Sign, that has been in business since ABCD. The cache can be found at:
N51 26. C (C+D) A E0 02. D (B-A) (B-C)
***** Congratulations to RamsPadge on the FTF *****
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.