Quiz Questions

Rayleigh

Through the Looking Glass

Rayleigh Walking Quiz Questions

1. This school charged pupils 1d (in old money) per day until Love Lane School opened in 1904. Divine inspiration may point you in the right direction. Now that’s food for thought! But what year was the Parish School built at a cost of £500?

2. Name the place in the High St where you could ‘woo’ your Italian lover on Valentine’s Day.

3. This building was responsible for ‘Bull Lane’ getting its name. Unfortunately it no longer sells beer Hope you take the bait. Mr Todman used to ‘solicit’ from here. But what type of Inn was it?

4. This used to be Adams favourite tipple. In the olden days it would cost 1/2d a pail in winter and 1d in summer. No longer working but where would you collect the ‘elixir of life’?

5. Between 2 trees are a trio of Rayleigh bygones. But what comes from 70 Victoria Street? Look for the small print.

6. Not as sedate as today’s indoor market in Rayleigh but ‘’as rowdy as Rayleigh Trinity Fair’ was an old countywide saying in the 1890s. Some will remember it as Sansoms or even the North Thames Gas Board near where the gypsy caravans stood to ply their wares. But what year did the Trinity Fair start?

7. A group of 4 shops known as Dollmartons a name that can be seen on the high brickwork but what date was it built?

8. What building now stands on the site of ‘Peverils’? Originally the farmhouse for Hog Farm, which spread to Daws Heath Road. In 1830 a farmhand James Ewen was hanged for setting fire to the barn near this site but was it a fair ‘cop’?

9. This is definitely the coldest place in the High Street but what must you avoid doing with the pigeons?

10. What sort of meetings did Abraham Caley hold in Meeting House Lane long before the Elephant & Castle Inn stood on the corner of these 2 roads?

11. This group were originally in Bellingham Lane before moving here. But what date did Mrs Gilson (and others) have her name commemorated in stone? A military background may help. Or just ask ‘Sally’ for help.

12. I ‘bet’ you find this one. But who was the teetotal Baptist Minister who opened a school near here and lived in Rayleigh from 1797 to 1853?

13. This one will get you ‘snookered’ but what company who made coaches stood behind Fields in the 1880s? Going into the Library for clues will not help.

14. t’s always good to have a beer with some body in it but perhaps not one with somebody in it (a dead body was once found in the pond that the Brewery drew its water from). The ‘upstairs kitchen’ restaurant on this site may well serve you a ‘cobra’ or ‘kingfisher’ but what was the name of the brewery and when did it close?

15. Look for the alleyway and you will find Abdul Fady one of Rayleigh’s ‘jewels’ near the Crown. If in doubt you could ask ‘Mr Stevens’. What year did Mr Upson die?

16. An American president would be at home here with this pastime. But would he beat ‘the rocket’? Where are we?

17. After an uphill struggle past the Dutch Cottage you would pass by the old Dance Hall (later Bingo Hall) but where is the first place you can quench your thirst?

18. You may have missed the last post but the Council paid a single red rose in 1994 for this lovely reminder of King George VI. You can no longer 'press Button B’ to get your money back from the last remaining example of another form of communication nearby. But what did the Council purchase?

19. He bought the Mount for £500 (after the Council turned the offer down due to the expense) and in 1923 he bequeathed it to the National Trust. A great benefactor of the Town who today would not have far to go to visit the bank. But what middle name did Edward Francis have?

20. If you want to explore what is inside the time capsule at the base of this edifice you will have to wait until 2049. You will find this near where the arms point to the Mount and it doesn’t matter whether you look north, south, east or west. I suggest you leave the question until you have more time on your hands. What is this edifice?

21. This will take the wind out of your sails. Say Happy 200th Birthday as you walk around. But what essential piece of machinery close by has a plaque giving a date of 1798?

22. Near the site of the old Regal Cinema Harry Adey built a ‘Peculiar’ type of building. What is this hall known as?

23. You will need your eyes tested if you cannot find this building. It no longer sells postage stamps (and is no longer a Building Society Office) but can you name the suffragette’s father?

24. This is another easy clue you can ‘bank’ on to get right opposite where Tomassi’s once stood for a short while and oral health comes to mind today. But do you know what took place in the wooden shed behind the building in days gone by?

25. You will be put in the stocks and pilloried if you cannot locate the ‘Area of Correction’. Near the flower bed that lights up every Christmas but what group does the plaque close by refer to?

26. What year could you first ‘spend a penny’ after leaving the Crown Hotel?

27. What family run business is located in the ‘dead centre’ of town?

28. Who designed the Heritage Trail map?

29. What type of theatre was situated in what was originally Back Lane and is now the site of a ‘Regal’ retirement complex?

30. ‘Fire Over England’. The Beacon of light commemorates the 400th anniversary of the Spanish Armada. But how many times has it been lit?

October Update