Thomas Milne's Land Utilization Map of the London Area in 1800

Abstract

To make A land utilization map of piece of country, the modern geographer selects base-map showing field boundaries. By inspection of the ground, he inserts key letter within each field to show its use, such as A for arable land, M for meadowland, H for heathland, and so on. He then prepares coloured map, with arable land in brown, meadowland in light green, forest in dark green, heath? land in yellow, gardens in purple and agriculturally unproductive land in red. This procedure derives from the method adopted by the Land Utilization Survey of Britain to record the face of Britain in the years 1930-8. The use of letters and colours on the published land use maps of this Survey was not entirely new, how? ever, for as early as 1800 Thomas Milne had prepared for publication handcoloured, engraved map of the London area which makes use of this technique. map, on scale of 2 inches to 1 mile, is engraved on six plates, each n34 by 15 inches. It bears the title Milne's Plan of the Cities of London and Westminster, circumadjacent Towns and Parishes c 11th March An area of about 260 square miles, extending from Harrow Weald to Woodford and from Hampton-on-Thames to Sundridge Park is covered by the map. The map records the use of each field by means of an inserted letter and an overpainted colour. These make it possible to distinguish no less than twelve different types of land use; as several are sub-divided, seventeen categories in all may be distinguished. Arable land, when enclosed, is shown by the italic letter a and pale brown colour not unlike the one used by the Land Utilization Survey century and quarter later. Enclosed meadow and pasture are shown exactly as on the later Survey, by the letter m and light green colouring. Woodland is shown by the letter w, tree symbols in the form of tiny circles, and dark green colour. Enclosed market gardens receive the letter g and light blue colour; nurseries n and orange colour. Orchards and osier-beds share the letter o and blue colouring, so that the map reader needs to judge from the nearness of the field to the river which of the two is intended. Paddocks or little parks are represented by the letter p and pink colour; the position of the residence within the park is shown by black rectangle. Drained marshland pasture has the letters ma and greygreen colouring. Common fields, with their admixture of small strip-fields used for diverse purposes, present difficult problem to the cartographer. One-third of the agricultural land of the London area still remained unenclosed in 1800. Milne showed great care and skill in representing, within the limits of scale, the variety of land use in common fields. The letters caf designate common arable fields. They are coloured brown if wholly arable, and bear conventionalized brown and green stripes if there is considerable admixture of grassland strips with the arable. Common meadows bear the letters cmf and solid green colouring, or green and brown bands as might be appropriate. Common market-garden fields are shown by the letters cgf and blue colouring, or by blue and brown bands. Great care