Ordnance Survey Maps Research Articles

Ordnance Survey and the Definitive Map of Public Rights of Way of England and Wales

The appearance of symbols for public rights of way on Ordnance Survey maps is taken for granted today. Their authority as public ways is derived from the Definitive Map of Public Rights of Way which was prepared consequent to the provisions set out in Part IV of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. The Definitive Map was mainly surveyed by volunteers from all walks of life working to non-compulsory guidelines. The resulting maps differed in accuracy of depiction and content. The inclusion in the national map specification of information of variable standards caused cartographic design problems and major changes in policy for Ordnance Survey. The background to rights of way mapping, and its translation to the national map at the one-inch scale down to 1968 is examined here.

The North-South Divide Revisited: Thoughts on the Character of Roman Britain

When the fifth edition of the Ordnance Survey Map of Roman Britain was published in March 2001, the distributions of individual classes of site raised questions about the character of Roman Britain. In particular, apparent differences between the response to Rome of the peoples of the South and East and of those of the North and West of Britain were highlighted. These issues are discussed here in the context of the key monument class distributions depicted on the Map.

English Hospitals, 1660-1948: A Survey of Their Architecture and Design (review)

This study is the elegant façade of a much greater building. It is based on a survey of English hospitals carried out between 1991 and 1994 by staff of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. Three teams of two investigators based in different parts of the country compiled an archive containing information on some two thousand hospital sites, many of them now only map references to long-demolished institutions. The survey covered the entire range of hospital types, including the buildings of the armed forces. Each site was entered in a database, and an associated file was created containing a brief report, Ordnance Survey maps, available documentation, and photographs both early (some very early) and modern (including aerial). The archive is publicly accessible at the National Monuments Record Centre, Swindon, Wiltshire. A county-by-county list of the sites appears as an appendix to this volume.

The Opening-up of Scammonden, a Pennine Moorland Valley

A 1607 map of the farms in Scammonden is the starting point for an enquiry into the landscape history of a typical Pennine valley. A comparison with an Ordnance Survey map of 1908 shows little change to the basic framework of settlement. Exploration on the ground reveals much that is still recognizable, despite the construction of the M62 motorway and two reservoirs. Documentary research shows that the settlement pattern was created before the Black Death.

The Estimation of Flood‐Response Times from Digital Catchment Data

AbstractThe UK Flood Estimation Handbook describes a new approach to flood peak estimation and includes a volume which summarises developments in the rainfall‐runoff method since its publication in the Flood Studies Report in 1975.One of the improvements has been the construction of a new unit hydrograph time‐to‐peak estimation equation. The handbook illustrates how information from digital datasets can be used to compute a number of catchment descriptors which, taking the place of information abstracted manually from Ordnance Survey maps, are introduced as independent variables. The new equation is obtained from an enlarged database consisting of 1822 rainfall‐runoff events which incorporate a greater variety of catchments than were used in the Flood Studies Report.This paper (a) summarises the extent of the research, (b) outlines the steps involved, and (c) recommends an equation for estimating unit hydrograph time‐to‐peak from digital catchment data.

Authorizing landscape: «authority», naming and the Ordnance Survey's mapping of the Scottish Highlands in the nineteenth century

A range of work in human and historical geography has discussed naming and mapping as reflections of social power. In historical contexts in particular, attention has been drawn to the ways in which native knowledges, even the natives themselves, were either «written out» by being excluded, or marginalized in the processes of «translation» and cartographic representation. This article examines the work of the Ordnance Survey in the nineteenth-century Scottish Highlands and the means this English-speaking body employed in providing authoritative names to what was, in placenames and in the language of the inhabitants, a Gaelic landscape. An examination of the Ordnance Survey's Original Object Name Books is used to explore how the landscape was «authorized», to discuss who was judged an authoritative source and, from this, to emphasize naming as a social process.

A Lost Swaledale Vaccary and a Palimpsest of Place-Names

IN 1990 JOHN McDONNELL published an article 'Upland Pennine hamlets' in this journal,l basing much of his discussion of the character and origins of settlements in Swaledale (Yorks. N.R.) on medieval documentary sources notably the Lay Subsidy assessment of ·1301 and an inquisitio post mortem of 1297-98. He also referred to two vaccaries 'in Grinton township' on land granted to Bridlington Priory by Robert de Gant, who held the manorof Grinton from 1185 to 1191, noting that one of them, Frith/oc, is lost and referring to Fieldhouse and Jennings' identification of the other, Whallesheved, with Dyke House (SE 037980).2 It is the purpose of this note to argue that Whallesheved was not at Dyke House but at Low Whita (SE 001982) and that, once this identification has been made, the location of Frith/oc can be narrowed down more closely. The history of toponyms at Low Whita carries interesting implications for the understanding of place-names in Swaledale and comparable Pennine localities, and these concerns are also briefly discussed here. The general area of discussion is shown on fig. 1. It is clear that the two linear earthworks now known as the Grinton-Fremington Dykes, one of which gave its name to Dyke House, were called 'dykes', not walls, from at least the twelfth century.3 But in any case Dyke House would be an odd location for a vaccary. It is well above the medieval settlement zone in the townships of Grinton and Herthay or Hercay (now Harkerside, which in terms of surviving settlements is now represented solely by the farm at Harkerside Place SE 027984). Dyke House is marked on a map of 1774,4 and the fields around it must have been enclosed from moorland sometime before that date. Land improvement here was clearly less destructive than would have been the case in the nineteenth century; quite a number of late prehistoric cairns and walls survive well enough to be recognizable, and the axis of the main boundaries has been determined by that of the ruined walls of a coaxial land division system which covers much of the moorland of Harkerside and Grinton, and is probably of iron-age date.5 But there is no evidence that the fields around Dyke House are of medieval origin. It is unlikely that substantial outlying intakes would have been created here as early as the late twelfth century. Immediately to the west of the fields around Dyke House is the intake surrounding what is now marked on the 1:25,000 Ordnance Survey map as Deer Park. On the 1774 map, however, this is marked as 'Swale's Intake'. There were apparently Swales in 'West Grinton', evidently

A Timber Extraction Method Based On Pavement Serviceability and Forest Inventory Data

Abstract A methodology for integrating pavement classification and forest inventory data to determine the capability of forest access roads with weak subgrades to support timber extraction is described. GPS location data recorded in stand-alone mode was superimposed on forest and Ordnance Survey maps. Within a GIS, the acquired spatial data was manipulated and integrated with pavement attribute information and the current and projected forest inventory data. Potential pavement damage by a typical timber haulage truck with payloads of 22, 27, 30, and 35 tonnes (t) was then assessed. It was found that by overloading the truck by 3 and 8 t (GVW of 43 t and 48 t, respectively), the total volume of timber that could be conveyed without damaging the serviceable pavements reduced by an average of 16 and 44%, respectively. Rerouting of timber to avoid critical and failed sections could significantly increase the transportation costs. Rerouting was found to be impractical where forest compartments were accessible by single routes; hence, necessary repairs to facilitate the extraction are recommended in such cases. The final database could be extended to include specific costing of repair and maintenance requirements, and so determine the economic implications of respective routing strategies. For. Sci. 46(1):76-85.

Patterns of otterLutra lutraroad mortality in Britain

Summary1. This paper examines patterns of otter road traffic accidents and the possibilities for reducing this mortality.2. Records of otter road casualties in Britain (673 between 1971 and 1996) were compiled and accident sites were plotted on 1:50000 scale Ordnance Survey maps. Casualty records were categorized by geographical region, road type, distance to watercourses and presence and type of river crossings. The data were analysed for demographic, seasonal, temporal and spatial trends.3. A rapid increase in numbers of road traffic accident records has occurred since 1983. Fifty‐six per cent of fatalities were males, representing a statistically significant bias.4. The number, but not the sex ratio, of otter road casualties differed between seasons and in all areas was positively correlated with either seasonal rainfall or river flow.5. Significant effects of geographical region, road density and year were found on the annual number of casualties recorded in mainland regions, and the regional rates of increase in numbers of road traffic accidents were significantly different. There is also evidence that road traffic accidents are influenced by otter site occupancy of a region.6. Trunk and A‐roads accounted for 57% of road traffic accident records, even though they comprise only 13% of the road network.7. A 100‐m wide zone surrounding fresh water and the coast accounted for 67% of all casualty records. Measures to reduce road mortality should target this zone.8. The seasonal correlations of otter road traffic accidents with rainfall and river flow, and the fact that 91% of accidents occurred where a road crossed a watercourse, suggest that substantial reductions in road mortality could be achieved by improving the design of road crossings of watercourses.9. We suggest that the optimal approach to road crossing design is to maintain a continuous, and where possible, natural bank above the level of high flows, using either wide‐span bridges, over‐sized culverts or artificial ledges.10.The use of otter‐proof fencing may be required to reduce mortality where roads pass close to watercourses, but care must be taken that this does not create a barrier to all movements of otters and other wildlife.

“The Fishacre Tribe”: the Family Origins of Richard Fishacre OP

The starting point of the enquiry described here was a direct result of discussions at the Fishacre Colloquium. The existence of a Martin de Fishacre who was a witness in the early 1240’s to the Inquisition, now called Testa Nevill was identified. The place-name enquiry to find the Fishacre where Martin lived began with scrutiny of current Ordnance Survey maps and identified three places all with the element, Fishacre, in the name within a few miles of each other in the hundred of Haytor in South Devon. They are Fishacre Barton, a farm, in the parish of Broadhempston; Combefishacre, a string village settlement in a small deep valley about four and a half miles to the east; and Coleton Fishacre, a very small settlement above the cliff top between Kingswear and Brixham. Examination of the publications of the English Place-Name Society showed that there are no other settlements in England and Wales with this unusual element of “fishacre” in the name. This part of South Devon with the streams flowing towards the river Dart on its east bank and the coastal peninsula between Dartmouth and Torbay contains the origin of the name, Fishacre. So far, it is uncertain which place was the first to have the name Fishacre. In the Exon. Domesday Book Combefishacre is recorded as Comba while Coleton Fishacre is recorded as Coletona. Broadhempston is referred to in the Exon Domesday but not Fishacre Barton, which is about two miles southwest of the village.

Landscapes of power in nineteenth century Ireland

The British Ordnance Survey mapping of Ireland in the nineteenth-century was an official systematic survey which created a picture document of the landscape and the past. While the maps influenced the institutionalization of archaeology, the documenting of an archaeological record on the maps shaped their look and language. Within a setting of the political contest between British colonialism and Irish nationalism, both the Ordnance Survey maps and the archaeological past they recorded became powerful tools that helped to construct Irish identity and a sense of place and heritage.

Strategies for Assessing the Impact of Survey Lags on the Analysis and Interpretation of Land Use Change Statistics

The Department of the Environment's Land Use Change Statistics (LUCS) represent a major new data series in the field of town and regional planning. They begin to fill a long-standing and, given the land management aims of planning, rather basic gap in the planning data record and have the potential to change the way in which we approach land-use studies and policy monitoring. LUCS data are derived from the process of updating Ordnance Survey mapping and, as a consequence, are recorded with a time lag between date of change and date of survey that varies according to survey regime and land-use type. In the analysis of LUCS data it is essential that an appropriate allowance is made for both the temporal and the spatial incidence of survey lags. In this paper we will discuss three approaches to reducing the impact of recording lags on particular types of substantive research: use of LUCS data based on analysis by survey year, the construction of robust indicators of land-use change, and the fitting of modelled lag descriptions. We conclude with a brief discussion of the implications for land-use theory in general.

Hazard proximities of childhood cancers in Great Britain from 1953-80.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Firstly, to examine relationships between the birth and death addresses of children dying from leukaemia and cancer in Great Britain, and the sites of potential environmental hazards; and...

A census of ponds in Cheshire, North West England

1. Of the 41 564 small water bodies (‘ponds’) identified on Ordnance Survey maps of Cheshire in ca 1870, 61% had disappeared by the early 1990s. 2. Pond loss has taken place across the county and is associated with a number of different replacement land-uses; loss rates are highest in areas of urban development. 3. Using aerial photography, only 45% of extant ponds show areas of open water, many being completely overshaded by trees or with substantial emergent vegetation. 4. The effects of pond loss are now being felt in increasing fragmentation of the total resource; the density of wet ponds over the entire county has fallen from 17.8 km−2 (ca 1870) to 3.25 km−2 (1992/93), and the ‘connectedness’ of the pond landscape has been similarly reduced. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Society of Antiquaries and Ordnance Survey Mapping of Stonehenge 1873

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Relationships between afforestation, water chemistry and fish stocks in an upland catchment in south west Scotland

The soils and waters in the Galloway hills of south-west Scotland have undergone considerable acidification during the present century. The aims of this study were to examine the extent to which afforestation can influence water chemistry, and the occurrence of fish stocks within an individual catchment in this area. Studies were carried out at 45 sites in the Bladnoch catchment during 1994. River water samples were collected at all sites and determinations made of pH, total organic carbon, calcium and monomeric aluminium concentrations. In order to quantify the size and abundance of fish populations, electrofishing was carried out at 21 of the sites. Estimates of afforestation were made by a combination of field surveys and the use of 1∶:10 000 scale ordnance survey maps. The presence of coniferous trees had a substantial affect on water chemistry. In areas where the whole catchment was afforested, the water pH was 0.7 units lower than in unafforested areas (p<0.001). Afforestation was also correlated with low concentrations of calcium, and increases in the concentrations of monomeric aluminium and total organic carbon. There was a clear relationship between fish populations and water chemistry. Numbers of trout were positively correlated with pH (r2=0.69; p<0.001), and with concentrations of calcium (r2=0.55; p<0.001). The study has shown that salmonid fish populations are sensitive to acidity and the associated changes in river water chemistry; these problems were exacerbated by afforestation.

Ordnance survey maps as sources of information about the landscape

Abstract Ordnance Survey maps have formed the most widely used and most nationally consistent historical record of the British landscape. A recent review has testified to the value placed upon this record by a wide range of organisations and groups. This paper summarises the effects of new technology and the changing financial circumstances under which OS operates on the Survey's method of operations. OS now does not produce maps so much as ‘spin them off from a constantly up‐dated topographic database. The products produced are increasingly determined on economic criteria. As a consequence, the continuation of the public record is not a business imperative for OS and, to complicate matters still further, the Legal Deposit Libraries have at least short‐term difficulty in moving from soon‐to‐be‐curtailed microfilm records to digital versions. The paper seeks further input from those involved with landscape research on the importance of the historical record.

The Franklands Village landslide

Between 23 December 1993 and 5 January 1994 a major landslip movement developed in Franklands Village which is situated on the eastern side of Haywards Heath, West Sussex. The approximate Ordnance Survey map reference is TQ 342/236. The site of the landslide is set on the eastern slopes of a north-south trending valley. The existing development comprises blocks of two-storey fiats and semi-detached houses. The development for the Franklands Village Housing Association (FVHA) was constructed in the 1930s. A development comprising a block of two-storey sheltered housing (Charles Bennett Court) was constructed by the Hanover Housing Association between 1991 and 1992, on the higher valley slopes to the southeast of the landslide. Southern Testing Laboratories Limited (STL) were called in by Messrs K. A. Marshall &amp; Partners, Consulting Engineers to the FVHA, to investigate cracking and foundation movement that had been developing in the Franklands Village properties during December 1992. In general terms the valley slopes fall towards a small stream, towards the northwest at overall slopes of between 13 and 16° . Terracing, carried out to facilitate the initial development, steepened locally to between 30 and 45°. An investigation comprising hand-excavated trial holes, shell and auger boreholes (using a specially adapted restricted access rig), piezometers, slip indicator and monitoring of surface reference stakes, laboratory testing and geological and engineering analysis was undertaken by STL between January and April 1993. The solid geology comprises the Upper Tunbridge Wells Sands at the crest of the slope, overlying the clays of the

Plant Species Richness--The Effect of Island Size and Habitat Diversity

The objective of this study was to explore the interrelationship between island area, number of species, and habitat diversity. A survey of dicotyledonous plant species was carried out on 45 uninhabited, unimproved, small islands off Shetland Mainland, plus two similar mainland headlands treated as islands. In addition, species were counted within 50-cm square quadrats randomly placed on island vegetation. The largest island surveyed was 100 ha; 81 plant species in all were found. A total of 14 physical (abiotic) habitat types were classified. The number of habitats on each island was counted, and the habitat types characteristic of each plant species were recorded. Island areas were determined from Ordnance Survey maps (...)

Ordnance Survey explores new heights

Abstract Height information has always formed an integral part of Ordnance Survey's map information. From the days of depiction by hachuring on one inch maps to today's Digital Elevation Models the aim has always been to represent the terrain for strategic purposes.The combination of national terrain model coverage, increasing height resolution and the continuing improvement in computing power has the potential to open new areas and markets for digital map data. This will involve the integration of vector, raster and digital imagery, in a variety of complementary applications and outputs.The future for three dimensional elevation data looks promising. Before the end of the decade we might increasingly expect real-time interaction with 3-d mapping and models of some complexity.