I attended a lecture tonight about historic landscapes of East Devon, and the professor who gave the talk spent three years investigating local landscapes using several resources, which he told us about. One of those resources was tithe maps, dating from 1840. These were made to insure that the church received the correct tithes, according to the fields and what was produced there. Some of the cartographers just went through the motions and only showed the dimensions, but others included dew ponds and lime quarries, many of which have since been filled in. Due to this project, many remains of old farms and deserted villages have been found and excavated. The tithe maps in East Devon have now been digitalized using GIS (Geographical Imaging System)...not an easy task, because many of them were huge, some as large as the hall we were sitting in, and had to be photographed by the National Coal Board who have the means to digitally photograph mining maps, which are also huge.
Anyway, these and elsewhere can be found by googling Parishscapes Tithe maps. Also Historic landscape Characterisation (I've just checked, and several counties have this resource).
Another resource is the Disappeared Houses Recording Sheet, again dated from 1840.
The Historic Landscapes Maps also provide data which answer questions about the environment. One of the examples which Professor Kayne gave was orchards in Devon, showing that 3% orchard coverage was in East Devon alone, more than anywhere else in Devon...much to my delight!
Two things that he said was, to find as many resources as you can...maps, photos, paintings of the era, and archaeology...and also that councils spend a lot of money funding these historic resources which are quite extensive and very useful, but they don't bother to advertise the fact, so it's a case of trawling through the net to find them.
So, to reiterate...look for Tithe Maps and Historical Landscape Characterisation.
Hope that's clear and helps with looking for info about remains.
Cheers.
Anyway, these and elsewhere can be found by googling Parishscapes Tithe maps. Also Historic landscape Characterisation (I've just checked, and several counties have this resource).
Another resource is the Disappeared Houses Recording Sheet, again dated from 1840.
The Historic Landscapes Maps also provide data which answer questions about the environment. One of the examples which Professor Kayne gave was orchards in Devon, showing that 3% orchard coverage was in East Devon alone, more than anywhere else in Devon...much to my delight!
Two things that he said was, to find as many resources as you can...maps, photos, paintings of the era, and archaeology...and also that councils spend a lot of money funding these historic resources which are quite extensive and very useful, but they don't bother to advertise the fact, so it's a case of trawling through the net to find them.
So, to reiterate...look for Tithe Maps and Historical Landscape Characterisation.
Hope that's clear and helps with looking for info about remains.
Cheers.