1779 Map and Survey Background

The survey was conducted shortly after the completion of the main 18^th century enclosure in Hanslope and so depicts the new pattern of property ownership after the enclosures.

The Map

The map covers the whole parish of Hanslope. It is of very high quality and identifies and names every property and every field in the parish. An index in the bottom right corner of the map lists all properties by owner using a reference number for each item which appears on the map.

The original map measures approximately 10 feet by 10 feet and seems to have been intended to hang on a wall. It was drawn on parchment mounted on linen. (Parchment is made from sheep skin.)

The map was prepared by Joseph Perks. Separate copies still exist which were prepared for Edward Watts and for the City of Lincoln, the leading landowners in the parish at the time. It seems possible that copies were prepared for other major landowners. There are subtle differences between the Watts and Lincoln copies, in that properties belonging to each landowner are coloured differently from other properties on their copy of the map (red for buildings, green for boundaries of fields, while properties not owned are coloured grey, and in the case of the Watts map, two shades of green are used to distinguish property "in settlement" from other property).

Measures of area on the map are in acres, roods and perch: 1 acre = 4 rood = 160 perch (1 rood = 40 perch). One acre is approximately 4,047 square meters.

The map shows that 43% of the land area in the parish was owned by Edward Watts. A further 25% was owned by major landowners (with land in other parishes), and a good deal of the rest was owned by people who do not appear to have been living in the parish.

The Accompanying Survey

A separate bound volume contains a survey report on the Watts estate which includes pages on each farm listing every field, homestead and cottage, using the same numbering system as on the map. There is also a map of each farm.

The final pages list rented property, mainly in the village centre, and are accompanied by a map of the village centre. The survey names all tenants.

Presentation on this Web site

The map is available on a page that provides zoom and pan features using Google map functions to allow the full detail of the map to be explored. This has been prepared from the Watts version of the map. Also available on separate pages are sections cut out from the map for the Village Centre, Long Street and Tathall End.

The survey report on the of the Watts estate can be paged through, including the separate maps on each farm. A list of content has been prepared to facilitates direct access to a specific page.

An index page displays the index from the map, and provides separate lists of owners and tenants from the map and survey, and an index of houses using reference numbers from the map and survey. These indexes provide links to further information about buildings on this web site.

All persons mentioned in the map and survey are include in the index of Hanslope people and references and links to the map and survey will appear in results of searches for the people in the family history section.

The original map and survey are held by the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies, County Hall, Aylesbury, Bucks HP20 1UU, UK, which administers copyright (document references: map D/WA/155.R, survey ...). Copies may be made for private use, but anyone wishing to publish the map or survey, in whole or in part, or to reproduce it on their web site should contact the Centre for permission to do so.