14th February 2009, 01:10 PM
I agree with the broad points which tmsarch makes, you should certainly consult all relevant maps and visit the appropriate record office. Unfortunately not all curators prepare briefs for DBA's although some do and others provide guidance.
What I tend to do is work through maps in record offices in the following order: OS, Estates/Enclosure/Tithes, individual farms and landowner maps. Usually tithes and enclosure maps will record farm names, field names and landowners which will enable you to quickly identify which individual farm maps may be relevant and discount the remainder.
Some of my most unexpected discoveries, have come by chance quickly scanning maps at the end of record office sessions; a map of an early 19th century road proposal showed buildings on the applications site omitted elsewere, on another job more or less by luck I found a detailed mid-19th century plan of the application site.
A few general points;
I do not consult non-Ordnance Survey mapping after the 1880's as the detailed 25" and 6" OS coverage is comprehensive and there is obviously no need to reproduce every map consulted in your report if there is no change to your application site (eg. it remains an empty field). Care needs to be taken with the earlier pre-1880's small scale OS Maps, as I believe these were introduced in the 1820's but maintained and ammended until the 1870's. I have seen these maps reproduced in DBA's, captioned with 1820's dates, but closer examination shows railway lines on the maps.
Care also needs to be taken with enclosure maps as these are 'pre-construction' maps accurate in the allocation of land but showing the intended sub-division of land and proposed new road layouts. It is possible that landholdings were merged after the award of land during the enclosure process, and that some of the intended roads routed elsewhere. Enclosure maps may not show buildings as they are intended to quantify and allocated land-holdings
rather than record the geography of the parish. If in doubt check the village core if only the church and no other buildings are shown then this is the case. Nevertheless enclosure maps obviously remain a very important source and should always be consulted.
I would recommend the Oxford DBA course
I hope this helps.
What I tend to do is work through maps in record offices in the following order: OS, Estates/Enclosure/Tithes, individual farms and landowner maps. Usually tithes and enclosure maps will record farm names, field names and landowners which will enable you to quickly identify which individual farm maps may be relevant and discount the remainder.
Some of my most unexpected discoveries, have come by chance quickly scanning maps at the end of record office sessions; a map of an early 19th century road proposal showed buildings on the applications site omitted elsewere, on another job more or less by luck I found a detailed mid-19th century plan of the application site.
A few general points;
I do not consult non-Ordnance Survey mapping after the 1880's as the detailed 25" and 6" OS coverage is comprehensive and there is obviously no need to reproduce every map consulted in your report if there is no change to your application site (eg. it remains an empty field). Care needs to be taken with the earlier pre-1880's small scale OS Maps, as I believe these were introduced in the 1820's but maintained and ammended until the 1870's. I have seen these maps reproduced in DBA's, captioned with 1820's dates, but closer examination shows railway lines on the maps.
Care also needs to be taken with enclosure maps as these are 'pre-construction' maps accurate in the allocation of land but showing the intended sub-division of land and proposed new road layouts. It is possible that landholdings were merged after the award of land during the enclosure process, and that some of the intended roads routed elsewhere. Enclosure maps may not show buildings as they are intended to quantify and allocated land-holdings
rather than record the geography of the parish. If in doubt check the village core if only the church and no other buildings are shown then this is the case. Nevertheless enclosure maps obviously remain a very important source and should always be consulted.
I would recommend the Oxford DBA course
I hope this helps.