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Date: Sat, 10 May 1997 06:05:09 -0400
From: Chris Marsden <Byway@compuserve.com>
Subject: DMMO Documentary Evidence.
This article is from H&W's WAY OUT mag, written by Andy Turner, PROW
manager.
Under Section 53 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 the Council has a
statutory duty to keep the map and statement under continuous review. The
order making process is triggered by the discovery by the Council of
evidence which indicates that a right of way should either be added,
deleted, upgraded, down-graded or varied in some way Evidence is not just
considered in isolation though, it must be considered along with all other
relevant evidence available to the Council. This is so that a correct
decision is made in possession of the full facts, which should mean that
the particular issue only needs to be investigated once.
Evidence takes two forms: documentary, i.e. evidence from historical
documents and maps, and user, i.e. evidence of actual use by the public.
This issue we concentrate on:
DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE
Many documents are of use to rights of way researchers in establishing
whether or not a particular route carries a public right of way. The
following are some of the most important and frequently used.
Enclosure Awards
These are by far the most useful documents in rights of way research. In
the 18th and 19th Centuries the process of parliamentary enclosure swept
the country as the pressure for agricultural improvement increased. The
open field system of agriculture was done away with and people were
'awarded' enclosed fields or enclosures based upon the amount of land they
held in the open fields. The whole process was controversial as common land
and waste were enclosed along with the open fields and many peasants were
dispossessed of their rights.
Before deciding upon the layout of the new field system the Enclosure
Commissioners for the parish set out the public and private road network
and the public bridle-ways and footpaths. Some routes were completely new
but most were confirmations of older; pre-existing routes. Widths were
usually specified, with roads in earlier awards usually having a width of
sixty feet. Later, as road building technology improved, the width
decreased to forty or thirty feet. Bridleway width was typically twelve
feet although bridleways could be awarded along private roads which had a
width of twenty or thirty feet. Footpath width varied from three to six
feet and again some were awarded along private roads. The awards were
carried out under Acts of Parliament and the award of a public right of way
is conclusive evidence of the existence and status of the highway, unless
it has subsequently been stopped up under a statutory procedure.
Parliamentary enclosure covered approximately 25% of the land surface of
England, with a higher proportion in eastern counties. Other areas were
either always enclosed or were enclosed by private agreement before
parliamentary enclosure began.
Tithe Apportionments
Until the Tithe Commutation Act of 1836 most land was subject to a church
tithe, i.e. one tenth of the annual produce had to be given to the church.
Under the Act this was converted to a fixed money rent. Commissioners were
appointed who carried out a sur-vey to assess the value of the produce of
each field. A map and schedule were drawn up to record the results of the
survey. Each field was given a reference number on the map which referred
to an entry in the schedule.
Where a parish had an enclosure award the church was awarded land in lieu
of tithe rent. In other parishes an apportionment was prepared.
The relevance to public rights of way research relates mainly to public
roads. The road network was shown on the map and was generally shaded in
brown or yellow. Public roads were generally not tithable and either had no
reference number attached to them on the map and hence no entry in the
schedule or were numbered and listed in the schedule as 'roads and waste'.
Caution needs to be exercised with tithe maps as sometimes private roads
could be shaded in the same way as public roads and included in the
schedule as 'roads and waste'. If a private road was so heavily used that
it produced nothing of value then, like a public road, it would not be
subject to tithe rent. In these cases it is necessary to study both the map
and schedule in more detail in order to look for any evidence as to which
roads were public and which private.
1910 Finance Act Records
This Act placed a new tax on the increase in the value of land when sold.
The Inland Revenue carried out a survey of the whole country which was so
thorough that it became known as the 'Second Doomsday'. 1 : 2500 scale
Ordnance Survey maps were used and private land was shaded on this and a
reference number given. Accompanying valuation books recorded the land
value and any deductions allowed.
These records have two uses for the public rights of way network. Firstly,
public roads, not in private owner-ship, tended to be unshaded. Secondly, a
reduction in tax could be claimed for any public rights of way that crossed
the holding and this would be recorded in the valuation book. This may be
of little use for a large area of land with many paths across it but can be
useful for smaller holdings with perhaps only one path.
County Maps
In the late 18th and early 19th Century, map-makers such as Greenwood and
Bryant started to produce county maps. These showed features such as
'turnpike roads', 'cross roads', 'driving roads', 'lanes' and
'bridle-ways'. They can be useful supporting evidence in public road
claims.
Ordnance Survey Maps
The earliest OS maps are the one inch to one mile maps of 1831 In the
1880s the first twenty-five inch to one mile maps were produced and the
second edition of the 1900s is considered one of the finest pieces of
cartography that the OS has ever produced.
OS maps are not held to be evidence of the existence of public rights of
way but can be useful to establish the existence of a path, its route and
its width.
Other records include highway board minutes, urban and rural district
council minutes, parish council records and the County Council's own
minutes and files. Deeds, leases and conveyances can also be useful.
In all documentary research the purpose of the document, the person by whom
it was prepared, and the custody in which it has been kept must all be
taken into consideration. If, in a document, a person admits something
which is against his interest, e.g. the existence of a public footpath
across a property, then that is something which would carry some weight. If
on the other hand a person fails to mention a public right of way then that
might mean that there is no right of way or it might mean that the person
simply failed to mention or acknowledge it.
End
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Date: Sat, 10 May 1997 08:10:49 -0400
From: Chris Marsden <Byway@compuserve.com>
Subject: N. Yorks UCRs
This is apalling.
Simply ask for their evidence, or sight of the 116s within 30 days.......
I hope to be able to look forward to seeing headlines in a user magazine
shortly:
"350 UCRs declared vehicular by users"
&
"User Unblock 15 UCRs and are likely to be used"
Chris
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Date: Sat, 10 May 1997 15:29:26 +0100
From: William Richards <bigbill@zetnet.co.uk>
Subject: Re: PC for Bill Riley.
In message <970509180125_1556454547@emout05.mail.aol.com>
Charlietrf@aol.com writes:
> An ace idea! I'm prepared to donate.
> It might be worth considering who else it might be poor and deserving, and of
> use to our cause.
> Regards
> Charlie Morriss
I seem to remember Dave clegg(TRF) trying to get rid of a computer
for free.....
Yes here it is in TRAIL 223 (March 97)
Amstrad PC1640 20mb HD 5 1/4" floppy EGA monitor & star 9pin printer.
Perhaps someone out there might know if its suitable, or could be so modified ?
OK Iknow the HD isn`t very big, the floppy needs changing, needs a modem but
That wouldn`t cost the earth.
May be worth a phone call.
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