I think the answer is not quite as simple as has been suggested. Ogilvy's
maps are unlikely to be the answer as they only related to a few roads.
In the 19th century, the Post Office measured the roads and found that the
reputed distances differed significantly from the actual ones. I suspect
people judged it by how long the journey took.
Peter King
49, Stourbridge Road,
Hagley,
Stourbridge
West Midlands
DY9 0QS
01562-720368
[log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: From: Local-History list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of Lyn Boothman
Sent: 25 May 2008 00:29
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: measuring the ways
I suspect that there would have been a local 'knowledge' of how far
somewhere was, both in miles and in how long it took to get there on foot or
on a wagon, in good weather or bad. How 'far' it was, as in whether it was
worth going, or how long it would take, might be very different in the
middle of a wet winter when the wagons couldn't get through ...
You might not say that it was 12 miles to X but you might well say that it
was twice the distance as it was to Y, or say that it's a day's travel on
horseback or whatever.
Lyn B
----- Original Message -----
From: "Hideaki Inui" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, May 24, 2008 11:55 PM
Subject: [LOCAL-HISTORY] measuring the ways
To All
I would be most grateful if you could inform me of how the parishioners or
inhabitants in mid-17th
century rural England measured the distance between their own parishes and
the market towns?
Regards,
H.I
|