Most of Hideaki Inui queries have arising from working through Dorset Quarter Sessions Records.
My guess is that measurement was from the Parish church and that people had a reasonable idea how many miles it was from one village to another, strictly a 'reputed distance' rather than a measured one. This refers to a country of nucleated villages, so that a parish part of whose territory came just within five miles, but whose village was outside it would be exempt. No doubt any marginal cases could be referred back resolved by a local JP or to the next sessions.
Peter King
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Hagley,
Stourbridge
West Midlands
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-----Original Message-----
From: From: Local-History list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of Frances Coakley
Sent: 05 June 2008 23:28
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: measuring the ways
A reasonably good measure of Crow-flight distance could be obtained by
triangulation (remember the Privy Council directive to Justices of the
Peace in Wales that the bearer (Christopher Saxton) be conducted unto
any high place or hill to view the country and to be aided by 2 or three
local men who knew the neighbourhood - this was c 1570) - one or two
reasonably measured baselines would then suffice to give distances
between church steeples etc - the five miles was unlikely to be argued
about to the odd 100yards.
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