Description
The maps on sheet 4 show the Braunton district as it was around 1840. The maps show buildings, roads (with turnpike roads and toll-gates distinguished), rivers and streams, field boundaries and cultivation, woodland, parkland, orchards, archaeological features, historic parish and hundred boundaries, and a host of small features of the landscape. The maps include a considerable number of field-names.
A special feature of sheet 4 is the detail of Braunton Great Field shown on the sixteen-inch scale map. The Great Field is one of very few surviving examples in Britain of open-field farming, in which multiple tenants cultivated small strips of arable land intermingled in a huge common field. In 1840, the complexity of the Great Field was far greater than it is today and this is demonstrated by the map, which is accompanied by explanatory text.
The maps are printed on a large sheet of quality paper. The sheet is folded to A4 size and comes with a protective sleeve of archive-quality polyester.
The Devon in 1840 series is for anyone who has an interest in the historical landscape. If your Victorian ancestors lived in Devon, you will find no more detailed picture of the locality in which they lived. Local historians and archaeologists will use these maps alongside original documents, and will appreciate the place-name index and the Guide to Historical Sources included on each sheet.
