This area of the website is a collection of information related to the Devon in 1840 map series. More items will be added from time to time, so please consider bookmarking this page if you are interested in old maps and landscape history for Devon.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Check this page first for answers to questions about the maps.
An explanation of the symbols and abbreviations used on the maps. This PDF document is a stand-alone version of the legend which is printed on every sheet in the series. (For this link to work, your web browser must be able to display PDF documents.)
Short Guide to Historical Sources
The maps in the Devon in 1840 series have been compiled using historical information about the Devon landscape. The information has been obtained from many different original maps and documents. This guide gives a short introduction to the sources that have been used. (A more detailed version is printed on the maps themselves.)
One of the unique features of this series of maps is that they show a large number of field-names. The names have been obtained from tithe apportionment documents which date from around 1840. This article is about the field-names recorded in those documents.
In the early nineteenth century, the most important roads were turnpike roads. Determining exactly which roads in Devon were turnpike roads has involved a significant amount of research. The results are summarized on this page.
This page features a map of ancient parishes in Devon. It shows their boundaries prior to the alterations that have been made since 1840.
Mapping Archaeology in the Early-Victorian Landscape
This article is about the treatment of archaeological information in this map series. It discusses the unusual challenge of mapping ancient earthworks, standing stones, and so on, not as they are today but as they were in 1840.
John Wood's Town Maps in South-West England
The Edinburgh-based surveyor John Wood published maps of nearly 150 British towns between 1818 and 1847, and some of the detailed town maps in the Devon in 1840 series are largely based on his work. This page has some more information about this remarkable mapmaker.
Mapping a Silver Mine at Combe Martin
Combe Martin is known for its history of silver mining. Sheet 2 in this series, A Map of Combe Martin in 1840, features information about a mine that was at the peak of its prosperity at the date of the map. Some of the information shown on the map is the result of new research.
This was a separate project that I did some years ago, not connected with the Devon in 1840 maps, but it may be of interest all the same. The project was to create a map of a small area of Devon countryside as it was in 1711.