Preface Pages

Paterson's Hampshire 1785-93

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pages iii to viii

Page iii starts the introduction:-
PREFACE.

THE Author of the following Work, animated with a desire of excelling in his profession, and of executing the duties of his staff employment with that degree of accuracy and precision necessary for conducting the movements of an army, in such regularity and good order as is absolutely requisite for the good of the service; and, as a thorough knowledge of the Roads, Towns, and even Villages of Note in the Kingdom, must be allowed the first essential towards the wished-for accomplishment, he has, for many years past, made it his principal study to attain ythat end. Herein he had so far succeeded even fourteen years ago, as to venture, through the persuasion of his friends, to lay before the public what he had originally compiled for his own amusement and information in business. The success attending that first Essay (notwithstanding its many imperfections) and the reception it has been honoured with from a generous public, has encouraged the Author to persevere in his favourite pursuit, sparing neither pains nor expence in procuring such materials as would enable him to improve upon the subject, and further gratify their inclinations with a new Production, which he trusts will recommend itself to their attention and protection; not more form its utility than the novelty of the Plan upon which it is conducted, whereby it gains a great superiority over every Work of the same nature ever presented to the public, all of which abound with many and various inconveniences: in some are only given the old and now mostly discontinued Roads, described by Ogilby 140 years ago; in others the line of the Road only is delineated, without affording the least idea of the circumjacent country, or describing any of those beautiful seats, and other remarkable objects which attract the Traveller's attention, and excite a curiosity he cannot get satisfied: some who have attempted to remedy the latter part of this inconvenience, often fail of
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success, in letting a traveller pass the object he would wish to enquire or look for, before he finds out, perusing remarks (perhaps in another page) that at such a place he would have seen it to the right or to the left; but having now passed it, may perhaps have no opportunity of ever seeing it again: some fill the pocket of the Traveller with a single Road; and all are badly calculated to assist him in coming from any place, to which only the Road is given.

The Author flattering himself he has remedied all the above inconveniences by the plan on which he has conducted this Work now most respectfully offered to the public begs leave to give some short account thereof, and apologize for introducing into the literary world so great a novelty as that of reading upwards, which however singular it may appear at first view, will, on the smallest attention, he presumes, be allowed an improvement particularly well adapted to this subject, as will be explained in its proper place.

In the following Work care has been taken to procure the most authentic Surveys of the principal Roads of Great Britain; these are elegantly engraved in 360 columns, each comprehending about 18 miles in length, and near 5 miles of the circumjacent country in width; and such seats of the nobility and gentry as occur in tha space, are therein represented, with the name of the proprietor where room would admit, otherwise a reference is made use of, and the name put either at the bottom, or in some blank part of the opening where the refernce is. - At the top of each page is a summary of that part of the Road given therein, which may serve the Traveller as a compendium, or short account of the stages of the Road he proposes to take.

In some instances a road takes such a bend, as if continued in its proper direction, would carry the drawing out of the column; in this case the direction of the drawing is altered at the most convenient place, shewn by a straight dotted line across the column, and the quantity of such bend ascertained by the different directions of the compass on each side of the line, as at Canterbury, p.4, Petersfield, p.32, Axminster, p.51, &c.

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The lesser Direct Roads, most of the Cross Roads, and Roads of Scotland, are described in Letter-press, to prevent swelling the Work to too great a size; and contrived so as to be read upwards, in imitation of the engraved Roads, by which means we maintain a familiarity throughout the whole, and gain this advantagel; that the Traveller and his Eye will be moving in the same direction, whereas, if he read downwards, (in the usual manner) while he is proceeding, stage by stage, towards any place, he is reading, line by line, the contrary way; for example, in the Road from London to Sheerness, p.189, you are directed towards Rochester as in p.2, and from thence 4 1/2 to Rainham, 2 3/4 Newington Street, 1 Key Street, and so forth proceeding forwards on the Book, as well as on the Road. At the bottom of each page, where the Road begins, is put a directing Hand, to remind the Traveller of this improvement.

In returning from any place to that from whence the Road is given, you are necessarily liable to the inconvenience of reading the contrary way to that you travel; but to remedy this as much as possible, the intermediate distances are placed opposite to the spaces betwixt the names, so as to be of equal use to the Traveller, whether coming from, or going to any particular place: thus for example, in p.189, whether you are going to, or coming from Sheerness, it is equally plain that 1 1/2 mile is the distance betwixt Sheerness and Blackstakes, 1 mile bewtixt Blackstakes and Queenborough, 3 betwixt Queenborough and King's Ferry, and so forth. - This improvement will be found particularly useful in the Cross Roads, as by means thereof (for example) the Road from Ashbourn to Mansfield (see Vol.II. p.31, Cross Roads) serves also as the Road from Mansfield to Ashbourn, from Ashbourn to Matlock, from Mansfield to Matlock, from Matlock to Ashbourn or Mansfield, and from either of them to each of the intermediate places; so that, in short, from any place, either in the Direct or Cross Roads, to any other in the same Road, you may easily ascertain the intermediate distances; and, with a little attention, by help of the Indexes, conduct yourself through a variety of Roads not to be numbered.

The next improvement this Production has to boast of is, that the Roads in Letter-press, being confined to one column of

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each page, we had an opportunity of appropriating the other to the entertainment of the Traveller, by giving him, each in their proper place, a description of the Seats, Castles, Parks, Antiquities, Historical Anecdotes, Produce and Commerce of particular Places, together with directions for turning, or altering his course upon the Journey; and so for finding the different Roads leading to his destination, either from the commencement of his route, or from particular places thereupon; each of these Remarks being either directly, or nearly opposite to the place where the Traveller's attention is required, he runs no risque of overlooking any part of them, which may tend either to his guidance or amusement.

At the commencement of the description of each Road from London, is mentioned the Standard from whence the measurement is taken, which Standards, with their respective distances from the Obelisk in Fleet Street, are as follows, viz.

Distance from
the Obelisk
Miles Furl.
1. The Kent Road from London Bridge 1 1
2. The Croydon, Ryegate, and Epsom Roads, from Westminster Bridge 1 6
3. The Kingston and Guildford Road from the Stones-end in the Borough 1 3
4. The Farnham Road beyond Guildford from Cornhill 1 0
5. The Brentford Road from Hyde-park Corner 2 2
6. The Uxbridge, Harrow, and Edgeware Roads from Tyburn Turnpike 2 4
7. The Hampstead Road from Holborn Bars 0 4
8. The Barnet Road from Hick's Hall 0 4 1/2
9. The Ware Road from Shoreditch Church 1 7
10. The Essex Road from Whitechapel Church 1 5

In a general Map of the Roads, given at the beginning of the First Volume, those engraved in the following Work are distinguished by a double line, and the figures refer to the pages in which they are respectively delineated; those to the westward of the dotted line, in Vol.I. those to the eastward, in Vol.II. and, in order to render the distinction of
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the volumes still more plain, that part of the Map which refers to the first, is marked VOL.I. and coloured Red; the other part, referring to the second, VOL.II. and coloured Blue. Thus you will see, by the Map, that the Lichfield Road is in Vol.I. p.151, and the Derby Road in Vol.II. p.108. - This may serve as a General Index to the principal places upon the engraved Roads; but as there are a vast number of other places on the same Roads, which the smallness of the Map could not possibly admit of, and a great variety of Roads, described in Letter-press, not at all represented in the Map, a general and copious Index to the whole is given, in three parts, viz.

I. An Index to the Direct Roads from London to every City, Town, and considerable Village or Post Stage in England and Wales, including the Great Roads to Edinburgh, and intermediate Stages thereon.

II. An Index to the Cross Roads of England and Wales.

III. An Index to the Roads of Scotland.

These Indexes are so plain as to require no farther explanation than what is already given with each, in their respective places; however, it may be necessary to observe, that in describing a lesser Road, branching from a greater, the last remarkable place on the great Road, or the spot from whence the lesser turns off, is first given, with a reference to the page in which you will find the Road from its commencement so far as to that place; and afterwards the branch is continued, as for example: to find the Road from London to Southampton, the Index directs you to Vol.I. p.44, where you find the Road from Alresford to that place, and are directed to look for the other part of the Road, viz. from London to Alresford in p.39. So also in the Cross Roads, if you want to find the Road from one place to another; suppose from Bath to Portsmouth, look for either of the names in the Index to the Cross Roads, and you will be directed to p.37, where you find the Road from Rumsey to Portsmouth, with directions to look for the preceding part, viz. from Bath to Rumsey, in p.24. These references are made use of to prevent numberless repetitions, with which otherwise a work of this kind would unavoidably abound.

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All references direct to the volume in which the reference is made, unless where the other volume is expressly mentioned: and those of the Cross and Scotch Roads, are confined to the pages of their respective denominations, except where particularly directed to Vol.I. or to Direct Roads of the Volume in which they stand.

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Paterson's Hampshire 1785-93, contents
General index
Old Hampshire Mapped