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Research Notes
Map Group WHITWORTH 1770
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Whitworth 1770
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Canal map, Plan of the proposed Navigable Canal from Andover to Redbridge,
Southampton, in the County of Southampton, ie the Andover Canal, Hampshire,
scale about 1 inch to 1 mile, surveyed by Robert Whitworth, engineer, 1770, revised 1789.
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These notes are taken from a plan in the Map Collection of Hampshire CC Museums Service, item HMCMS:FA1997.111.
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The map size is: wxh, sheet 78.5x40.5cm; wxh, plate 643x281mm;
wxh, map 628x265mm.
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MAP FEATURES |
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THE CANAL |
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ITEMS in the Collection |
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MAP FEATURES |
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title
map maker
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Printed across the top of the wide page is:-
A PLAN of the intended NAVIGABLE CANAL
from ANDOVER to REDBRIDGE in the County of SOUTHAMPTON / Survey'd
in March 1770, and revis'd in 1789 by ROBT. WHITWORTH
Engineer.
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orientation
compass rose
up is E
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The canal runs north-south; it is printed on a wide sheet with
East at the top of the page. There is a simple compass rose
printed centrally; star points for the cardinal directions, lines
for the half cardinal directions, North marked by a fleur de
lys.
From my own experience I note that a tall and thin canal map,
which for this canal would put North at the top, has the
advantage of giving more space for place name and other
labels.
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scale line
scale
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Printed lower left is a scale of:-
British Statue Miles.
chequered in quarter miles for the first mile, then in half
miles, labelled at mile intervals. 10 miles = 100.0 mm gives a
scale 1 to 64374. The map scale is about:-
1 to 64000
1 inch to 1 mile.
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coast line
coast form lines
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At Redbridge at the end of Southampton water, the coast is
drawn with form lines. These extend up the rivers and the
canal.
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rivers
bridges
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The:-
River Anton or Test
is followed by the canal to Fullerton, from where it follows
the River Anton, which is drawn but not labelled.
A small unlabelled tributary of the Test is shown at Nursling,
which drains the Ashfield area, crossing the canal to the river.
The:-
Titburn Brook
is shown as a tributary to the Test coming through Romsey from
the east, crossing the canal in the town. The larger River Dun is
drawn as an insignificant tributary from the west between
Kimbridge and Mottisfont - but it is probably not relevant to the
hydrology of the canal. The stream through Kings Somborne is
drawn crossing under a bend of the canal to a bend in the river.
The Wallop Brook at Bossington is not shown; it comes from the
west and does not cross the canal.
The small tributary to the Anton:-
Pillhill Brook
is shown and labelled at Upper Clatford, crossing under the
canal with ponds looking as if they are made by the canal
embankment, to the west.
Braiding of the Test and other streams is shown in some
detail; but I have not attempted to check the truth of its
mapping. The detail of the streams is simplified.
Some of the river bridges are shown, on the River Test, and
some of them are labelled:-
Skidmore Bridge [S of
Romsey]
Great Bridge [N of Romsey]
Timsbury Bridge [N of
Romsey]
Horsebridge [by Houghton]
Kitcomb Bridge
and on the Pillhill Brook:-
Little Ann Bridge
There are many other unlabelled bridges over the rivers and
streams.
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relief
hill hachuring
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Hill hachuring is used to mark the eastern side of the Test
Valley, up which the canal climbs, with some hillsides to the
west. A hill is marked:-
Midla Hill
by Lakeford.
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woods
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No forests or woods are shown, there are none of significance?
A few tree symbols are used to indicate woodland, for example at
Kings Somborne, at Broadlands and at Grove Place.
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parks
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Parks are not particulary marked by any symbol, though some
trees are likely, as at Broadlands for example, where they are in
a neat row.
Grove Place
Broadlands
Marsh Court
are labelled. These might have lands effected by the
canal?
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parishes
table of parishes
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Parish boundaries are a fine dotted line (I think). The
parishes through which the canal passes are labelled by a letter
keying to a table printed lower right:-
PARISHES.
A Andover
B Upper Clatford
C Lower Clatford
...
O Millbrook
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settlements
street map
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Settlements are shown through which the canal passes, or which
it serves closely. They are marked by blocks and groups of blocks
along roads which might become a street plan in a town.
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town
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groups of blocks in a street plan; labelled in italic block
caps, eg:-
ANDOVER
RUMSEY
The large town of Southampton, a mile or two from the end of
the canal, has upright block caps.
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village
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blocks along a road, perhaps with a drawing of a church;
labelled in upright lowercase text, eg:-
Ling's Somborn
Longstoke
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hamlet
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and other places, a block or two; labelled in italic lowercase
text, eg:-
Bolsington
Park farm
Fullerton
Kimbridge Mill
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roads
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Roads are drawn by a double line; these might be solid or
dotted, perhaps indicating fenced and unfenced roads. There is an
attempt to suggest road size by the width of drawing.
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miscellaneous
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mills
water mills
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Water mills are shown along the River Test:-
Mill [Romsey]
Kimbridge Mill
Houghton Mill
and on the River Anton:-
Nours's Mill [Lower
Clatford]
Clatford Mill
Rooksbury Mill
Mr Barlow's Mill [S of
Andover]
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| top of page |
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THE CANAL |
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The canal is the important feature of the map; but is not
exaggerated in the drawing.
The course of the canal follows up the east side of the valley
of the River Test from an entrance off Southampton Water at
Redbridge. It leaves this valley, crossing over the river, and
follows the tributary valley of the River Anton, crossing it
first, up the west side, to Andover. Although the canal follows
rivers it remains independent of them, makes no attempt to be a
river navigation. The rivers and steams crossed are noted
above.
Along the plan there are numbers by the canal; from 1 near
Andover to 89 at Southampton Water. Another short series numbers
what looks like an artificial pond on the Pillhill Brook, from 90
at Little Ann Bridge to 96 at Upper Clatford. These numbers are
not equispaced, ie they are not distances. They do not relate to
altitude. It would be helpful to have the descriptive text
belonging to the map, to understand this feature, and perhaps
other detail. (Nothing useful, like a schedule, has been found in
the HantsRO collection to explain these numbers: MN: 2.2002.)
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canal locks
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Canal locks are drawn by the double arrow symbol that is
familiar today. They are counted from the Andover end, and some
are labelled, eg:-
3d Lock
at Lower Clatford, and:-
21st Lock
the last, just before Southampton Water.
The fall of the canal from Andover to redbridge is given in a
table printed lower right, in feet and inches:-
From Andover to Stockbridge
65:8
Stockbridge to Rumsey 61:4
Rumsey to Redbridge 49:9
Total 176:9
The average fall of a lock is about 8 feet 5 inches.
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canal bridges
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Canal bridges are drawn where the roads cross. None is
numbered or named; the names by some of them all apply to the
nearby river bridge, not the canal bridge.
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canal feeder
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It could be that the pond made on the Pillhill Brook was
planned as a water supply for the canal.
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table of distances
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The length of the canal is given in the table printed lower
right, in miles:furlongs:chains.yards:-
From Andover to Stockbridge
7:7:6.12
Stockbridge to Rumsey
9:3:8.60
Rumsey to Redbridge
5:1:4.63
Total 22:4:9.25
There is a small mystery in these figures; the last unit,
fractions of a chain, are not named. If you add the figures there
have to be 110 of the unknown unit to 1 chain. (OR: the sum is
wrong.)
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| top of page |
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ITEMS |
in HMCMS Map Collection (scanned item in bold)
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HMCMS:FA1997.111 -- canal map
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| top of page |
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All Old Hampshire Mapped Resources |