>Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 10:11:40 +0000
>From: [log in to unmask] (Tony Campbell)
 
 
               [cross posted by: [log in to unmask]]
 
 
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     A MACHINE-READABLE MAP OF ENGLISH AND WELSH HISTORIC PARISH
                            BOUNDARIES
 
        A NEW RESEARCH PROJECT AT EXETER UNIVERSITY, UK
 
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     I am pleased to announce that the UK Economic and Social
     Science Research Council has agreed to fund the above
     project at Exeter.  Dr Richard Oliver will be employed as
     research fellow from 1st January 1998.  The following is a
     copy of the ESRC press release:
 
     "This project will reconstruct and make available in
     electronic map form the boundaries of all the pre-1850
     parishes, townships and other local administrative districts
     of England and Wales (the so-called 'ancient' or 'historic'
     parishes).  A comprehensive gazetteer recording the archival
     provenance of all the boundaries will accompany the map.
     The need of such a map has been long-felt but its production
     has only become realistic at relatively modest cost by the
     completion of recent Leverhulme Trust and ESRC funded work
     at Exeter University on tithe surveys (compiled after 1836
     in the process of reforming the wqy that the Church of
     England was financed) and on enclosure maps (used to record
     land ownership as the process of enclosure brought about the
     change from communal to individual exploitation).  These
     projects provide us with about 85 per cent of 'ancient
     parish' boundaries.  We will fill this gap by reference to
     other sources, compile a complete map on a National Grid
     base, and publish the map and accompanying gazetteer as a
     CDROM.  This will serve both users who wish to download
     boundaries into a GIS platform and those who want to print a
     paper copy of the boundaries in a  particular locality."
 
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     Roger Kain
     Department of Geography,
     University of Exeter,
     EXETER EX4 4RJ, United Kingdom
 
     Tel       01392 263333 [+44 1392 263333]
     Fax       01392 263342 [+44 1392 263342]
     Home Fax  01395 223754 [+44 1395 223754]
 
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