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Estate maps were maps commissioned by individual landowners or institutions, to show their extensive landed property, typically including fields, parkland and buildings. They were used for display and estate management and were fashionable from the 16th to the 19th century.


History

In
England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...
, estate maps began to be produced in large numbers during the 16th century. The availability of new estates as a result of the Dissolution of the Monasteries gave increased impetus to their production. Estate maps continued in popularity until the middle of the 19th century, when large scale
tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in money, cash, cheques or v ...
and
Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...
maps became available. The decline of many country estates led to the dismantling of many of the traditional landed estates in the early to mid 20th century. A few maps were drawn prior to the 16th century, but these were ad hoc, for a particular purpose. Before the emergence of the estate map, manors and other estates were usually managed using written documents listing the buildings, fields and tenants. These were known variously as surveys, rentals and extents. Despite the adoption of estate maps, the use of mapless surveys continued, although it gradually declined. The surveyor who measured the land for the map could typically survey per day and was paid 6d per acre.


Format

Estate maps were colourful and often intended for display as well as estate management. "They were drawn and decorated by country surveyors for the information and pleasure of country squires." The choice of scale was down to the individual map maker, but were usually large scale. Buildings (and trees) were often shown as miniature pictures (in what is sometimes termed a " bird's-flight view") in early maps, although from the 18th century it became common to depict buildings in plan. "Few land surveyors even attempted to show relief; it was not essential to their purpose of recording boundaries and areas". They often had elaborate cartouches giving the name of the estate owner. Typically, little or no detail is shown for land not owned by the person or organisation commissioning the map. Estate maps were frequently accompanied by field books that contained the key to symbols on the map and had information about tenants and crops. Where the field book has not survived, the usefulness of the map is greatly diminished.


Location

Large numbers of estate maps are found in county record offices, having been deposited with the accumulated documents of a landed family. Where the estate owner was a corporate body – an
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college or a City
livery company A livery company is a type of guild or professional association that originated in medieval times in London, England. Livery companies comprise London's ancient and modern trade associations and guilds, almost all of which are Style (form of a ...
, for example – their estate maps remain in their own archives. Some estate maps are held in The National Archives – for example where the estate was owned by
the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...
, or when it has been the subject of a court case.


Usage

Originally, estate maps served two purposes. They were a tool that enabled estate owners to manage and improve their property. In addition they were status symbols that enabled a landowner to display the extent of his property ownership and his authority over his property. Surveying texts became explicit about the need to decorate the maps in a way that emphasised the status of the owner – by the use of
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or depiction of the
manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...
. Today, estate maps can be used to investigate land usage and changes in river channels, as well as in historic garden conservation and other historical interest in
English country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...
s. An estate map is often useful in determining the history of field systems, as it can be the earliest written evidence of the field system in use in a locality.


Notes


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Estate Map Map types Landscape history Real estate terminology Country estates in the United Kingdom