I drive mostly in my home area (Berkshire, Hampshire) but
sometimes further afield.
The need for action threats to the old roads
shortcut to GLASS Berkshire info local info on Berks lanes from the Green Lane Assoc. As I'm one of the county reps for GLASS much of this is my work too, so be warned :)The main purpose of this page is to make available some hard-to-find information and documents for the benefit of other RoW workers, be they motorised or not. I've found some good stuff on the web for my own projects but there's always gaps. Click for official info - miscellaneous stuff - or historical notes
I don't intend to give a how-to guide for RoW claims or defence ;
others can give much better
advice than me !
Join GLASS, TRF, CTC or BHS depending on your transport - or if you
don't think we should be doing this at all join the RA.
See the links here .
"Making the Best of Byways"
An official DoE (now DETR) government document aimed at local
authorities, offering advice on managing Green Lanes. Useful to
beat a disinterested or heavy-handed authority with. Oddly this
can't be found on DETR/Countryside Agency websites.
Adobe Acrobat document ~ 60 pages
with photos ~ 4 Mb
These "PDF" documents require a FREE download called
Acrobat Reader from Adobe
Warning Notice
As a kind of follow-up to 'MBOB' above, a photo of a notice posted on
byways by a Highway Authority near me ; I believe it's a useful
reminder to vehicle users of their responsibilities when using fragile
lanes. And might also be another alternative suggestion for a
H.A. considering a restriction.
JPEG photo format ~ 185 kb
[to follow] 1801 Inclosure Consolidation Act.
Parts of the text of the Act of Parliament "standardising" the process
of land enclosure, which had already been going on by individual acts
for many years. Parliamentary Inclosure was about "improving"
agriculture by fencing off the old common fields, doing away with
strip farming and creating the familiar field patchwork we see
today. This creation of "private" lands also required the
definition of Public roads, some of which are nowadays disuputed or
lost. This Act will be needed for reference if you consult an
Inclosure for years 1801-1845. (Prior to 1801 each Inclosure was a
self-contained Act, this 1801 Act set out 'standard' terms &
conditions)
[to follow] 1835 Highways Act.
Parts of the text of the Act of Parliament, dealing with highway
maintenance & responsibilities
1845 Inclosure Act (extracts)
Relevant parts (for highways) of the text of the Act of
Parliament replacing and updating the 1801 standardised terms.
Needed for reference if you examine an Inclosure Award from after
1845.
Adobe Acrobat document ~ 41kb
Binfield Inclosure Award of 1817 (extracts)
Strictly local stuff, my notes taken from an original
parchment roll in Berkshire Records Office. Damn thing is 30
feet long!! Most of it relates to the landowners ripping off the
poorer folk, sorry I mean improving agricultural efficiency, by fencing
off the common land ; but there are also definitions of public
highways, which is what I've extracted here.
Microsoft Word97 document, with embedded map ~
780kb
Old maps I have in stock
Old maps can be useful for showing the apparent 'reputation' of a
road's status at a time in the past.
I do have maps from other areas for swap or share, that might be of
more use to other workers than me :) It seems to be an
application of "Sod's Law" that the secondhand bookshops in any given
area will have for sale the maps for everywhere else, and no local
ones!
Dating Bartholemew's maps
Old "Barts" half-inch maps can be found all over when you look.
There also seems to be a thriving trade in them on eBay
auctions. This is my own accumulated notes of how to
date them.
The Mapmakers ; References
A document collecting together my own notes about old time
cartographers ; if you're presenting an old map as evidence for a long
standing route, it helps to establish the map-maker's reputation with
references.
Byways in Berkshire and the Cotswolds (extracts)
A few extracts from this 1920 book by a bicycling
country parson, who was also Honorary Secretary of the county
archaeology society.
Microsoft Word97 document ~ 45kb
hmmmm .. just like the odometer on the Range Rover ...