Extraordinary to look at it in that perspective, Tim. Thanks for those
background notes.
I received the two helpful letters, yours and David's, about finding the map
site together, and tried his first. It worked! (Great joy, as my
computer has been playing up.)
As a farmer myself I then printed off the Abbey map and then the present-day
overhead photo. I compared the seeming title boundaries, indicated by
different shadings (ploughed field, low crops, dry grass, whatever) and
hedges etc. It did seem to me as though the titles, the legal ones, might
be the same today, judging from how the farmers are using the land. But I
hadn't taken into account the fenlands as you say.
Here where I live (we Catleys are consistent - this is partly a wetlands
area, too) when I fly overhead I am always craning my neck to see how my
paddocks look or if I can spot the boundaries in the green-brown-gold
patchwork quilt far below.
It is really fascinating to think of the Catley Abbey area fens as they were
and the island you mention. I have driven through the UK fenlands,
further south than that, and marvelled at how the peaty land has retracted,
so it now lies far below the road.
Down here, we have the usual drain/don't-drain struggle going on. The
(Dutch engineer equivalent) local pro-drainers say the peatlands can fall 30
feet, if drained. They are actually soft lands floating on a sort of lake.
I am a don't-drainer, partly because of ecological-environmental concerns
and partly because the Council makes me pay each year for the "privilege" of
having a small wetland area on my farm drained and it comes to more than I
could possibly profit from grazing the land.
LLM
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tim Cattley" <timjhcat(a)tiscali.co.uk>
To: <CATLEY-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2006 1:27 PM
Subject: Re: [CAT...] Catley Abbey Map.
Glad to hear that Davids quick Post Code fix worked for you Lyn.
Am not into satellite technology so can not help you re questions
as to who took the photos.
As for the current field boundaries. I do not think they have any
bearing on the Abbey site as it was between 1143 and circa 1500.
At that time the land on which the Abbey sits was an island but the
Bishops Transcripts indicate that the Monks (and Nuns) had been
given various pastures to use which were possibly on other land
tracts not connected to the Island.
You have to visualise that the whole area was marshy fenland
with the Monastic site built on a low lying island. You will see
on the map that the height above sea level at the Abbey is
just 25 feet!
An interesting project would be to use a much more modern
Ordnance Survey map of the area and join the "spot heights"
together and see if a contour map can be drawn which
illustrates the island as it was.
One has to realise that progressive draining of the Fens took
place through drainage ditches and dykes and pumping of
water over at least 400 years to produce the solid ground
that is there today. Much of it was due to Dutch engineers
who were imported to carry out this work and the pump source
was windmills.
Even today the Fens encompass a massive watercourse of
drainage channels and dykes, the windmills have gone but
the pumping is continued by electricity.
Timcatt
----- Original Message -----
From: L L Milnes <landairwater(a)xnet.co.nz>
To: <CATLEY-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2006 9:20 PM
Subject: Re: [CAT...] Catley Abbey Map.
> The "address" box and that postcode worked beautifully, David.
Brilliant.
>
> What a wonderful site that map site is. I am grateful for the patient
> scholarly work of countless Englishmen, who (as I keep noticing) have so
> much to offer us via the internet.
>
> I went into the aerial photo mode, Tim, using the button on the map site.
I
> see it has been done by Getmapping plc.
>
> It crosses my mind to wonder whether "Google Earth" with its worldwide
> satellite photo images which zoom right down to local village level would
> contribute any extra. Maybe not, since Getmapping presumably bought its
> images from a satellite system like that.
>
> I see the triangular boundary on which the Abbey stood still seems to be
an
> agricultural entity. The seltzer site boundary and the Catley cottages
> field boundary, both next door, don't seem to have changed either.
That's
> judging from the agricultural uses.
>
>
> Lyn Milnes
> in New Zealand
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Meredith-Fam-Hist" <meredith_meredith(a)ntlworld.com>
> To: <CATLEY-L(a)rootsweb.com>
> Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2006 4:54 AM
> Subject: Re: [CAT...] Catley Abbey Map.
>
>
> > I've just had a bash and it didn't want to play.
> >
> > However, if you trim the address down to:
> >
> >
http://www.old-maps.co.uk
> >
> > ...then select 'Address'and insert post code LN4 3TD for your search,
> > then select 'Catley Cottages' and you should be viewing the map!
> >
> > David Meredith
> > Nottingham
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Tim Cattley" <timjhcat(a)tiscali.co.uk>
> >
> >
> >> It works within the UK just as an entry of :- old-maps.co.uk
> >>
> >> If you can get into this site then select the place name:- Digby.
> >> County:- Lincolnshire.
> >>
> >> Once zero'd in on Digby:- scan right (East) and follow the road
> >> that travels out of the village that goes to the village of Walcot.
> >>
> >> The Catley site which includes the Catley Abbey, the Catley
> >> Abbey Seltzer Spring and Catley Cottages are about 2/3rds of the
> >> way along this road from Digby towards Walcot where the road first
takes
> >> a very obvious right and then left turn in a zig zag form.
> >>
> >> At the bottom of the toolbar you should see an icon to obtain an
> >> aerial
> >> photo. The visual quality is not good but one can certainly see
> >> more than just crop marks in the grass and the building
> >> foundation walls look to be quite complicated within the
> >> modern triangular boundary lines.
> >>
> >> Even now, looking at the height above sea level markers shown
> >> on this old map, the Abbey site was at 25 feet and thus with a little
> >> imagination one can visualize it being an island standing alone in
> >> the marshes back in 1143 AD when it was first built.
> >>
> >> Timcatt
>
>
>
>
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