Project Methodology and Background

Methodology

The original maps are traced on to sheets of drafting film and then traced again on to the County Council Geographical Information System (GIS), using a digitising tablet.  Each field and building then becomes a 'cell' into which data can be linked from a database.  At the same time, the documentary record that accompanied the compilation of the original map (the Apportionment) has been entered into a computer database that is linked to the cells on the map.  It is then possible to carry out searches on land ownership, tenancy, field names, land-use and land value.  

Currently, the on-line version allows only basic searches.  The full system (currently available by appointment at the Historic Environment and Archaeology Service and in the future at the Record Office) allows more sophisticated searches.  These can also take advantage of the system to display the mapping in 3D and so bring the landscape of the late 18th and 19th centuries back to life.

The digitised mapping and apportionments will be accessible through the internet, corporate GIS and the County Historic Environment Record.  Digital copies (photographs) of the Tithe Maps are available from the County Records Office (there is a charge for the CD).  Parishes that have been digitised, as part of this project, have a CD of their digital maps (with Apportionment information).  

Background

The Tithe and Inclosure project had humble beginnings back in 1991 when a volunteer in the Archaeology Service, David Guyatt, began the painstaking task of tracing the original maps in Worcestershire Record Office and then transcribing them onto an OS base-map.  The original purpose was to identify field names and field boundaries that might have archareological significance.  These transcribed maps can be viewed, by appointment, at the Worcestershire Historic Environment and Archaeology Service.

The original maps can be huge and the apportionments are unwieldy.  The digitisation of the maps and apportionments will make future research easier and more comprehensive by transforming the raw data into a powerful research tool.  The database can be searched to map any combination of the data fields onto the GIS.  This will enable studies of ownership, tenancy and land-use across the county.  The GIS system will also allow 'virtual fly throughs' of the 18th and 19th century landscapes in 3D - bringing the past back to life.  

Some of the original maps are now in a very delicate condition and the digitisation project will also help prolong their life by reducing demand on them.