3-D Stroud

Another happy client today, after I helped him prepare for a few photographic jobs in Hong Kong next week. I so envy him the ability to buy the latest Macs, screen and camera gear, let alone the prospect of a paid trip to South-east Asia. When I've travelled there it has been from my own pocket, but I was able to stay for 15 months, and that was 25 years ago when the cultures were still quite differentiated.

The Library came next as I had to renew books. Whilst there I got permission to take photos of old maps instead of paying for small photo-copies. The ones I am interested in are copies of the 1841 Tithe maps of Stroud and surrounding villages; these ones have had hand-written or coloured overlays listing all the 'owners' of the land at the time. In addition each parcel of land, or property, had a number which relates to the records (called 'Apportionments') of who actually lived in the property and what their occupation was.

This is really useful info for historians, as well as for me. I am trying to examine the history of our valley behind our house, and soon I will re-visit the Gloucester Records Office to find further info from old Deeds and any other sources.

In the Reference section I also looked again at this unique 3-dimensional landscape map which hangs on the wall, rather unloved and unnoticed. No-one knows when it was made, but I think it might be from the 1930s because of the level of detail marked on it. We live just underneath the final letter 'E' of Bowbridge, and the valley I often refer to called The Horns, is shown here running to the right (or north-east in fact) between us and Thrupp. If you have seen me mention the Golden Valley, it is the big valley which The Horns runs down into carved out by the River Frome (or Froom in the old documents). It has the blue line marking the river. All the small thin white lines are mostly not roads, but footpaths.