Have you ever
noticed … how St Leonard’s was put on the map?
Just imagine …
how would you draw a map of St Leonard’s?
There are maps of the walled city of Exeter dating from the Middle Ages,
which show how the roads and buildings are laid out, but the oldest printed
maps would not be accurate if you wanted to know about distances. The farmers and landowners who lived in this
part of the countryside outside the city needed to know the layout of their
fields, and some of their maps survive.
But it was the coming of the Ordnance Survey (OS) in the 19th
century which led to accurate maps which showed the layout of streets and
buildings and – as a new factor – the altitude of those important
features. The OS today uses aerial
photography and GPS equipment, but their Victorian predecessors (and those in
the first decades of the 20th century) didn’t have such tools and
surveyed our neighbourhood, and the whole country, with land-based teams.
Scattered
around St Leonard’s you can find one type of reminder of their efforts, the OS
bench marks. But, be warned, they are
very small, and need to be searched for.
Each one has a known height above sea level, so that contours on a map
can be drawn. Surveying teams started
from a mark whose height was known and then used that with their measuring
equipment to find the direction and height of other features in the landscape
from those starting points. Although
there are several different types of these reminders of their work, cut bench marks are the
most widely used and familiar of all bench marks. Surveyors cut a horizontal
line in an upright brick or stone surface, with a broad arrow (like that which
traditionally appears on prison clothing!) below that line, pointing upwards.
The centre of the cut line at the point of the arrow is the height reference. A surveyor’s bench could be aligned with the
cut, and then used with a measuring staff and theodolite (or modern equivalent)
to develop the map of the locality.
Across the country there are about two hundred fundamental bench marks,
which are very high accuracy, and our local ones are located relative to these
– our nearest is at Bridford in the Teign Valley.
Those
in St Leonard’s are no longer used and the OS does not maintain them, and many
have disappeared with the development of housing and changes in the roads. And some are covered with ivy and
vegetation. Close to the village, you
can find two in the one-way section of Wonford Road on the west side – for some
odd reason, there are two within a short stretch of wall. There’s another in the one-way section of Spicer
Road, just by one of the lamp-posts. A
further one is at the end of College Avenue, on a brick wall next to a boundary
stone; that stone marks the former Exeter City and Municipal Boundary (before
Heavitree was included in the city).
That corner was also the site of Magdalen Gallows. There is a worn arrow in the brick wall
diagonally across the crossroads from the Mount Radford, and another worn one
in the stone wall of Magdalen Street, opposite Pavilion Place.
Further
afield, here are a few to look for: in Topsham Road, by the pedestrian entrance
to County Hall; on the Quay, if you stop for a drink or a meal at On The
Waterfront, you could find one which is partly hidden by a large planter. Another has been created on the Scouts’
building, with a curved bar, so not useful for surveying. There’s a second bench mark further along Spicer
Road, by a parking meter, another in Magdalen Road, by the bricked up arch
opposite the speed hump, one at the corner of Victoria Park Road and Lyndhurst
Road, and a further one on the west side of Lyndhurst Road. In Holloway Street there’s one by the Kingdom
Hall.
There
may be others; I have used old maps to try and find them, and the OS has a list
online, which they warn is not to be relied on.
Please let me know – via the blog – of any others you find.
(published in St Leonard's Neighbourhood News, July-August 2016)
Now here is an oddity: this is a mark like a benchmark in the kerbstone at the junction of Magdalen Road and Wonford Road. There is no historic record of a benchmark here, and benchmarks were placed on walls, not kerbstones. So, in pictures 18 and 19, what is the story behind this site?
Now here is an oddity: this is a mark like a benchmark in the kerbstone at the junction of Magdalen Road and Wonford Road. There is no historic record of a benchmark here, and benchmarks were placed on walls, not kerbstones. So, in pictures 18 and 19, what is the story behind this site?
picture 9 |
picture 10 |
picture 11 |
picture 12 |
picture 13 |
picture 14 |
picture 15 |
picture 16 |
picture 17 |
Picture 18- the context for picture 19 |
Picture 19 |
Now - for those who want to look, this is the Ordnance Survey list of bench marks for the Neighbourhood
Square
|
Easting
|
Northing
|
Mark type
|
Description
|
Height
|
Metres above ground
|
Notes
|
SX
|
9208
|
9207
|
CUT
MARK
|
BLDG
THE QUAY SW FACE S ANG
|
7.715
|
0.400
|
hidden behind a planter at the downstream end of the restaurant Pictures 13 and 14
|
SX
|
9211
|
9213
|
CUT
MARK
|
PARA
WALL SE SIDE COLLETON CRES 19.8m SW JUNC LUCKY LANE
|
24.030
|
0.800
|
Not found
|
SX
|
9216
|
9204
|
RIVET
|
RIVET
WALL OPPOSITE JUNC WALL 5 6 COLLETON CRES
|
22.580
|
0.400
|
There is an odd piece of metal in the wall here.
|
SX
|
9225
|
9204
|
CUT
MARK
|
WALL
FRIARS LODGE MELBOURNE PLACE
|
24.329
|
0.800
|
Not found
|
SX
|
9225
|
9253
|
CUT
MARK
|
WALL N
SIDE RD 2.1M NW JUNC WALL
|
39.566
|
0.500
|
Not Found
|
SX
|
9226
|
9199
|
CUT
MARK
|
WALL N
SIDE JUNC RDS MELBOURNE ST
|
19.608
|
0.200
|
Not Found
|
SX
|
9230
|
9210
|
CUT
MARK
|
JUNC
WALL 0.9M NW ENT of Jehovahs Witnesses, Holloway Street
|
21.220
|
0.200
|
Easy to see; pictures 15 and 16
|
SX
|
9230
|
9230
|
CUT
MARK
|
WALL
MAGDALEN ST S FACE JUNC close to pedestrian crossing, towards Southernhay
|
32.251
|
0.500
|
Not Found
|
SX
|
9232
|
9179
|
RIVET
|
RIVET
PARA WALL JUNC LARKBEARE RD
|
7.321
|
0.800
|
Not Found
|
SX
|
9242
|
9230
|
CUT
MARK
|
WALL S
SIDE MAGDALEN ST N FACE PRODN W FACE NO65 in wall overlooking Bull Meadow
(opposite road to Friends Meeting House)
|
28.761
|
0.600
|
picture 1
|
SX
|
9244
|
9194
|
CUT
MARK
|
WALL SW
SIDE TOPSHAM RD 3.7M SE JUNC LARKBEARE RD
|
22.677
|
0.300
|
Not found
|
SX
|
9249
|
9209
|
CUT
MARK
|
NO33
RADFORD RD SE FACE S ANG
|
25.067
|
0.300
|
Not found
|
SX
|
9249
|
9222
|
CUT
MARK
|
WALL SE
SIDE FAIRPARK RD 4.6M N JUNC WALL
|
27.124
|
0.000
|
Found
|
SX
|
9255
|
9156
|
CUT
MARK
|
P ENT
NE SIDE WEIRFIELD PATH
|
6.767
|
0.500
|
Not found - this should be near the Port Royal
|
SX
|
9257
|
9174
|
CUT
MARK
|
WALL NW
SIDE RD 28.0M NE JUNC WALL
|
16.807
|
0.500
|
Not found
|
SX
|
9257
|
9204
|
CUT
MARK
|
P ENT
NO4 ST LEONARDS PLACE
|
30.751
|
0.200
|
Not found
|
SX
|
9264
|
9237
|
CUT
MARK
|
NBM
WALL ALMS HO DENMARK RD E FACE 5.8M N WALL JUNC
|
35.717
|
0.600
|
Not found - possibly lost in the rebuilding of the Almshouses or hidden behind the BT box
|
SX
|
9267
|
9227
|
CUT
MARK
|
NBM
WALL NO1 MOUNT RADFORD CRESCENT 1.5M SW JUNC WALL
|
34.214
|
0.300
|
Not found
|
SX
|
9268
|
9161
|
CUT
MARK
|
WALL SE
SIDE BUNGALOW LANE OPP JUNC FENCE
|
12.555
|
0.600
|
Lost in the redevelopment of Bungalow Lane, now Trews Wear Reach
|
SX
|
9268
|
9229
|
CUT
MARK
|
P ENT
GARAGE NO5 WONFORD RD
|
35.436
|
0.400
|
Pictures 2 and 3
|
SX
|
9269
|
9210
|
CUT
MARK
|
P JUNC
WALL NOS50 52 ST LEONARDS RD
|
33.970
|
0.100
|
Not found
|
SX
|
9282
|
9226
|
RIVET
|
RIVET
WALL NO15 ST LEONARDS RD N ENT
|
39.307
|
0.700
|
Not found - possibly hidden by ivy
|
SX
|
9283
|
9237
|
CUT
MARK
|
WALL
JUNC MAGDALEN RD ST LEONARDS RD NW FACE
|
39.365
|
0.600
|
Very worn, but look hard
|
SX
|
9285
|
9160
|
CUT
MARK
|
NBM P
JUNC WALL W ENT DEVON COUNTY HALL
|
24.430
|
0.600
|
Easy to see - picture 10 (above the cycle helmet)
|
SX
|
9285
|
9260
|
CUT
MARK
|
WALL
JUNC NO8 SPICER RD NW FACE
|
44.123
|
0.400
|
By parking meter; picture 9
|
SX
|
9287
|
9246
|
CUT
MARK
|
WALL
JUNC NO9 COLLEGE RD NW FACE
|
42.114
|
0.200
|
Found
|
SX
|
9296
|
9238
|
CUT
MARK
|
WALL
JUNC MAGDALEN RD COLLEGE AVE S FACE
|
43.989
|
0.500
|
By the boundary stone and site of gallows
|
SX
|
9297
|
9202
|
CUT
MARK
|
NBM P
ANG WALL NO1 LYNDHURST RD
|
35.963
|
0.400
|
Not found
|
SX
|
9298
|
9264
|
CUT
MARK
|
ST
LUKES COLL NE FACE N ANG
|
48.506
|
0.300
|
On the corner of the building near College Road: see pictures 11 and 12
|
SX
|
9304
|
9105
|
CUT
MARK
|
NBM 22
SALMON POOL LANE SW FACE 0.9M W ANG
|
9.854
|
0.300
|
Not found
|
SX
|
9305
|
9212
|
CUT
MARK
|
P JUNC
WALL NOS8 AND 9 LYNDHURST RD
|
40.813
|
0.500
|
Picture 6
|
SX
|
9310
|
9220
|
CUT
MARK
|
WALL
NO13 LYNDHURST RD 2.7M S ENT
|
43.906
|
0.400
|
Pictures 4 and 5
|
SX
|
9311
|
9136
|
CUT
MARK
|
NBM
GARAGE NO147 TOPSHAM RD SW FACE S ANG
|
18.565
|
0.300
|
Not found
|
SX
|
9315
|
9239
|
CUT
MARK
|
WALL N
SIDE MAGDALEN RD S FACE 11.3M E WALL JUNC
|
48.210
|
0.400
|
Not found
|
SX
|
9324
|
9219
|
CUT
MARK
|
WALL N
SIDE LYNDHURST RD JUNC VICTORIA PARK RD
|
45.293
|
0.500
|
Worn but visible; picture 17
|
SX
|
9335
|
9182
|
CUT
MARK
|
NBM
WALL JUNC SW SIDE WONFORD RD
|
32.726
|
0.400
|
Not found
|
SX
|
9343
|
9244
|
CUT
MARK
|
SE ANG
WALL NO163 MAGDALEN RD S FACE
|
54.614
|
0.500
|
Keywords: St Leonards, Exeter, history, geography, beauty, benchmarks