Famously much of England was subject to a survey commissioned in 1085 by William I to ascertain the value of the lands he acquired by conquest in 1066. The Great Survey examined 13,418 places across England and was published in the ‘Domesday Book’, so named because the value of everything was included and the analysis could not be challenged, just as those subject to the survey imagined their souls to be judged on their final day of reckoning (Revelations 11 18). To this day, Doomsday remains an admissible legal proof. The survey was carried out by royal officers (legati) who convened local inquiries in each county to which the local lords and representatives were summoned. In this regard I do not think that the compilation of the Domesday survey can be regarded as a ‘land referencing’ exercise as there were no on-site inspections, the purpose was principally one of valuation, and those carrying out the work had the advantage of compunction to require those subject to the survey to cooperate. Instead I prefer to think of those surveying the land for canals as being the first land referencers, not the legati.
The first Act of Parliament for a navigational improvement was in 1425. This was for the improvement of the River Lea, a tributary of the Thames. But it wasn’t until 1515, when the City of Canterbury was granted Parliamentary powers for whole new navigation (an extension of the River Stour), that a proper land referencing exercise was required to acquire land for an infrastructure project. This was followed by the Exeter Canal authorized by Act of Parliament 1536. This was dug by hand so wasn’t completed for 27 years. After that the canal network gradually expanded with 29 navigation improvements authorized in the 16th and 17th centuries, encouraged by the ability of one horse-drawn canal barge being able to carry about thirty tonnes at a time, faster than the road transport of the time and at only half the cost. These advantages helped facilitate the Industrial Revolution which in turn fuelled the demand for more canals with most of the UK’s network built in the ‘golden age’ of canals between the 1770s and 1830s with over 4 000 miles of canals constructed. (Interestingly, it was the examination of the layers of bedrock excavated for canal cuttings by William Smith that gave rise to the modern science of geology.)
The canals were of course rapidly replaced by railways with the first passenger train in 1825. ‘Railway mania’ quickly followed. Today Parliamentarians might complain about the volume of work in considering just one HS2 Bill but in 1846 alone Parliament passed no fewer than 272 Railways Acts. It was during this period of frenzied activity that land referencing as we know it today really became a recognized profession with a standardized approach. Today’s Parliamentary Standing Orders are little changed from those in place at the end of the 18th century and if you look at historic Railways Acts you will see that the layouts of the book of reference, plans and schedules are pretty identical to today’s, although the earlier ones will be handwritten.
I remember when I started out I was given a guide published by Vacher dating from about 1890 about how to go about my work and was told the requirements were little changed. It includes this section:
“AS TO THE COURSE OF PROCEEDING. As, from the delay of the Surveys and other causes, the utmost exertion and diligence will be necessary to complete the Book of Reference, the following suggestions are made: It is suggested, that the parties taking the reference should station themselves at an Inn nearest to that part of the Line upon which they are engaged, and remove their quarters as they proceed. They will find early rising very important, and they should be upon the ground every morning at Seven o’clock, and remain seeing the Occupiers in the neighbourhood until Four; and after that time, they should see any more distant parties from whom it may be proper or desirable to obtain information, so that, so far as is possible, each day’s work may be completed whilst it is fresh in the recollection of the persons engaged.Inconvenience invariably arises from the practice of putting off these inquiries from day to day.Every five or six days, they should devote a day, or such part of a day as may be necessary, to seeing any Occupiers or parties whose residence at a distance renders it inconvenient to see them upon the days on which they were going over the Line.This advice as to the apportionment of time must, of course, be subject to any special circumstances.” |
Wise words, although maybe a few things have changed...
In the UK between 1910 and 1990 there were almost no new railways authorized. In fact, in the 1960s Dr Beeching famously took an axe to the railways, closing 2363 stations (more than half of them) and over 5 000 miles of line (nearly a third of the nation’s network). (Today land referencers are occasionally engaged to supporting clients wishing to re-opening some of these lines.) However, land referencing was still required, mainly from the early 1970s, for motorway and local road improvements. (WSP’s land referencing team can claim to have its origins in Cheshire County Council’s highways department.) But what really got things going again was the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (now ‘HS1’) and the Crossrail and Thameslink projects, which all started in earnest in the early-1990s, which is when a few of us started in this profession.
The major changes to have occurred through this history include the advent of digital technology, which permits the seamless but secure sharing of data, better engagement with those with interest in land, and the ability to facilitate much larger projects in terms of numbers of affected parties. This last benefit is just as well as the scale of scale of projects is another major change, partially as schemes have become longer, and also because the fragmentation of land holdings in the UK has meant that far more landed interest are affected. The size of projects has also grown because land referencing as a discipline can, for the first time, cope with these numbers. In terms of numbers of interested parties, today’s projects can be 100 times larger than the largest of just 20 years ago. Land referencers today are not just part of the history of this profession but are shaping its future.
Next time we’ll look at the land referencing for railways in a little more detail.
This article is written by Ashley Parry Jones, Director – Planning, WSP. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of WSP or SoLR or its members. The information provided does not and is not intended to constitute legal advice and instead is offered for general purposes only. It does not constitute the most up to date legal information. Any links and references provided are for the readers’ convenience only and do not constitute a recommendation of those sources.