The Shape of Parishes

The map on this page illustrates a marked contrast in the shape of parishes according to their location within the Vale of White Horse: long narrow parishes are found running north to south across the hill slopes, while the mid-valley parishes are much more irregular in shape. Competition between communities for resources may have played a part in determining the shape and size of these land units. The long narrow strip parishes characteristic of this area ensured that each land unit contained a proportion of downland, greensand shelf and clay vale.

The sharing of resources was also a vital concern to those parishes that lie solely within the clay vale. The map also shows how a number of parishes converge to share the resources of a watercourse (Stutfield Brook)

We explore these ideas further in our Anglo-Saxon Investigation.

© English Heritage. NMR
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