DL David Lovelace Archive Herefordshire landscape history

Research agenda

Identified priorities for georectification, digitisation, and historical research.

Georectify and publish historic maps

Tithe, Bryant, OS, woodland, and River Wye material where spatial context enables comparison with current landscape data.

Digitise boundaries, field names, and apportionments

Convert maps into polygons and tables linked to ownership, tenancy, land use, and ecological change.

Transcribe and interpret public records

Transcribe scans and early modern records into cited, searchable research material.

Build research questions

Study landscape change, woodland persistence, river management, field systems, conservation practice, and local governance.

Conference talks & presentations

Technical presentations and talk outlines detailing the FOSS toolchain, QGIS georectification workflows, PMTiles web mapping, and DuckDB-WASM index search.

View talks & presentations →

Royal Commission parish index

The 1930s RCHME survey of Herefordshire has been digitised by British History Online. Browse the parish-by-parish inventory with links to the published volumes.

View parish index →

Dataset-specific next steps

Herefordshire Tithe Maps

  • Create parish-level inventory with image counts, map status, and apportionment availability.
  • Publish first curated PMTiles release assets for selected georeferenced maps.
  • Digitise field boundaries and link polygons to apportionment rows.
  • Document georectification confidence and known distortions.

Historic Aerial Photography

  • Add additional aerial photo sets (NMRC, RAF, Aerofilms).
  • Create thumbnail gallery for non-georeferenced photos.

Habitat and Hedgerow Surveys

  • Identify canonical spreadsheets/databases and separate them from duplicated exports.
  • Convert priority vector layers to GeoPackage and simplified GeoJSON.
  • Document sensitive ecological records before public release.
  • Create a timeline of survey methods and organisational context.

Public Records and Exchequer Material

  • Inventory record references and image sequences.
  • Prioritise transcription and translation tasks.
  • Link references to parishes, estates, fields, and people where possible.
  • Define citation and rights guidance for public use.

Woodland and 1948 Landscape Survey Material

  • Clarify which source files correspond to 1948 survey evidence versus later derived mapping.
  • Convert suitable raster layers to PMTiles or COGs.
  • Publish a woodland-change research brief.
  • Cross-reference with aerial photography and tithe-era woodland boundaries.

Royal Commission and Parish Survey Material

  • Split the broad History folder into coherent public collection records.
  • Create parish-level index pages.
  • Identify high-value documents for transcription and geocoding.
  • Connect survey records to map and aerial-photo evidence.

River Wye and NRA Archive

  • Create a River Wye sub-catalog by place and record type.
  • Georeference bridge, flood, and river-plan material.
  • Build a research timeline linking flood events, infrastructure, and land management.
  • Prepare public download bundles for cleaned metadata.

Historic Hereford Maps

  • Add contextual text about each map cartographer and survey method.
  • Cross-reference with modern Hereford city boundaries.
  • Link to related archive material (tithe, OS, aerial).

Historic Aerial Photography

  • Add RAF 1946 Hereford coverage.
  • Curate additional aerial photo sets from AirPhotos folders.
  • Create sample thumbnail gallery for non-georeferenced photos.

Luftwaffe Aerial Photography

  • Georeference Luftwaffe photos where possible.
  • Cross-reference with known RAF and NMRC aerial coverage.
  • Add contextual metadata about each mission and target area.