People in Lichfield and Burntwood interested in their local and family history are getting a glimpse of the past thanks to a new project.
Staffordshire Archives and Heritage service have digitised their collection of historic enclosure maps.
Dating from between 1738 and 1884, the documents are large scale and show the new landscape of fields, roads and buildings.
Richard Totty, chair of the Friends of Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Archive Service said:
“The quality of digitisation is excellent. They are an excellent source for local and family historians and much underused in the past so this will give them more prominence.
“They are a very good complement to the tithe maps as some are much earlier and others such as those from Alstonefield parish cover areas where there is no tithe map.”
Richard Totty
Enclosure was the process of dividing common land into fields. This started in the medieval period but most surviving documentation relates to the enclosures of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Around half of the 200 maps are now available to view online at www.staffspasttrack.org.uk, with the rest to follow in the coming weeks.
Cllr Julia Jessel said:
“We are incredibly proud of our heritage and we have a fascinating archive collection documenting the county’s rich history.
“This is an exciting development, giving access to our collections that will give us an even better insight into what life was like in Staffordshire during those centuries.
“The fact that they are now available online means that for the first time they are available for everyone to see.”
Cllr Julia Jessel, Staffordshire County Council
