Mapping The Village

Peter Burdett's map of Cheshire 1777 was drawn to a scale of 1" to 1 mile (1 :63,360). This is considered to be the first map that accurately represented the county in detail.
It will be seen that the turnpike road between Disley and Whaley Bridge still followed the old Roman Road (Disley Tops). The road through Furness Vale was not constructed until 1804. The village is shown as "The Furnace".


Carey's map of 1794 was to a much smaller scale 1:360,000. It still shows some interesting detail such as the Peak Forest Canal construction of which had only just commenced..


Christopher Greenwood's map of 1819 is again at 1" to 1 mile and is beginning to look a little more familiar. The Print Works had opened in 1794 and the road which is now the A6 is clearly shown. The absence of some minor roads is a deficiency of Greenwood's survey. Note "Green Soil" in Disley which in the next map becomes "Greens Hall".


A.Bryant's map of 1831 is to a scale of 1.25" to the mile. It was printed in the colours which became standard for Ordnance Survey maps. Furness Vale has grown in size although it is still referred to as Furnace. Broad Hey Farm is shown at its original location on top of the hill and is reached by the track through Longhurst Farm, opposite the Post Office. Brownhough Farm is shown as "Branoak", a name which is still used by a number of people. "Whaley cum Yeardsley" looks like a cartographer's mistake as the name should be the other way about. Note the spelling "Horedge End.  Disley Tops carries the name "Old Turnpike Road". Toddbrook Reservoir was not constructed until the year of publication and as such could not be surveyed.


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