Table of Contents

Introduction What is a parish? The ancient parish Township and tithing How old are township boundaries? Boundaries and boundary markers Analysing the boundary pattern Medieval local government: county, hundred and wapentake Ecclesiastical administration: diocese and deanery Parish boundaries in Scotland and Wales Further reading Appendix: place-names recording boundaries

About the Author

Angus Winchester became fascinated by parish boundaries as a sixth-former when he realised that the bounds described in an 800-year-old charter of land near his home town of Cockermouth in Cumbria followed the same line as the parish boundary shown on the modern Ordnance Survey map. After studying geography at Durham University, he completed a PhD thesis on medieval settlement in Cumbria and continues to have a special interest in and affection for theat part of England. He is now Senior Lecturer in History at Lancaster University.