[WED]roads/tracks

[Mary Jackes]

I've been fascinated by the exchange between John and Stan, under the
subject of "half a metre of repeated messages".  Historians definitely show
that marriages occured outside one's own village more than we might think -
but what surprises me are the Meare-Wedmore connections.  There should be
more Wedmore-Weare connections because they are both on the same high
ground (I think I worked out from one old map, certainly more paths)- but
no one has mentioned such a marriage.  I'm looking at a map from 1782,
before the roads were put in, and there is only ome shakey looking path
that leads down to Meare.  Meare is really famous to archaeologists because
it is the location of many excavations of brush paths laid down in the
Bronze Age.

I have scanned the 1782 map, and also one from 1822, by which time there
were numerous proper roads.  I have covered the area from Weare to Meare
and Mark to Theal - trying to cover the villages most people are
mentioning. I intend to send the maps to Michael - maybe I should just
offer to attach them to people who contact me (personally, NOT via the list).

Maybe there was a whole flurry of new connections from 1805 onwards - seems
to have been an increase in the population of the villages around that time.
Mary Jackes
Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 0N8, Canada.