One place study - studies
My interest in one place studies started with the 1841 census at Millbrook Hampshire. According to MyHeritage there are only 3496 records for 1841, which increased to 12,863 for the 1891 census. Millbrook, Redbridge, and Nursling were all adjacent rural communities with very low density populations. I have been following the enumerators described roues to try to establish residences and plot them on a map. Communities were fairly static in the early part of the census taking period before WWI. There had been the earlier mass migrations caused by the industrial and agricultural revolutions, exasperated by the enclosure laws. I am expecting to find some families stay in close proximity to the first census and have a tendency to marry the girl/boy next door. Well, near neighbours. By studying one census location from 1841 to 1911, I hope to be able to shed some light on he social change as the population again starts to migrate again and the area becomes urbanised and absorbed into Southampton.
However, before the first, Millbrook, was complete, others popped along, that needed a similar treatment.
This is a collation of them as they currently stand.
Millbrook Parish one place study
Nursling One Place Study
One Place Study' of Whiteparish
Eling One Place Study
Clarification of Scope
The are lots of complications regarding the concept of place. Millbrook, Hampshire for instance is a Manor, a village, a parish, and a suburb of Southampton. A study can not reasonably be expected to be all things to all people, all at the same time. Hence we need to set a Scope whilst recognising the boundaries move.
For our purposes, as a generalisation, the Tithe Apportionment Maps represent a good starting point. It is a well defined area with clear boundaries. It probably includes the Ecclesiastical Parish named together with any relevant Extra Parochial area. It is a stable well defined foundation in a point in time. It is not confused with Civil Parishes as they were not created until later.
This is not to ignore the time before the Tithe Apportionment, but to use it as an anchor for both forward looking and past.
Fortunately, the ancient parishes were very stable entities so it is relatively easy to project spatially backwards, with known boundary changes delt with by exception.
So the concept of the place of Millbrook for the One Place Study of Millbrook is defined by the Millbrook Tithe Apportionment Map and that is broadly static. Therefore the future fluctuations and splits all come into the scope, including Shirley, Freemantle, and Maybush, etc.
The same principle applies to the other Studies listed above. If I need to create a different interpretation I will either come back here or explain it in the particular Study..
more later