The Seventeenth-century Maps and Surveys of William Fowler

TLDR: This article examined the activities of one of the most prolific west Midlands' estate surveyors in the seventeenth century, William Fowler, and compared the present knowledge of surveying practice in that period and Fowler's work is compared to this pattern.

Abstract: Despite the recent publication of several dictionaries of surveyors and cartographers, little is known of the professional and personal background of the majority of such practitioners. This lack of detailed biographical analysis is particularly applicable to the surveyor in the seventeenth century. This paper examines the activities of one of the most prolific west Midlands' estate surveyors in that century, William Fowler. Present knowledge of surveying practice in that period is reviewed and Fowler's work is compared to this pattern. An appendix details Fowler's extant maps and surveys.