What happened to Field Farm (TP7614)

[stripytrigger]

According to a dataset that I happened to have lying around from some years back, trigpointing.uk used to have an entry for "Field Farm" (a destroyed pillar), TP7614, location approx SP074033.

Seems to be completely missing from the website now (i.e. http://trigpointing.uk/trig/7614 gives an error), and there's nothing obvious in the vicinity that it might have been merged with. There are plenty of other entries on T:UK which are marked as destroyed or missing but seem to still be on the site, so I'm wondering what's special about this one.

I can't really pinpoint when this might have happened, other than at some point in about the last five years...!

Any info to satisfy my curiosity greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Stripy.

[andyrandom]

This one? http://trigpointing.uk/trig/7503

[MAC.HAWK]

It's not that. The location is precisely at TP07451 03351. Approx 2.85 miles ENE of Cirencester, just off Akeman Street and a tad to the west of the wooded area at Long Furlong.

I've a Memory Map file that details all the pillars in the UK and this clearly identifies this as Field Farm TP7614. No current indication of the pillar on the OS map so I'm assuming it's destroyed or missing,
I found an image of the Cirencester area 1947 OS map on the web that shows the usual 'triangle' of a pillar in situ at the location detailed above too.

But I've no idea why it's not on the TPUK database though.

[agentmancuso]

This one? http://trigpointing.uk/trig/7503

Yes, that's the one. S2410 was originally located around SP073038, but was never used for surveying and was reported as destroyed by 1951. A consensus of opinion was long ago reached that the mysterious battered pillar discovered a few miles down the road near Whelford in 2009 was the same pillar relocated.

[stripytrigger]

Oh, didn't expect it to have moved so far. Must be close to the record for how far a pillar has moved!

Thanks all, curiosity satisfied

[MAC.HAWK]

I'm perplexed.

So the pillar was originally at point A and it's now at point B.

The database entry for point A is removed in favour of point B. Why? if the historical map (and general identification) indicates the original location is at point A surely the database should show the entry as point A (as it would do with a 'destroyed' or 'missing' pillar) and thereafter someone may (hopefully) give details of it's alleged new location.

It's pure conjecture that the pillar at point B is the pillar that was at point A and to give it preference to the original location seems erroneous to me regardless of whether it was 'used' or not in it's original location.

[agentmancuso]

... if the historical map (and general identification) indicates the original location is at point A surely the database should show the entry as point A

That's a reasonable argument, certainly. Balancing historical accuracy against practical reality is tricky with a limited number of database fields available. T:UK policy regarding pillars that have been moved is to facilitate finding the current location. Most users prefer to know where a pillar is now rather than where it used to be. Had we the choice, we would highlight both locations, but we have no way of doing so.

Should you discover any evidence of an alternative current location for Field Farm, or indeed of a more likely origin for the unmarked pillar a few miles down the road, please let us know and we will update records accordingly.