ALFRED WATKINS' SIGHTING LINES

It is perhaps unfortunate that now, many years after his death, Woolhope Club member Alfred Watkins is internationally-known only for his theories of conceptual 'lines' in the landscape. He was more important in his time as a pioneer of photography and inventior of a light meter. 

Watkins believed that his sighting or 'ley' lines were used for orientation by ancient man and published his theories in The Old Straight Track  (1925). In the book he illustrates his theories with examples of lines drawn on Ordnance Survey maps of the period - see the example to the left of Radnor Vale. The Woolhope Club library has at least one unpublished example of these annotated maps and these will be published as they come to light.

His theories did not, however, find favour with many Club members. A number of 'ancient' sighting points included church towers known to have no ancient foundations. This is unfortunate since his basic theory, that ancient man navigated by reference to the shapes of hills and other landscape features, is now accepted as almost certainly true.

1905 OS map Herefordshire Sheet 38 NW Turnastone, Vowchurch, Peterchurch, Golden Valley