Carved or screwed in to thousands of walls around the country are symbols or devices used for map making before the advent of the global positioning system (GPS)

Taking the form of a metal plate or a carved stone, these were used to calculate distance and height from each other.

The datum for mainland Great Britain is mean sea level at Newlyn; the Ordnance Datum (OD).

• The first primary levelling across England, Wales and Scotland, was carried out 1841-60.  The first datum was an arbitrary height 100 feet below a bench mark cut in the face of the tower of St John’s Church, Old Haymarket, London; in 1844 a datum at Liverpool superseded this.
• A second primary levelling, using 115 fundamental bench marks, took place 1912-21.
• A third primary levelling was carried out 1951-56.

A Bench Mark or cut mark

A cut mark carved into sandstone

These usually takes the form of a horizontal line with an arrow pointing up from below.

These marks were cut by Ordnance Survey levelling staff to provide a network of points at which height has been precisely measured (to the centre of the horizontal line) above sea level.

It was policy to maintain about 5 bench marks per 1Km square in rural areas, about 30 to 40 in urban areas, and there was a policy to check and renew marks to compensate for losses due to building and road works.

There used to be about half a million bench marks in Great Britain but they are not needed any more and about half have disappeared.

You can find them mainly on buildings (especially churches) and on bridges.

The name derives from the angle iron which is fitted into the horizontal cut to give a ‘bench’ or support for a levelling staff.

Fundamental bench mark

These are very stable bench marks with foundations built to minimise any movement.

Each has a buried chamber with a brass bolt set in the top of a granite pillar.

They were built about 40 km (25 miles) apart.

These are the key to the whole levelling of the UK. They are Highly accurate height stations still used today as the baseline to levelling.

Pictures of the assorted marks can be found here

Flush bracket

These are metal plates cemented flush into the faces of buildings.

A flush bracket with unique number

These act as Bench Marks along levelling lines between Fundamental Bench Marks (FBM)

You can also find them on triangulation pillars.

If you see one,  the next will be about 1.5 km (1 mile) away.

Flush Brackets are a type of bench mark.

Each has a number on it, but this is just a serial number and does not give the height above sea level.

If they are not affixed to a triangulation pillar they are often referred to as Non-Pillar Flush Brackets (NPFB).

Trig points

Over 6500 triangulation pillars were erected by the Ordnance Survey of Great Britain.

Referred to as trig points, these monuments to map making are often found at or near the summits of hills.

The triangulation pillars were built for the Retriangulation in Great Britain of 1936-62 and were constructed from 1935 to 1960.

About GPS

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system made up of a network of 24 satellites placed into orbit by the U.S. Department of Defense.

GPS was originally intended for military applications, but in the 1980s, the government made the system available for civilian use.

GPS works in any weather conditions, anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day.

Satellites circle the earth twice a day in a very precise orbit and transmit signal information to earth. GPS receivers take this information and use triangulation to calculate the user’s exact location.

The first GPS satellite was launched in 1978.

Levelling points we have spotted

Our gallery of levelling points.  As we spot any more we will add them to this gallery, so please keep coming back.

Further information

http://www.bench-marks.org.uk – The database contains records of Ordnance Survey bench marks, with particular focus on the numbered flush brackets which appear on walls and buildings across Britain. In addition, fundamental bench marks, projecting brackets, tidal observatories, and other bench marks are also included, to help give a more complete picture of the levelling lines.

Ordnance Survey – Build your own map

Lost: 4500 bench marks

Trigpointing Ireland - Some grat information about maps and trig points

Loads of photographs of bench marks in Cumbria

Mapping Scotland – An essay in to the challenge of mapping the remote hills, valleys and forests of Scotland

Documents exist which denote a church at Wreay since 1319, in the reign of Edward II, with letters from Bishop Halton writing to give permission for a Chaplain “to attend divine offices” on condition that he reside within the Chapelry. However, a flat-headed corbel arch from the reign of Edward I was found (now above the entrance to the boiler house) so the presence of a chapel or church could date much further.

Post reformation saw a dual purpose building, serving as both the chapel and schoolhouse. Following some improvements, this was consecrated by Bishop Fleming in 1739.

In 1840 the now delapidated church was rebuilt by Sarah Losh, a local daughter of one of our captains of industry, John Losh.

Sarah Losh

Sarah had the church built as a memorial to her sister Catherine and her parents, according to her own plan in the shape of a Roman Basilica, a rectangular building with an apse. (Multi-purpose and used by the first Christians for worship in the first centuries AD).

View from the Altar

Sarah and her sister Catherine went on a “grand tour” of europe around 1817 and the features of the church are highly reminiscent of Italian and French architecture.  Building commenced in 1840 and was completed two years later in 1842.

The church is heavily adorned with symbolic ornaments, carvings and oriental motifs. One of the recurring themes is the conflict between life and death, light and darkness. The chrysalis and butterfly, a favourite motif, is the symbol of death and resurrection whilst angles triumph over dragons and bats.

Arrow decoration of West door

Arrows, symbols of death, feature abundantly at the entrance to the church, both around the well and in the door itself and there is even an arrow lodged in the wall to the right of the organ.  

Shutter peg

A simple but clever piece of carpentry allows the panels behind the arrows on the inside of the door to be dropped down, allowing in light and air.  Note the tiny wooden peg which holds the panel closed.

One of the other great features carved in stone, wood and alabaster around the church is the pinecone, a symbol of eternal life.

It is also thought that the arrows and pinecone may allude to the death of a close family friend, Major William Thain, a local hero who fought at Waterloo and was killed by an arrow in the Afghan war of 1842. Major Thain is said to have sent a pinecone to sarah before he died which she planted in the churchyard. However, the pine tree no longer exists.

caterpillar carving at foot of door

Sarah succeeded in setting many of the villagers to work on her church.  The wood carving around the inside of the west door, which represents a gourd being eaten by a worm (from the book of Jonah in the old testament), was carved by her gardener and she is said to have sent the local stonemason, Mr Hindson, to Italy for a few months to improve his skills there.

On entering the church, one is taken aback by the breathtaking interior and the countless hours of work which must have been involved in every detail.

The tiny alabaster font to the right, has ten intricately carved panels, carved by Miss Losh herself, with a cover of silvered glass adorned with alabaster lotus flowers carved by Mr W.S. Losh (Sarah’s uncle). The earlier stone font dated 1738 has been placed outside the church door to the left.

Alabaster Font

Pews are a framework of oak with panels and seats of Spanish Chestnut. Two lecterns are carved in chestnut, on the north an eagle and on the south a pelican, both on pillars of Bog Oak.

Bog Oak is also used for the intricately carved pulpit, with a palm tree alongside to hold a candle.

Above the arch leading to the Apse is adorned with carved angles with the larger beautifully crafted archangels of the annunciation to either side.

View into the apse

A slab of green Italian marble forms the altar and is supported by two brass eagles, with carvings of Eucharistic corn and grapes at the base.

Unlike most of our churches there is no East Window, but rather an apse with fourteen pillars (sedilia). The spaces between the pillars forming thirteen seats.  Above them are the emblems of the twelve apostles with the lamb emblem of Christ in the centre.

The apse

Seven lamps of the spirit in yellow and orange glass burn behind the sedilia and above these pillars are small “fossil” windows, each painstakingly carved in a different design. The walls around the windows are adorned with decorations of lilies, passion flowers and acanthus.

The windows of this small church total 84 in number and are quite a study in themselves.

In the Sanctuary are the service books for 1842, with state prayers for King William and Queen Adelaide.

To the left of the church stands a Mausoleoum, a memorial to Sarah’s sister Catherine, containing an alabaster figure of her seated and holding a pinecone. This was the work of David Dubar, a Carlisle Sculptor.

Behind the mausoleum is a runic cross, erected in memory of Sarah’s parents. This is said to be a copy of the Bewcastle Cross.

Runic cross

Sadly, we are unaware of the name of her gardener and there is very little published information on the Stonemason Mr. Hindson and the Sculptor, David Dunbar, so if anybody is able to fill in these gaps, please let us know via the comments box at the end of this article.

Losh family burial plot

Sarah is buried along with her sister Catherine in the Losh family burial plot to the left of the church.

To find out more about St Mary’s go to St. Mary’s website