PAROCHIAL SURVEYS AND RETURNS

Repository	Somerset Heritage Centre
Reference number	A/AGH
Description	This collection chiefly comprises parochial returns made to two county-wide surveys undertaken by Dr H E Bracey and Dr E A Mills respectively in 1947 and 1980. Dr Bracey's survey formed part of wider researches which included similar surveys for the counties of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. The survey returns for those two counties were subsequently destroyed by Dr Bracey, and only his published work based on the returns has survived. The Somerset survey formed the basis of numerous papers by Dr Bracey published in learned journals, and the survival of the returns themselves is owing to Professor Peter Haggett of Bristol University who urged their preservation. Dr Elizabeth Mills undertook her comparable survey of the county in 1980, and used data from both sets of returns in writing 'Changes in the Service Function of Somerset Villages 1947-80.' These surveys both focus on the amenities and facilities available in the parish, the transport infrastructure, housing, social life, etc.
Date	1950-1985
Access status	Open
Level	Collection
Related material	For unpublished PhD thesis, University of Bristol, see 2/5 below.

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