12 
PHOTOGRAPHIC SURVEY OF WARWICKSHIRE. 
Jan., 1890. 
The County of Warwick. 
Let me first endeavour, then, to give you a brief descrip¬ 
tion of the proposed subject of our photographic survey, in 
order that you may see how worthy it is of your best energies, 
your utmost exertions. As Wordsworth writes :— 
Come forth into the light of things, 
Let Nature be your teacher. 
“ Woody Warwickshire ”—“ that shire which we the heart 
of England well may call,”*—lies truly in the very centre of 
the land ; for lines drawn from Berwick-on-Tweed to the Isle 
of Wight, from Dover to the Isle of Anglesey, and from the 
Severn to the Humber, all intersect in this central county. 
And Warwickshire forms the watershed, as well as the centre 
of England. Its southern stream—“ the soft-flowing Avon” 
—passes to the south-west to join the Severn at Tewkesbury ; 
while its northern stream—the Tame with its tributaries, the 
Kea, Cole, Blythe, etc., runs north-east into the Trent, and 
so ultimately mingles its waters with those of the German 
Ocean. In places, the banks of these streams are beautifully 
wooded (the Cole, for example), affording the most delicious 
“ peeps” as the river meanders ; while they are often crossed 
by old-fashioned bridges, and lined by gnarled willows and 
osier-beds. 
Nowhere does the surface of Warwickshire attain to any 
great elevation. In the north-east of the county the Harts- 
liill range, which extends from Atherstone to Nuneaton, 
does not exceed 600 feet in height, while the Edge Hill 
range in the south-east barely attains 800 feet. 
The area of Warwickshire is 897 square miles, and its 
population about three-quarters of a million. Panoramic 
views, embracing large areas, should be taken from all the 
principal elevations, and from cliurcli-towers, etc. In such 
work, the lighting must be carefully studied; and the use of 
ortho chromatic plates, aided by a yellow screen, will some¬ 
times be found an advantage, doing away with the misty or 
hazy effect, which in this climate almost invariably envelops 
distant objects. Such “haze effects” are often invaluable 
to the photographer in giving the idea of distance ; but when 
the object is to get a panoramic map, it is well to be able to 
remove the hazy appearance at will. 
The most marked feature of the county of Warwick at the 
present day is the prevalence of woods and forests. Fine 
parks containing much magnificent timber abound, and 
include about fourteen deer-parks. The hedge-rows every- 
* Michael Drayton, in the “ Polyolbion,” xiii. 
