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The Ordnance Survey - a government-funded agency created to aid the military in the event of invasion from France - took receipt of a theodolite on 21st June 1791, and so began the epic task of accurately mapping Britain.\xa0\nIt took them twenty years to do the county of Kent. And another twenty years to do the South Coast. If you wanted a fragment of one of their hand-drawn maps on your wall, it would set you back two weeks\u2019 wages.\nIn this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca pore through their OS Map collection to discover which county has the most commercial greenhouses, the exact location of \u2018Britain\u2019s highest pub\u2019, and reveal the OFFICIAL answer to the much-pondered question, \u2018Where is the centre of Britain?\u2019...\xa0\nFurther Reading:\n\u2022 \u2018The Quirky History of Ordnance Survey And The UK\u2019S Maps\u2019, from Much Better Adventures magazine (2020):\xa0\nhttps://www.muchbetteradventures.com/magazine/ordnance-survey/\n\u2022 \u2018A Short History of the Ordnance Survey\u2019 from The Charles Close Society: https://www.charlesclosesociety.org/files/HistoryOSGB.pdf\n\u2022 \u2018Attacking Scotland: Five centuries of maps by our enemies\u2019 A lecture by Chris Fleet, Maps Curator of the the National Library of Scotland (2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGLxGLaJG_s&t=5s\nFor bonus material and to support the show, visit\xa0Patreon.com/Retrospectors\nWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:\xa0podfollow.com/Retrospectors\nThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.\nTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.\nCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.\n#1700s #Inventions #Politics #UK\n Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices