SOIL SURVEY OF ENGLAND AND WALES: IN ESSEX 361
The Soil Survey of England and Wales in Essex
By R. H. Allen
The work of the various surveys in Essex is not generally well
known and the presence of the Ordnance Survey, Geological Sur-
vey and the Soil Survey often go unnoticed by the majority of
people apart from those farmers whose land they survey.
The Soil Survey first came to Essex in 1959 and during the
following three years a survey was made by A. J. Thomasson of
the area around Saffron Waldon. This was made at reconnais-
sance level and covered the area of the Ordnance Survey One
Inch sheet 148. The final map shows 'Soil Associations' which
differentiate groups of soils in which one or more soil types (or
'series') occurs in association with smaller areas of other soil
types usually in a pattern related to Landform, each of these
associations containing a limited number of types of soils. The
main purpose of the mapping was to investigate the value of maps
showing associations produced by rapid mapping techniques and
in this map appears successful in comparison with those produced
by more detailed survey. The map and accompanying memoir
were made available to the public 1969 as the 'Special Survey No.
2', 'Soils of the Saffron Waldon District'.
More recently detailed surveys have been made in Essex and
these are continuing at present. The ultimate aim is to produce
a soil map of Essex at a scale of 1:250,000 or 4 miles to the inch.
In order to do this a number of areas have been selected for de-
tailed survey to be published at a scale of 1:25,000 or 21/2 inches to
the mile. Maps to be published at this scale are first surveyed at
1:10,000 or 6 inches to the mile and mapped literally field by field.
The areas are selected according to their particular geological,
geomorphological or agricultural significance.
These maps when completed will give detailed knowledge of
all the soil types in Essex and will allow the mapping of the re-
maining reconnaissance areas by methods based on rapid field
survey with the use of previous maps and aerial photography.
So far one of these detailed maps has been published along
with a memoir as the 'Soil Survey Record No. 7'. 'Soils in Essex—
1' being the 100 km square TQ 59 of the Ordnance Survey en-
titled 'Harold Hill'.
Mapping of the Harold Hill area was done by R. Sturdy and
the record was published in March 1971. This particular map is
of interest in that it covers the area to the west and northwest of
Brentwood including the area around Harold Wood, Havering-
atte-Bough, Doddinghurst and part of the Roding Valley. This