Agricultural Land Classification Survey for Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex

Between 1989 and 1999, the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food conducted detailed site surveys for agricultural land classification. The dataset likely contains scanned original paper maps, survey reports, and unedited soil data for the Hurstpierpoint and Muddleswood area in West Sussex. It is provided by Natural England and contains Ordnance Survey data.

Use Cases

• Map historical agricultural land grades based on scanned survey maps.
• Analyze soil subgrade classifications (e.g., 3a and 3b) for land capability assessment.
• Correlate soil pit descriptions with land classification grades for soil science studies.

Strengths

• Survey data uses the current grading methodology as described in the official 'Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales' publication.
• Includes subdivision of Grade 3 into subgrades 3a and 3b, providing more detailed classification.
• Some surveys include unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

Natural England / Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food

Collection Method

Detailed site surveys conducted between 1989 and 1999, with data scanned from original paper maps and reports.

Time Range

1989-1999

Geography

Hurstpierpoint and Muddleswood, West Sussex, England