Toposcope

An elaborate toposcope on Beacon Hill in the Lickey Hills near Birmingham, UK

A toposcope or topograph is a marker erected on hills or high places which indicates the direction, and usually the distance, to notable landscape features which can be seen from that point.[1] They are often placed in public parks, country parks, the grounds of stately homes, at popular vantage points (especially accompanying or built into triangulation stations) or places of historical note, such as battlefields.[1]

Toposcopes are often inscribed, and dedicated to particular people or events.[1] They usually show the points of the compass, or at least North.

Slate toposcope at the top of Roundton Hill, with North prominently marked.

Smaller toposcopes usually consist of a circular plaque, or a plaque with a circle marked on it, mounted horizontally on a plinth.[1] They will have radiating lines indicating the direction to various landmarks, together with the distance and often a pictorial representation of the landmark.[1]

A plinth-mounted toposcope atop Lantern Pike.

Large toposcopes may be circular paved areas, with numerous plaques around the perimeter, each indicating a particular feature of the landscape.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Bathurst Toposcope". Where to stay. ZA. Retrieved 29 May 2011.

External links