4
FORM, SIZE,
Needle cliff, which is the most western point of the Island . Thedistance between these two points is twenty-two miles and fivefurlongs.
The latitudes and longitudes of several points in and near theIsland have been determined by the gentlemen employed in thegreat trigonometrical survey of England, as follow.
Latitude.
Ashey Down sea-mark,Station on Dunnose Head,East Cowes sea-mark,West Cowes Castle,
St. Catherine’s light-house,Calshot Castle,
Carisbrook Castle,
Hurst Castle,
Needles light-house,
50
41
6,8
1
10
CO
50
37
7,3
1
11
36
50
45
37,5
1
16
15,2
50
46
1,1
1
17
42,4
50
35
33,1
1
17
50,7
50
49
12,7
1
18
5,6
50
41
17,5
1
18
25,9
50
42
23,4
1
32
45,5
50
39
53,2
1
33
55,2
The superficial content of the Isle of Wight, as obtained from■measurement of the best maps of it accessible, is 98,320 statuteacres. In this content the waters of the haven of Brading , the
* The latitude and longitude of Cowes Castle, as printed in the Account of the Trigo-nometrical Survey of England, Vol. I. p.338, are lat. 50° 46' 18,'"2, and long. 1° IT' 12"1.That this position is erroneous, I discovered in 1800 by careful and repeated observationsmade at Cowes Castle, East Cowes seamark, and llamble church, with an excellentsextant. As the position given in the Survey to the Castle is exactly the point in theChannel where large vessels usually anchor off Cowes, there can be scarce a doubt that thiserror in the survey arose from the observer having mistaken the mast of a ship in the offingfor the Hag-staff of the Castle , which from its position is seen with great difficulty even fromsmall distances; and the stations from which Cowes Castle was observed, are very distant,one of them not less than twenty-five miles.
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