“Early British Trackways, Moats, Mounds, Camps, and Sites,” being a lecture given to the Woolhope Naturalists’ Field Club, at Hereford, September, 1921, by Alfred Watkins, Fellow and Progress Medallist (for 1910) of the Royal Photographic Society, Past President (1919) of the Woolhope Club. (Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent, and Co., London; price 4s. 6d.)
The above is a reproduction in attractive book form of the remarkable lecture Mr. Alfred Watkins gave to the Woolhope Club, but the book has the additional advantage of much new matter and a wonderful series of fine photographs taken by the author.
Mr. Watkins waxes very enthusiastic over his subject, which he describes as a big discovery, and his theory of sighting points and leys is well worth studying. The idea occurred to Mr. Watkins quite accidentally, and he followed it up with most interesting results.
Mr. Watkins has found evidence that prehistoric tracks were in straight lines sighted from mountain heights, and that all mounds (tumuli) and moats in the West Midland districts are marking or sighting points on those lines; also that all camps, churches, castles and crosses (if of ancient date) were afterwards placed upon those sighted lines.
The use of the word “ley” (lay) is quite common in its original sense even to-day. The expression “get the lay of the land”—that is, find out how the land lies (ley)—is frequently heard in Herefordshire and other districts, whilst the word ley in place names is remarkably common being found in The Ley, Weobley, Bitterley, Eardisley, Bewdley Pitch, and scores of others.
Source info: MS note by AW “Hereford Journal Mar 18 1922”.