The sum of all these distances amounts to about 4-1/2 miles, being actually 4 miles and 804 yards. There is a pathway extending the whole distance from Blood House Bridge to Islington Common. There are boggy places set down as lying between Turk's Whale and Absoly, and Turk's Whale and Day's Deed. There is also a bog located between the two nearest butts, which must have been inconvenient; also a pond on one side, and another bog on the other side of them.
Two other measurements are given—namely, fifteen score and eight yards, or 308 yards, for the length of a garden wall lying some yards to the right of the White Hall and Pitfield marks; and sixteen score and two yards, or 322 yards, in the same neighbourhood, close by the pathway, and indicating about the distance between Star or Dial and Edw. Gold.
The widest part of these shooting-fields seems to be at about this same part—viz. from White Hall to Scarlet 242 yards, and on to Jehu 82 yards, a total width of 324 yards; and the narrowest part extends from Nevil's House to Islington Common, in which narrow part are both the sets of butts.
There appear to be some eight or ten fields included in the plan, with hedges indicated, but there is no appearance of either a road or a pathway crossing them.
These marks, giving a great variety of distances, from the shortest of 73 yards between Turk's Whale and Lambeth to the longest of 265 already particularised, seem admirably calculated for the training of the old English archer and the teaching him readily to calculate the various distances at any time between himself and his enemy; and it is worthy of observation that all these distances are well within the belief of modern archers as such distances as—bearing in mind that there is no evidence of general deterioration—our ancestors could easily compass, seeing that there are well-authenticated instances of lengths somewhat beyond 300 yards having been attained in modern times without any lengthened special training.
In these fields no doubt was seen the clout shooting, which is still kept up by the Woodmen of Arden, at Meriden in Warwickshire, and by the archers of the Scottish Bodyguard at Edinburgh.
This style of shooting is so called from the aim having been taken at any white mark (cloth, etc.), placed at a fixed distance; but the clout in use now is a white target with a black centre, set slantwise on the ground. The distances vary from 180 to 240 yards, and this latter distance may be taken as about the extreme range of this style of shooting in olden times; as Shakespeare mentions (2 Henry IV. iii. 2) that 'old Double,' who 'drew a good bow,' and 'shot a fine shoot,' 'would have clapped i' the clout at twelve score, and carried you a forehand shaft a fourteen and fourteen and a half, that it would have done a man's heart good to see.' As the clout is but rarely hit, the arrow nearest to it at each end, if within three bows' lengths (about eighteen feet) of it, counts as in bowls and quoits.
When the Grand National Archery Meeting was held at Edinburgh in 1850, some of this shooting was introduced, with the result that, out of 2,268 shots at 180 yards, there were 10 hits, and out of 888 shots at 200 yards there were 5 hits.
At the meetings at Meriden stands a marker right in front of this clout, whose duty it is to signal back to each archer, when he has shot, whether his arrow fall short, or go too far, or wide, and—to avoid being hit himself.
The ordinary target arrows may be used in this practice up to the distance of 200 yards, but beyond this distance much stronger bows or flight arrows must be employed.