Maps

Enclosure maps Enclosure awards (with maps) relate to the encl...
Estate maps The oldest known surviving map of Surrey land s...
Tithe maps Tithes, (in theory 10% of a person's income) we...

The study of maps can give a fascinating insight into land use, the development and sometimes decline of settlements, trade and demography, transport links and industry, and even changes of place names. They are also works of art in their own right, reflecting the artistry and the craftsmanship of the engravers and printers of their age. At Surrey History Centre there are a large collection of both printed and manuscript maps. These range from early 17th century maps to modern town guides.

Map of Surrey, about 1603

Map of Surrey, c.1603
Surrey History Centre ref. M/150

This lovely example, ‘Surriae Comitatus’ was made c.1602-3 by an anonymous cartographer, and reprinted from the original copper plate by Stent and Overton, two map dealers, in about 1642. Modern research now suggests that the ‘anonymous’ series of county maps, of which this is one, was made by William Smith, a friend of William Camden and John Norden and engraved in the Amsterdam workshop of Joducus Hondius, who was later responsible for engraving John Speed’s map of Surrey in 1610.

Surrey map, 1603, detail