{"id":3938,"date":"2023-09-22T08:30:59","date_gmt":"2023-09-22T08:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/?p=3938"},"modified":"2023-09-11T08:20:11","modified_gmt":"2023-09-11T08:20:11","slug":"mapping-history-recent-additions-to-dhcs-collection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/2023\/09\/22\/mapping-history-recent-additions-to-dhcs-collection\/","title":{"rendered":"Mapping History – Recent additions to DHC\u2019s collection"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018Everyone loves a map<\/em>\u2019 \u2013 it\u2019s a common refrain and although we’re sure there are people out there who don\u2019t cherish cartographic items in the way that DHC does, many certainly do like to peruse them in order to gain a sense of where things are and to understand the relationship between places and communities.\u00a0 They can also be beautiful works of art in their own right.<\/p>\n

DHC has been fortunate enough to receive several interesting additions to its collection in recent months.\u00a0 These include a huge 1834 map of Sherborne and environs, a small plan of Boscombe in 1872 and a nautical chart of Portland and the Shambles originally drawn in the 17th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n

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The Sherborne parish map, a beautiful example of its type, was surveyed and drawn by Edward Thomas Percy in 1834.\u00a0 It was gifted to DHC by local solicitors Porter Dodson who could no longer accommodate the huge framed item in their new premises<\/a>.\u00a0 The map is colour coded: dwelling houses in pink; churches in black; industrial buildings in grey; arable land yellow-brown; and pasture in green.<\/p>\n

The map provides researchers with a largescale picture of Sherborne and surrounding rural landscape as it was nearly two hundred years ago. The maps and terrier provide details of land ownership and tenants\u2019 names; they help to identify shops, inns, churches, chapels, schools and evidence of processing and manufacturing (for example, the four silk mills); the maps highlight the number of orchards, gardens and green spaces. Outside the urban boundaries, the topographical features include the racecourse on Lenthay Common and the turnpike road system and toll houses controlling entry to Sherborne \u2013 emphasising its function as a market and thoroughfare town.<\/p>\n

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D-3340<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The second recent acquisition is this rather attractive coloured plan of Boscombe in 1872.\u00a0 It was purchased by Dorset Archives Trust<\/a> at a local auction house along with several other framed items.\u00a0 The plan shows a Boscombe very unlike the place we know today with very little development (the first pier was constructed in 1889) and almost no sign of habitation except for the large property known as Boscombe Manor.\u00a0 The latter began life in 1801 as Boscombe Cottage latterly being purchased by Sir Percy Florence Shelley (son of Mary Shelley) who enlarged and improved the property and built a 200-seat theatre.\u00a0 The property is known locally as \u2018Shelley Manor\u2019 to this day.\u00a0 Boscombe formed part of Hampshire until 1974 when along with Bournemouth and Christchurch it was incorporated into Dorset.\u00a0 This small, but attractive piece of local history shows how the place looked in the decades before large-scale development took place and mass tourism changed Boscombe forever.<\/p>\n

DHC\u2019s conservator had to extract the plan from its frame where it had been attached with copious amounts of Sellotape (not loved by conservators!) but fortunately this was successfully achieved and the plan is now safely stored in DHC\u2019s environmentally controlled strongrooms.<\/p>\n

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M\/207<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The third new acquisition, another purchase funded by Dorset Archives Trust<\/a> is a hand-coloured plan \u2018A Draught of Portland the Shambles, and the Race of Portland\u2019<\/em>, late 18th century print of a 17th century original. (DHC reference: M\/207<\/a>)<\/p>\n

It was drawn by Captain Greenville Collins.\u00a0 Collins was an important figure in naval history, being a prominent hydrographer, appointed by Samuel Pepys (Secretary to the Admiralty) to chart the coastlines of Britain as part of the modernisation of Britain\u2019s naval defences.\u00a0 The resulting Great Britain\u2019s Coasting Atlas was produced of which this single plan forms part.\u00a0 It has been enhanced with colour and is a particularly attractive version of Collins\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

The seas off Weymouth and Portland can be notoriously hard to navigate and many shipwrecks testify to the dangers of sailing in these waters.\u00a0 The chart marks precisely the location of the Shambles \u2013 a bank \u2018composed of coarse sand and shingle\u2019 that shifts in size and depth subject to the movement of the sea.\u00a0 Also prominently displayed on the plan is the Portland Race \u2013 the fast-moving water driven by tidal shifts off the southern point or Bill of Portland.\u00a0 The plan marks the different location of the Race depending on whether the winds are coming from the north or south.\u00a0 The plan in addition to its visual aids also offers a written guide to mariners seeking to navigate the waters off Portland avoiding danger and bringing their vessels safely into harbour.<\/p>\n

This plan is an excellent addition to DHC\u2019s holdings and reminds us once again of the county\u2019s important and sometimes tragic maritime history.<\/p>\n

DHC holds large numbers of maps, some dating back many centuries.\u00a0 Please consult our online catalogue<\/a> or talk to our public service team<\/a> if you\u2019d like to find out more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018Everyone loves a map\u2019 \u2013 it\u2019s a common refrain and although we’re sure there are people out there who don\u2019t cherish cartographic items in the way that DHC does, many certainly do like to peruse them in order to gain a sense of where things are and to understand the relationship between places and communities.\u00a0… Read more Mapping History – Recent additions to DHC\u2019s collection<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1892,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[82,206,32,109],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3938"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1892"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3938"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3938\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3945,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3938\/revisions\/3945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}