Map gives glimpse into Shropshire's past
This giant map of Shropshire dates back to the start of the nineteenth century and has been dubbed the "finest visual record" of the industrial revolution in the county.
A copy of it is to go on display in a bookshop along with more than 100 other maps of Wales, Shropshire and Herefordshire next week – and people will have the opportunity to buy them.
Among the star exhibits at the Mapping Wales and the Marches exhibition at Aardvark Books in Brampton Bryan, near Leintwardine on the Shropshire border, is Robert Baugh's giant map of Shropshire dating back to 1808.
In the top right hand corner it says: "To the Right Honourable Edward, Earl of Powis. This map of Shropshire is humbly and respectfully dedicated by his Lordship's dedicated and obedient servant Robert Baugh." The exhibition will be opened at 11am on Saturday by Ludlow and south Shropshire MP Philip Dunne. The maps will be on display until May 18 and will be available for sale.
As well as the Baugh map, the selling exhibition will display more than 130 original maps of Wales and the four counties covered by the Council of the Marches, which administered the borders for over two centuries from 1472 to 1689.
It includes examples from all the major map makers of the period including John Speed, who drew up an even earlier map of Shropshire in the eighteenth century.
Sheridan Swinson, curator of the exhibition, said: "This example which has been superbly coloured, was used by the estate office of Weston Park estate and is still in its original carrying case.
"Whilst other examples exist, most notably at Powis Castle, the map was dedicated to the Earl of Powis, this copy is in particularly fine condition.
"It is an excellent example of a copy which was mounted on cloth and cut into smaller panes – 36 rather than the usual nine – in order for it to be easier to use about the estate.
"The Baugh map is the finest visual record of the Shropshire industrial revolution, and includes some sites which are only known from this source. The exhibition contains an extraordinary variety of maps.
"This exhibition is made up of examples from four different collections, and reflects their individual interests and preoccupations.
"It includes examples from all the major map makers of the period including Speed, Overton, Blaeu, Janssen, Morden, Bowen, Kitchin, Cary and the Ordnance Survey.
"All the maps are for sale – many of them from just £60 – and there will also be an opportunity to purchase postcards and facsimiles of some of the maps."
