British County Maps - What to look for

WALES
Many cartographers did not include individual Welsh county maps in their atlases. Wales was usually covered by a map of the whole country or a map of North Wales and another of South Wales. Monmouthshire is not always classed as being in Wales so very often an atlas includes a map of Monmouthshire but no other Welsh county.

SCOTLAND & IRELAND
The range of county maps to collect is much smaller than England as many cartographers only covered Scotland by a map of the country or a map of the North and another of the South. The same goes for Ireland although there are sometimes individual maps of the Provinces.
Most county atlases include a map of the British Isles. In some cases this can be supplemented by maps of England and Wales, Saxon England and Roman Britain



WHAT CAN I COLLECT?
PART 1
Part 2: 1660 to 1727 Part 3: 1727 to 1820 Part 4: 1820 onwards
These pages are for new collectors or for those persons who did not know that such a wealth of old maps are there to be collected. I shall list roughly in date order some of the cartographers to keep a look out for when building your collection of British County Maps. I keep returning to this guide each week to add more information. WALES Many cartographers did not include individual Welsh county maps in their atlases. Wales was usually covered by a map of the whole country or a map of North Wales and another of South Wales. Monmouthshire is not always classed as being in Wales so very often an atlas includes a map of Monmouthshire but no other Welsh county. SCOTLAND & IRELAND The range of county maps to collect is much smaller than England as many cartographers only covered Scotland by a map of the country or a map of the North and another of the South. The same goes for Ireland although there are sometimes individual maps of the Provinces. Most county atlases include a map of the British Isles. In some cases this can be supplemented by maps of England and Wales, Saxon England and Roman Britain


ELIZABETH I (1558 - 1603)
The daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn	Born at Greenwich Palace, London in 1533 Ascended the throne in 1558 Did not marry Died at Richmond in 1603, aged 70
LUCAS JANZ WAGEHHAER	Coastal Charts
CHRISTOPHER SAXTON	1579. The first county maps of England and Wales. Some counties are grouped with others on a folio sheet. Example List of Maps in the Atlas
GEORG BRAUN & FRANZ HOGENBERG	1572 - 1617. Town Plans. List of British Isles Plans
Spanish Armada	29th July, 1588. Huge fleet of warships sighted off the Lizard in Cornwall.
PIETER VAN DEN KEERE	1593 - Miniature county maps of England and Wales. Areas of Scotland and the provinces of Ireland. Example
GERHARD MERCATOR	1595 - Folio and smaller maps of areas of British Isles. Regional Maps
FRANCESCO VALEGIO	1595. Bird's Eye Views of a few English Cities.


JAMES I (VI of Scotland) (1603 - 1625)
The son of Mary, Queen of Scots and Henry, Lord Darnley	Born at Edinburgh Castle in 1566 Ascended the throne in 1603 Married Anne of Denmark Had three sons and four daughters Died at Theobalds in 1625, aged 59
Guy Fawkes	5th November, 1605 Guy Fawkes is found beneath Westminster guarding 20 barrels of gunpowder with the intention of blowing up king and parliament
JOHN SPEED	1611 onwards. English and Welsh county maps. Maps of the Irish provinces. Example What did he look like and who was he? The various editions of his atlas List of Maps in the Atlas and more illustrations The plates
WILLIAM HOLE & WILLIAM KIP	1607, 1610 & 1637. County maps of England and Wales. Example How to Date Them List of maps in the atlas and other illustrations
MICHAEL DRAYTON	1612 - Strange maps of parts of England and Wales. Example List of Maps in the Poly-Olbion and other illustrations


CHARLES I (1625 - 1649)
	Born at Dunfermline in 1600 Ascended the throne in 1625 Married Henrietta Maria of France Had four sons and five daughters Executed at Whitehall, London in 1649, aged 48 years
The son of James I and Anne of Denmark
JOHN BILL	1626 . Scarce miniature county maps of England and Wales. Example
Civil War Battle	1642 Edgehill
Civil War Battle	1642 Worcester
Civil War Battle	1643 Devizes
MATTHEW SIMMONS	1636 - Small English county maps set into the corner of a sheet showing a Table of Distances. Example
Civil War Battle	1643 and 1644 Newbury
Civil War Battle	1644 Marston Moor
JOAN BLAEU	1645 - Fine county maps of England, Wales and Scotland. Published in Amsterdam. List of maps in his English Atlas and other illustrations Atlas Frontispiece The Blaeu Family
Civil War Battle	1645 Naseby
JAN JANSSON	1646 - County maps of England and Wales plus parts of Scotland and Ireland.

CROMWELLIAN PERIOD 1649 - 1660
	Born at Huntingdon in 1599
Dictator from 1653 to 1658
Civil War Battle	1651 Worcester
NICOLAS SANSON	1658 - Groups of Counties
Part 2: 1660 to 1727 Part 3: 1727 to 1820 Part 4: 1820 onwards