|
|
Article: Maps that changed the shape of Great Britain: geography and maps are as inseparable as history and dates. Over the past year, Nicholas Crane has been working on Mapman, an eight-part BBC2 television series that explores 'masterpiece maps' of Britain. Part one of his exclusive feature for Geographical takes us from the Middle Ages to a 17th-century coastal chart.(Maps Of Britain Part 1)
- Article from:
- Geographical
- Article date:
- October 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Circle Publishing Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
The first great flowering of British cartography occurred during the Middle Ages, when maps recorded remembered, rather than measured, geographies. As Britain was surveyed over the following centuries, a paper trail of maps was left behind. A select few of these maps marked watersheds in British mapmaking--breakthrough moments when cartographic evolution took a sudden, modernising surge.
BBC2's Mapman series looks at eight such 'masterpiece' maps. But how do you narrow the choice to the eight that are best suited to telling the story of British mapmaking? How do you weigh Saxton against Speed, the London Underground map against the A-Z? At the Glasgow HQ of the ...