A few years ago I attended the Society of Cartographers' summer
school in Sheffield. One of the field trips was a visit to
Chatsworth House where those of us who went were priveleged to view
its private collection of maps.
One particular map stood out like a sore thumb or perhaps a piece of
gold to me. It was a studio finished 18thC map of the Battle of
Culloden of 1746. I say studio finished because of of all the usual
embelishments one finds on such period maps. However, certain script
contained on the map made it obvious that the cartographer/surveyor
was actually on the spot at the time of the battle or, at the very
least, had an observor there making notes. The descriptive passages
refer to the Scottish Highland Army of Bonnie Prince Charlie arriving
in a kind of raggle taggle and dishevelled manner after making a
forced march through the night to meet up with Cumberland's forces on
Culloden Muir. Various other references to the battle itself make
this map a more than interesting piece of cartography - more a slice
of Scottish history in the making.
Unfortunately, the map is unsigned and contains no evidence as to its
origins. But that does not deter me in thinking that it is not an
original. Chatsworth's map of Culloden is quite large and to my
knowledge unique. If anyone has any further references to this I
would be grateful or if there are other maps of Bonnie Prince
Charlie's expeditions such as Preston or Derby I would love to hear
about.
As an aside I have a healthy interest in Scottish history and am a
member of the English Civil War Society fighting with the Lowland
Regiment of the Earl of Loudoun.
many thanks.......
Alan
Alan Magnus-Bennett
Cartographer and Map Curator
Geography Department
School of Environmental Sciences and Land Management
University College Worcester
Worcestershire
WR2 6AJ
phone: 01905 855183
email: [log in to unmask]
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