Medieval English Roads

Whilst we are making our way on the pilgrimage around medieval Marian shrines, not to mention following a very idiosyncratic route, we might feel it useful to have a road map. If we do then we might feel like eschewing Sat-Nav, online maps, Google Earth or even a standard motoring artlas. The answer is, of course, the Gough Map.

The Gough Map in the Bodleian is the most detailed map of the British Isles, and in particular of England and Wales, to survive from the later medieval period. It was, fortuitously, rescued by the antiquarian Richard Gough - hence its name - in the eighteenth century. The argument I have heard is that it was mounted on a board which was hinged to the wall of the Star Chamber so it could be consulted during Council meetings.

Medievalists.net has an article summering a recent research paper, which it links to, about the red lines indicating roads on the Gough Map. It has sought to identify which were Roman roads that were then, and probably still are, in use, and those which were created in the medieval centuries, though which might be much older. A third category are those which cannot be identified before the mid-sixteenth century but which were quite probably in existence long beforehand.

This is interesting, and rather confirms what a knowledge of local history for any particular place or locality would indicate. The road building of the later eighteenth and earlier nineteenth centuries had a huge impact, often completely reordering our perceptions about towns and villages, and the links between the. That, of course, is before the landscape was ripped apart by motorways….

Rivers were an important feature to the Gough cartographer, and it is important to remember that, particularly in eastern, lowland England rivers were important both for carrying heavy goods, including stone for building, but also people. Royalty, nobility and doubtless others used the rivers for speedy travel and, probably,

comfort. 

One thing that slightly surprised me was the attribution of the Gough Map to the fifteenth century or more precisely 1390-1410. I had been brought up to date it to the period 1360-75. Wikipedia outlines the discussion, with relevant links, at Gough Map

The article, and links to the academic paper and more about the Gough Map, can all be accessed at Medieval England’s Road Network Mapped Using the Gough Map

New research on the Gough Map

I recently saw on the Bodleian website a piece about the latest research into the Gough Map - about which I have posted before in 2011 with The Gough Map on display - and which is a remarkable example of mid-fourteenth century cartography showing Great Britain and neighbouring coasts, with cities and towns together with the principal routes and rivers in England, and useful information that "Hic habeundant Lupes", together with a drawing of a wolf, in the Scottish Highlands. There is an online introduction to the map, its date and sources at Gough Map.

The new report can be viewed at Scientific analysis helps team explore mysteries of medieval Gough Map

The Gough Map - a modern reproduction of the original

Image:geog.port.ac.uk

The Gough Map on display

Going into the Bodleian this morning I found that the Gough map, the oldest road map of Britain, and dating from 1355-66, is on display in the Proscholium until June 26th. The map depicts Great Britain and its off shore islands, the east coast of Ireland, the Channel Islands and the coast of Europe from Denmark to France.

The Gough Map
Scotland is to the left, East Anglia and Kent to the top right

The exhibition entitled “Linguistic geographies: three centuries of language, script and cartography in the Gough map of Great Britain” is a rare public display of the map, together with a copy of Richard Gough’s ‘British Topography’ and its engraving of the map that gained his name. It was Gough who bought the map for 2/6 in 1774 and presented it to the Bodleian in 1809.

This display provides visitors with a valuable opportunity to see close-up the fine details of the map, and in particular the writing that appears on it. The map’s script is a key to understanding its making and use, and the exhibition will offer new interpretations based upon the on-going “Linguistic Geographies” research project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The evidence indiactes a retouching of the map in the early fifteenth century, suggesting a contemporary awareness of its importance.

The Bodleian map room's illustrated description of the map can be read here, and there is an article about the map from Oxford Today available here which provides a good introduction and discussion as to how it was made. The modern task of conserving it is described here.

The map is a wonderful insight into the world of the mid fourteenth century, of the relative importtance of cities and towns, of the extent of geographical knowledge and miscellaneous information. Thus Brutus' landing at Totnes is recorded, as well as the fact that in the Scottish Highlands "Hic habundant lupes"is written alongside a drawing of a wolf. I remember buying an Ordnance Survey copy as a boy and poring over it, identifying places and appreciating the extent of the knowledge which had created it.

One explanation for the creation of the map is that it was made for the Council chamber at Westminster as a reference work - which once more is a reminder of the sophistication of English medieval government.

Detail showing the area around Oxford.
Oxford is at the bottom left, with Abingdon to the right.
Wallingford is between and above them, with Reading at the top.
The rivers are shown in green, and roads or distances by the red lines.

If you are in Oxford this display of this great national treasure is well worth seeing - and in the same set of buildings as the major exhibition Manifold Greatness: Oxford and the Making of the King James Bible, which is on until September 4th. I have not got in to see that yet but will post about it whenI have done so. There is meanwhile a way to Visit the exhibition online.