Forrest's maps: more detailed than General Roy's

A year after the battle of Waterloo, William Forrest’s map of Lanarkshire was published in Edinburgh.
For those who would like to study William Forrest's map in much further detail, Ed recommends a visit to the The National Library of Scotland’s map site.For those who would like to study William Forrest's map in much further detail, Ed recommends a visit to the The National Library of Scotland’s map site.
For those who would like to study William Forrest's map in much further detail, Ed recommends a visit to the The National Library of Scotland’s map site.

Most people have not heard of William Forrest although he was one of Scotland’s most talented map makers.

His maps were produced almost 60 years after Roy’s maps of Scotland. Major General William Roy was renowned as the founder of Ordnance Survey which is still the main producer of maps in the UK today. However Roy’s maps were not as clear as they might be and this is where the maps of William Forrest are superior.

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Forrest’s emphasis was on size so that all detail could be seen with great clarity. His map of Lanarkshire is approximately 36 square feet; you couldn’t sit down in a chair and study it! The maps either came folded or attached to a pole so that they could be hung in a large room or hallway. They were not suitable for an atlas.

Today’s student of the Forrest map of Lanarkshire is lucky as the maps are digitised, a process undertaken by the National Library of Scotland.

I have chosen two sections of the Forrest map of Lanarkshire to discuss. These sections are reproduced courtesy of the National Library of Scotland.

The first is of the Forth area and it relates to the development of Wilsontown, the world’s first integrated ironworks. The map shows coal pits and limestone and ironstone mines. It also depicts a very early horse-drawn railway.

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The pits are of interest as they were bell pits, so called as the part at the bottom was wider than the top. They were about 40ft deep and the coal was taken to the surface by women called bearers.

The second map is about designed landscapes. This term refers to avenues of trees planted to enhance the areas around the houses of the gentry, which took off in the 18th century.

The most significant property was Coulter House which belonged to the Dickson family but neighbouring Coulter Place also had its share of nicely laid out trees, as did Coulter Mains, belonging to the Brown family.

To study Forrest’s amazing map, I would recommend a visit to The National Library of Scotland’s map site.

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