Maps
Northmavine, Shetland, in Early Maps
(Please click on thumbnail maps to see larger versions. Please
note that the larger versions are quite large to show the detail
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Northmavine has featured on maps of Shetland for hundreds of
years although no large scale printed maps were produced of this
part of Shetland before the Ordnance Survey arrived in the 1870s.
Early Shetland maps however do demonstrate how knowledge of the
islands' geography evolved and how cartographic presentation changed
over a period of some 250 years.
Some of the earliest maps of Shetland were marine charts and
were published by the Dutch. Probably best known of these was
Waghenaer whose anglicised name ("waggoner") was used
as a general name for sea charts at that time and whose chart
of Shetland was first published in 1592 . Original copies of this
are now rare but the Shetland Museum holds a copy. This chart
shows how different a view was held at that time of Shetland's
geography and without the names one would have difficulty recognising
it as Shetland.
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Van Keulen, 1682
Note that north is at the bottom of
the chart & that it was believed that the north mainland
was a separate island!
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Another Dutchman, Van Keulen, published a chart in 1682 which
was clearly taken from Waghenaer's and shows a view of Shetland's
geography which had changed little in the preceding 90 years.
The first charts based on British surveys were published in 1693
as part of a belated attempt by the British to be more independendent
of foreign cartographers when sailing in British coastal waters.
This provided a huge advance in accuracy but the work of the Royal
Hydrographer, Greenvile Collins, was curtailed in Shetland by
the approach of winter and detailed charts were only produced
of the south Mainland and the Lerwick/Bressay area.
At the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th
Timothy Pont, the son of an eminent Scottish clergyman and a minister
himself, travelled throughout Scotland surveying the countryside.
Many of his hand-drawn annotated maps survive today but sadly
not one of Shetland. However there is little doubt that he came
to Shetland although conclusive proof is still lacking.
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Northmavine, detail from Blaeu, 1654 |
His work was published in the maps of Blaeu and Hondius published
between 1636 and 1654 which provided far more detail and accuracy
(although Van Keulen seemed unaware of this when he published
his chart some years later).
In 1725 Herman Moll produced a small attractive map of Shetland
with interesting and informative annotations (although none refers
to Northmavine).
By the 18th century French hydrographers were becoming better
established and in 1764 Bellin who worked for the French Marine
Office produced a small map of Shetland.
Shortly afterwards Kitchin and Barber's map of Shetland was
published in London.
Shetland also produced its own mapmakers although its only professional
cartographer, James Robertson of Gossabrough, seemed never to
have mapped Shetland. John Bruce of Symbister though produced
a map which was published in Amsterdam by R & J Ottens in
1745 but despite his local knowledge the geography of Shetland
which it depicted was still very different from Shetland as we
know it to be today. But it was probably one of the earliest maps
to name Northmavine describing it as "Nord Maving".
An original copy of this map is held by the Shetland Museum.
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Cary's Isles of Zetland,
1789 |
Thomas Gifford of Busta also published a map in his 1786 book
entitled An Historical Description of the Zetland Islands
and this map, which names all the parishes, was subsequently used
for some years in Camden's Britannia. On this map Northmavine
is shown as "North Haven" – presumably an error
by the engraver who it is believed could have been John Cary who
went on to become a well-known map publisher.
With the arrival of the 19th century, cartographic surveying
and presentation changed markedly and the more scientific approach
provided a much more accurate representation of the Islands. The
form of engraving changed too losing much of its earlier artistic
style and it was replaced by very fine and precise engraving techniques
which are demonstrated well in Thomson's map published in 1827.
During the reign of Victoria several cartographers produced maps
of Shetland to meet a growing demand for the information which
they contained. Amongst these were Edward Weller and also the
curiously named Society for the Dissemination of Useful Knowledge
(SDUK). The Ordnance Survey first surveyed North Mavine in 1878
and when the ensuing map was published it took the presentation
and accuracy of maps of this part of Shetland to a new level.
This of course was the forerunner of the highly accurate and very
readable maps upon which we directly or indirectly rely so much
today.
Robert Price, May 2006
We are very grateful to Robert Price, Cambridge,
for providing us with images of the maps mentioned above and for
writing the accompanying text. He has scanned the images from
original maps which he owns. In the antique map world an 'original'
is a print made directly from the engraved plate at the time of
original publication.
Thanks to Charlotte Stevens for the contact!
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