The talk by John Leighfield on 12 May commenced with the Gough Map of England (c. 1400), housed in Oxford’s Bodleian Library and a key early map and how detailed development accelerated in the 16th century. Christopher Saxton’s 1579 atlas of England and Wales, funded by Elizabeth I’s courtier Thomas Seckford, became foundational. His surveys from high vantage points informed the 6th edition of William Camden’s Britannia (1607).

John Speed’s 1611 atlas added town plans and ‘hundreds’. Late Dutch engravers subsequently produced world atlases including Britain, often adapting Speed’s work occasionally with transcription errors. Notably, roads were absent until John Ogilby’s Britannia (1675), which introduced strip maps for routes and distances, reflecting growing travel needs.

The late 18th century saw county survey competitions sponsored by the Royal Society of the Arts, spurring progress. The 1791 establishment of the Ordnance Survey, driven by French invasion fears, shifted focus to official, topographical mapping at a variety of scales, largely ending commercial mapping. The depiction of places like Radley (also appearing as Rodley) on these maps evolved with improved surveying. Today, platforms like Google Maps offer instant global access, a significant leap from the laborious creation and limited availability of historical maps.