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Britannia is the title of each of three atlases created in England the late 16th and mid 18th centuries, describing some or all of the British Isles. These are the books published by William Camden (in 1586, reprinted 1693) and Richard Blome (in 1673) and John Ogilby (in 1675). Of the three, Ogilby's is probably best known because it was the first to use measured distances.

Camden's Britannia

In 1577, William Camden (1551–1623) began his great work Britannia, a topographical and historical survey of all of Great Britain and Ireland. His stated intention was to "restore antiquity to Britaine, and Britain to his antiquity". The first edition, written in Latin, was published in 1586. It proved very popular, and ran through five further Latin editions, of 1587, 1590, 1594, 1600 and 1607, each greatly enlarged from its predecessor in both textual content and illustrations. The 1607 edition included for the first time a full set of English county maps, based on the surveys of Christopher Saxton and John Norden, and engraved by William Kip and William Hole (who also engraved the fine frontispiece). The first English-language edition, translated by Philemon Holland, appeared in 1610, again with some additional content supplied by Camden.

Britannia is a county-by-county description of Great Britain and Ireland. It is a work of chorography: a study that relates landscape, geography, antiquarianism, and history. Rather than write a history, Camden wanted to describe in detail the Great Britain of his time, and to show how the traces of the past could be discerned in the existing landscape. By this method, he produced the first coherent picture of Roman Britain.

Blome's Britannia

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Richard Blome (1635-1705) published his Britannia, or a Geographical Description of the Kingdom of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1673.

Ogilby's Britannia

In 1675, John Ogilby (1600–1676) issued his Britannia (also Itinerarium Angliæ), a road atlas depicting in strip form of most of the major routes in England and Wales. The atlas included such details as the configurations of hills, bridges, ferries and the relative size of towns. One hundred strip road maps are shown, accompanied by a double-sided page of text giving additional advice for the map's use, notes on the towns shown and the alternative pronunciations of their name. Another innovation was Ogilby's scale of one inch to the mile (1:63360). These are marked and numbered on each map, the miles further being divided into furlongs. At that period, the measurement of many minor roads had used a locally defined mile rather than the standard mile of 1760 standard yards which Ogilby adopted in his atlas, thus setting the standard for road maps in future.

The most obvious omission from Ogilby's atlas is the route to Liverpool.

The volume includes a panoramic frontispiece plate that includes a surveyor's wheel being used to measure distances.

Editions

It appears that two editions were released, one tinted and one monochrome, under different titles. The tinted edition was called

BRITANNIA Volume the First OR, AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE KINGDOM OF ENGLAND AND Dominion of Wales: By a Geographical and Historical DESCRIPTION OF THE Principal Roads thereof. Actually Admeasured and Delineated in a Century of Whole-Sheet Copper-Sculpt.

— Fulltable.

and the monochrome edition was

Itinerarium Angliæ or, a Book of ROADS Wherein are Contain'd The Principal Road-Ways of His Majesty's Kingdom of ENGLAND and Dominion of Wales: Actually Admeasured and Delineated in a Century of Whole Sheet Copper-Sculps

— British Library

The book was sold at £5 (the equivalent of about £757 in 2019), was in a large format, and weighed about 8 kg (18 lb).

Successors

A version of the book, "The traveller's guide or, a most exact description of the roads of England", in a smaller format and without any maps, was published in 1699 by Abel Swall.

Ogilby's Britannia inspired and provided the model for Britannia Depicta or Ogilby improv'd published by Emanuel Bowen and John Owen in 1720.

List of the 100 strip maps

The preface to the atlas gives a list ("catalogue") of the maps it contains:

1. (City of) London, Acton, Uxbridge, Beaconsfield, High Wycombe, Tetsworth, Oxford, Islip
2. Islip, Moreton-in-Marsh, Broadway, Pershore, Bromyard, Worcester
3. Bromyard, Leominster, Presteign, Aberystwyth
4. London, Ewell, Dorking, Billingshurst, Amberley, Arundel, Chichester
5. London, Waltham, Hoddesdon, Ware, Royston, Huntingdon, Stilton
6. Stilton, Stamford, Grantham, Newark, Tuxford
7. Tuxford, Doncaster, Wentbridge, Tadcaster, York
8. York, Boroughbridge, Northallerton, Darlington, Durham, Chester-le-Street
9. Chester-le-Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, Morpeth, Alnwick, Belford, Berwick
10. London, Hounslow, Maidenhead, Reading, Newbury, Hungerford, Marlborough
11. Marlborough, Calne, Chippenham, Bristol, Axbridge, Huntspill
12. London, Acton, Uxbridge, Amersham, Aylesbury, Buckingham, Banbury
13. Banbury, Stratford, Bromsgrove, Kidderminster, Bridgnorth
14. London, Brentford, Hounslow, Colnbrook, Slough, Maidenhead, Abingdon
15. Abingdon, Faringdon, Fairford, Barnsley, Gloucester, Monmouth
16. Monmouth, Newport, Cardiff, Cowbridge, Aberavon, Burton
17. Burton, Kidwelly, Haverfordwest, St Davids
18. London, Southwark, Rochester, Canterbury, Dover
19. London, Romford, Brentford, Chelmsford, Colchester, Harwich
20. London, Farningham, Maidstone, Ashford, Hythe
21. London, High Barnet, St Albans, Dunstable, Stony Stratford, Towcester
22. Towcester, Daventry, Coventry, Lichfield
23. Lichfield, Rugeley, Stone, Stableford, Nantwich, Tarporley, Chester
24. Chester, Denbigh, Conway, Beaumaris, Holyhead
25. London, Hounslow, Staines, Basingstoke, Andover
26. Andover, Salisbury, Shaftsbury, Sherborne, Crewkerne
27. Crewkerne, Honiton, Exeter, Ashburton, Plymouth
28. Plymouth, Fowey, Tregony, Penzance, Land's End
29. London, Croydon, East Grinstead, Lewes, Newhaven, Brighton, Shoreham
30. London, Wandsworth, Cobham, Godalming, Petersfield, Portsmouth
31. London, Bromley, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Rye
32. Andover, Warminster, Bruton, Bridgwater
33. Bridgwater, Dulverton, Barnstaple, Torrington, Hatherleigh
34. Hatherleigh, Camelford, Padstow, St Columb, Truro
35. Chippenham, Bath, Wells, Marlborough, Devizes, Trowbridge, Wells
36. Stilton, Peterborough, Spalding, Boston, Sleaford, Lincoln
37. Darleston, Brewerton, Warrington, Wigan, Preston, Garstang
38. Garstang, Lancaster, Bolton, Kendal, Penrith, Carlisle
39. Guildford, Midhurst, Chichester, Midhurst, Petersfield, Winchester
40. Stony Stratford, Northampton, Market Harborough, Leicester, Loughborough, Derby
41. Temsford, Stilton, Peterborough, Market Deeping, Sleaford, Lincoln
42. Lincoln, Redbourne, Brigg, Barton, Hull, Beverley, Flamborough
43. Puckeridge, Cambridge, Ely, Downham, King's Lynn
44. Four Shire Stone, Chipping Campden, Worcester, Ludlow, Montgomery
45. High Barnet, Hatfield, Baldock, Biggleswade, St Neots, Oakham
46. Puckeridge, Newmarket, Thetford, Attleborough, Windham, Norwich
47. St Albans, Luton, Bedford, Wellingborough, Kettering, Oakham
48. Oakham, Melton Mowbray, Nottingham, Mansfield, Rotherham, Barnsley
49. Barnsley, Halifax, Skipton, Middleham, Richmond
50. Meriden, Birmingham, Bridgnorth, Shrewsbury, Welshpool
51. Bagshot, Farnham, Alton, Alresford, Southampton, Romsey, Salisbury
52. Newmarket, Swaffham, Wells; plus Newmarket, Bury St Edmunds
53. Basingstoke, Stockbridge, Cranborne, Blandford, Dorchester, Weymouth
54. Colchester, Ipswich, Saxmundham, Beccles, Yarmouth
55. Bristol, Chipping Sodbury, Tetbury, Cirencester, Burford, South Newington, Banbury
56. Bristol, Chepstow, Monmouth, Hereford, Leominster, Ludlow
57. Ludlow, Shrewsbury, Whitchurch, Chester
58. Bristol, Wells, Glastonbury, Taunton, Exeter
59. Bristol, Gloucester, Tewkesbury, Worcester
60. Bristol, Wells, Crewkerne, Frampton, Weymouth
61. Cambridge, St Neots, Northampton, Rugby, Coventry
62. Carlisle, Jedburgh, Kelso, Berwick
63. Chester, Wrexham, Newtown, Llanbadarn Fynydd ("Vunneth Llanbader"); thence to Cardiff.
64. Llanbadarn Fynydd ("Llanbader Vunneth"), Brecon ("Breckknock"), Cardiff
65. Dartmouth, Exeter, Tiverton, Minehead
66. St Davids, Fishguard, Cardigan, Talybont
67. Talybont, Bala, Ruthin, Holywell
68. Exeter, Chulmleigh, Ilfracombe, Bideford, Torrington
69. Exeter, Tavistock, Liskeard, Truro
70. Gloucester, Cheltenham, Chipping Campden, Warwick, Coventry
71. Gloucester, Ross-on-Wye, Hereford, Knighton, Montgomery
72. Hereford, Worcester, Droitwich, Bromsgrove, Coventry, Leicester
73. Huntingdon, Ely, Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich
74. Ipswich, Thwaite, Norwich, Cromer
75. King's Lynn, Thetford, Stowmarket, Harwich
76. King's Lynn, Gayton, Billingford, Norwich, Yarmouth
77. Monmouth, Abergavenny, Brecon, Lampeter
78. Nottingham, Lincoln, Market Rasen, Grimsby
79. Oxford, Faringdon, Malmesbury, Bristol
80. Oxford, Buckingham, Bedford, Cambridge
81. Oxford, Newbury, Basingstoke, Petersfield, Chichester
82. Oxford, Banbury, Coventry, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Derby
83. Oxford, Hungerford, Salisbury, Cranborne, Poole
84. Presteign, Builth Wells, Llandovery, Carmarthen
85. Salisbury, Marlborough, Lechlade, Chipping Campden
86. Tynemouth, Newcastle, Hexham, Haltwhistle, Carlisle
87. Welshpool, Dolgellau, Caernarvon
88. York, Ripley, Skipton, Settle, Lancaster
89. York, Leeds, Rochdale, Manchester, Warrington
90. Warrington, Chester, Manchester, Stockport, Derby
91. Carmarthen, Cardigan, Lampeter, Aberystwyth
92. Chelmsford, Sudbury, Bury St Edmunds
93. Chelmsford, Maldon, Rayleigh, Ingatestone, Billericay, Gravesend, Dover
94. Exeter, Colyford, Lyme Regis, Bridport, Dorchester, Plymouth, Dartmouth
95. Ferrybridge, Boroughbridge, Ripon, Barnard Castle; plus Ferrybridge to Wakefield
96. Kendal, Ambleside, Cockermouth, Egremont, Cockermouth, Carlisle
97. Alresford, Winchester, Poole, Christchurch, Southampton, Winchester
98. Shrewsbury, Wrexham, Holywell, Chester, Flint, Holywell
99. Whitby, Guisborough, Stockton, Durham, Sunderland, Tynemouth
100. York, Pickering, Whitby, New Malton, Sherburn, Scarborough

Notes

1. folio, about 12 in × 18 in (300 mm × 460 mm)

References

• Ogilby, John (1675). Britannia – via fulltable.com.

1. Camden, William (1610). "The Author to the Reader". Britain, or a Chorographicall Description of the most flourishing Kingdomes, England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the Ilands adjoyning, out of the depth of Antiquitie. Translated by Holland, Philemon. London.
2. Levy, F. J. (1964). "The Making of Camden's Britannia". Bibliothèque d'humanisme et Renaissance. 26: 70–97.
3. Piggott, Stuart (1976). "William Camden and the Britannia". Ruins in a Landscape: essays in antiquarianism. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. pp. 33–53. ISBN 0852243030.
4. Harris, Oliver D. (2015). "William Camden, Philemon Holland and the 1610 translation of Britannia". Antiquaries Journal. 95: 279–303. doi:10.1017/s0003581515000189. S2CID 163181232.
5. Ogilby (1675).
6. ^ Ogilby (1675), p. Catalogue.
7. Ogilby (1675), p. Preface: "In the delineation or decyphering these roads upon copper sculptures"
8. "The First Road Maps: John Ogilby". The Revolutionary Players. West Midlands History Ltd. September 2015.
9. Meredith Donaldson Clark (2013). "'Now Through You Made Public for Everyone', John Ogilby's Britannia". In Vanhaelen, Angela; Ward, Joseph P. (eds.). Making Space Public in Early Modern Europe: Performance, Geography, Privacy. Taylor & Francis. pp. 129-30. ISBN 9781135104672.
10. Ereira, Alan (2019). The nine lives of John Ogilby : Britain's master map maker and his secrets. London: Duckworth. p. 270–271. ISBN 9780715652268. OCLC 1113456435.
11. Ogilby (1675), p. Title page.
12. "Itinerarium Angliæ: or, a book of roads of ... England and ... Wales. MS. Index". 1675. (Provenance: "Formerly owned by Sir Hans Sloane (1660-1753), whose library became one of the founding collections of the British Museum and the British Library".("Itinerarium Angliæ (main catalogue entry)". British Library.)
13. Ackerman, James R., ed. (2006). Cartographies of Travel and Navigation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 51. ISBN 9780226010786.
14. Swall, Abel (1699). The traveller's guide or, a most exact description of the roads of England. London.
15. Bowen, Emanuel (1720). BRITANNIA DEPICTA or Ogilby improv'd; being a correct coppy of Mr: Ogilby's Actual survey of all ye direct & principal cross roads in England and Wales. London: Tho: Bowles print & map seller.
16. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 1.
17. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 2.
18. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 3.
19. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 4.
20. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 5.
21. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 6.
22. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 7.
23. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 8.
24. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 9.
25. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 10.
26. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 11.
27. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 12.
28. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 13.
29. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 14.
30. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 15.
31. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 16.
32. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 17.
33. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 18.
34. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 19.
35. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 20.
36. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 21.
37. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 22.
38. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 23.
39. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 24.
40. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 25.
41. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 26.
42. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 27.
43. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 28.
44. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 29.
45. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 30.
46. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 31.
47. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 32.
48. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 33.
49. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 34.
50. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 35.
51. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 36.
52. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 37.
53. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 38.
54. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 39.
55. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 40.
56. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 41.
57. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 42.
58. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 43.
59. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 44.
60. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 45.
61. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 46.
62. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 47.
63. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 48.
64. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 49.
65. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 50.
66. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 51.
67. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 52.
68. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 53.
69. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 54.
70. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 55.
71. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 56.
72. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 57.
73. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 58.
74. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 59.
75. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 60.
76. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 61.
77. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 62.
78. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 63.
79. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 64.
80. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 65.
81. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 66.
82. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 67.
83. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 68.
84. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 69.
85. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 70.
86. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 71.
87. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 72.
88. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 73.
89. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 74.
90. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 75.
91. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 76.
92. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 77.
93. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 78.
94. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 79.
95. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 80.
96. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 81.
97. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 82.
98. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 83.
99. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 84.
100. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 85.
101. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 86.
102. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 87.
103. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 88.
104. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 89.
105. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 90.
106. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 91.
107. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 92.
108. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 93.
109. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 94.
110. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 95.
111. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 96.
112. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 97.
113. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 98.
114. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 99.
115. Ogilby (1675), p. Plate 100.

External links

• Ogilby's Britannia (Atlas.4.67.6) in Cambridge Digital Library (higher resolution copy)

• Maps of England
• Maps of Wales