This large scale map by Christopher Greenwood (1786-1855) is one of the first issued with his brother. The survey of Somerset is one of three published in 1822, it is issued in partnership with George Pringle, Junior. Christopher Greenwood was a surveyor and mapmaker from Yorkshire who settled in Wakefield by about 1815 before moving to London in 1818. His first large-scale survey was of Yorkshire published in 1817. His brother John was also a surveyor and in 1821 they joined forces. Along with the distribution capabilities of George Pringle and Son, they made an immediate impact with their series of large scale surveys of many English counties.

The map is engraved by Samuel John Neele (1758-1824) and his son James Neele (1791-1868). It is engraved in large scale at one inch to the mile and differentiates between woods and plantations, heaths and commons, different types of waterway and roads. Watermills, windmills and coal pits are identified indicating their significance to the local economy. A large vignette of Wells Cathedral occupies the lower left corner and a compass rose to the title sheet. The early 1800s was a time of rapid change in the landscape with the burgeoning industrial revolution. Their surveys utilised the latest system of triangulation adopted by Colonel Mudge and his surveyors for the Ordnance Survey. Indeed, they were in open competition with them. The Greenwood maps were coloured as opposed to the more functional black and white Ordnance Surveys of the period. Provenance: Rennie Sinclair collection. Needell (1995) 50; Rodger (1972) 400; Tooley’s Dictionary; Worms & Baynton-Williams (2011).