Research Notes


Map Group GOUGH 1350s-60s
Gough 1350s-60s
 Reproduction of the Gough Map of Great Britain, published by the Ordnance Survey, Southampton, Hampshire, 1875.
The map shows a number of settlements in Hampshire and road routes across the county.
The original manuscript map, discovered by Richard Gough, is in the Bodleian Library, Oxford.
BACKGROUND
MAP FEATURES for Hampshire
ROADS
PLACES in Hampshire
REFERENCES
ITEMS in Collection
BACKGROUND These notes are taken from the reduced facsimile of the Gough Map printed in colour by the Ordnance Survey, 1871 and 1875; and from the black and white reproduction, less reduced, with red overprinted names, by the same publisher 1878 and 1935. More recent interpretations of the map by E Parsons and F Stenton have also been consulted. These notes are derivative, but are presented here as a convenience for the interest of Hampshire. The example of the facsimile used is in a private collection.
The anonymous map of Great Britain known as the Gough Map was bequeathed to the Bodleian Library, Oxford, by Richard Gough, antiquarian, 1809. Richard Gough bought it for 2/6d at the sale of the collections of Martin Palgrave, 1774, lot 405:-
a curious and most ancient Map of Great Britain
It is drawn on two skins of vellum, about 116x56cm. The map has been much studied and written about; these notes are about what of Hampshire is on the map.
PLOTTING
The map was probably drawn from a knowledge of town to town distances; information that was available in medieval times, necessary for transport, couriers, the circuits of justices, royal progresses, etc. Consulting itineraries it would have been possible to build an overall picture of the country. It has been noticed that where there are fewer roads the map is less accurate.
There is a suggestion that places were laid down in groups. The relative positions of Basingstoke, Winchester, Alton and Whitchurch agree well with today; the relative positions of Havant, Petersfield, Portsmouth and places in Sussex agree well; but the two groups are out of relative position. It is also suggested that places on the map were chosen because they were on roads, were what John Leland called 'thoroughfares'.
Do remember that these notes are for Hampshire interest. And do remember that remarks are made from an unashamedly modern stance, using a framework common to a series of remarks about Hampshire mapping up to the mid 20th century.
orientation    
up is E    
The map is drawn on a parchment to be held sideways; it is labelled so that East is at the top of the sheet.
scale    
The approximate scale of the original map has been estimated (by others) at:-
1 to 1000000
16 miles to 1 inch
There is no suggestion that this scale was deliberately chosen at this neat figure!
The overall map has the extremities of the south west of England and of Scotland exaggerated.
From calculations made in DISTTAB.exe the scale of the reproduction map, slightly reduced in size, is:-
1 to 1800000
28.5 miles to 1 inch
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MAP FEATURES in Hampshire
sea area    
sea tinted    
islands    

The sea is painted green(ish). The sea area to the south labelled:-
mare australe
southern sea
The Isle of Wight is clearly drawn off the Hampshire coast; and smaller islands might be:-
Portsea Island
Hayling Island
coast line    
harbours    

The coast line is just a line. Land is uncoloured.
Harbours are not obvious, and as an earlier commentator says:-
Southampton Water is inconspicuous
rivers    
Rivers are drawn by a broad double line painted green(ish) like the sea. At the head of each is a circular lake; there was a medieval 'idea' that all rivers started at lakes.

It is possible to make guesses, good or bad, about what rivers are shown in Hampshire; only the Test is labelled, unhelpfully:-
fl
The Avon is labelled:-
fl avon
The following are possible identifications:-
Stour [joins Avon just by the sea]
Bourne [?; joins Avon at Sarum]
Avon [by Salisbury]
Test [by Romsey and Southampton]
Anton [perhaps, tributary to the Test]
Itchen [through Winchester; wrong side of Southampton]
Hamble [perhaps, between Botley and Bishops Waltham]
Wey [more than one, by Alton etc]
Loddon [? wrong side of Basingstoke]
relief    
Relief is mostly ingnored. The heights of Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor are labelled, also the Cheviots, Cumbrian mountains, and some mountains in Wales, and in Scotland where they are drawn in nobbly elevation.
No relief is shown in Hampshire.
forests    
A symbol of two intertwined trees, labelled in a cartouche:-
Nova Foresta
marks the New Forest. There is little vegetation marked on the map as a whole. Elsewhere Sherwood Forest has a tree, and the forests of Arden, Dean and Inglewood are just labelled.

county    
The map does not have county boundaries and on the whole does not name counties. 8 county names are given, all in the south of England; Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Kant, dorset, Somerset, devonia, Cornubia. Hampshire is not named.

settlements    
Settlements are marked by buildings drawn in black ink with red painted roofs; the drawings reflect the importance of the place. 40 walled towns are shown on the map. Labelling is in a clerk's hand of the 14th century, mostly black ink, some red; not easy for us to read today. Over time ink has rubbed and faded.
city    
town walls    
town gates     		Winchester is drawn with a church and spire. two houses, and a town wall with gate; labelled:-
wynchestre
town     Southampton has a smaller church with spire and two houses (maybe the size reflects a cramped space on the map); labelled:-
hamton

Basingstoke has a single house; labelled:-
Basyngstok
Portchester Castle:-

has buildings and walls.

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ROADS from London and in Hampshire
roads    
road distances    
old english mile    
Richard Gough said:-
... the greatest merit of this map is, that it may justly boast itself the first among us wherein the roads and distances are laid down ...

Roads are drawn by straight lines from settlement to settlement, in red ink. The direction of the road is generally correct.
Road distances are given from place to place, in red ink in roman figures. Over the whole map there is some tendency to give whole numbers rounded off to 5s, not unusual for medieval times. The distances seem to be crow flight distances; the unit of measurement is probably an 'old english mile' of 10 or 11 furlongs.
It is suggested that a comparison of the distances to the 'computed' distances guven by John Ogilby, 1675, might be interesting. This is hardly worthwhile within the single county of interest here.
The road pattern is of roads radiating from London, plus some secondary roads across the country. Sir Frank Stenton believes that the map maker did not include all the roads he knew, only those for which he knew distances. It may be that he selected those he felt were important.
The 5 routes radiating from the capital are:-
London to St Ives
London to Bristol
London to St David's
London to Carlisle
London to the North
The Exeter and Lands End route crosses Hampshire:-
from London; through Kingston, Guildford and Farnham, Surrey; then vii miles to Alton, vii to Alresford, vii to Winchester, Hampshire; xx miles to Salisbury, Wiltshire; Shaftesbury, Dorset; Honiton and Exeter, Devon; on to Cornwall. This has, in the past, been interpretted as partly being the Pilgrims' Way, Winchester to Canterbury. I do not feel this to be a useful or necessary interpretation; not everything relates to religion. The route seems to be just one of a group of London centred routes.
A south coast route is drawn:-
from Southampton, through Havant, Hampshire; xxii miles to Chichester, West Sussex; and on to Canterbury, Kent.
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PLACES in Hampshire
Place names are from the Bodleian's readings, which used laboratory techniques to bring out faded writing. Names to the west, the bottom of the map, are rubbed more than others; that's where arms rest most when looking at the map.
         
map   today   symbol
         
alford   Alresford   small house
alton   Alton   house
Basyngstok   Basingstoke   house
bewley   Beaulieu   house
waltham   Bishops Waltham   house
crist[ ]   Christchurch   2 houses
for[ ]ngbrigg   Fordingbridge   house
haventre   Havant   house
lim[ ]ton   Lymington   house
petrefeld   Petersfield   house
porchestre   Portchester   castle, buildings and wall
portismouth   Portsmouth   small house
rusey   Romsey   house
hampton   Southampton   small church and spire, 2 houses
witchirch   Whitchurch   house
wynchestre   Winchester   church and spire, 2 houses, town wall and town gate
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REFERENCES
Close, Charles, Sir: 1931: Ancient Maps of Great Briatin, with special reference to Hampshire: ProcHFC: vol.10: pp.211-219

Parsons, E J S (introduction): 1958 & 1996 (reprint): Map of Great Britain circa AD 1360 known as the Gough Map & Gough Map, The: Bodleian Library:: ISBN 1 85124 041 1; written to accompany a full size facsimile with overlays for modern place names and locations.

Pelham, R A: 1933: Gough Map, The: Geographical Journal: vol.81: pp.34-39

Sanders, W Basevi: 1875: ::: descriptive account with the 1935 reproduction

Stenton, Frank, Sir: 1936: Road System of Medieval England: Economic History Review: vol.7: pp.7-19
ITEMS  in HMCMS Map Collection and Private Collections   (scanned item in bold)
  private collection (43) -- reproduction map
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   All Old Hampshire Mapped Resources