Research Notes


Map Group SMITH 1820
Smith 1820
These notes are taken from a reproduction of the New Geological Map of England and Wales by William Smith, published by J Cary, London, 1820. The 1820 map is a reduced version of William Smith's geological map of 1815. Details of Smith's life and work can be found in:-
  related map group -- Smith 1815

The map studied is a reproduction published by the British Geological Survey (in print 2002).
The reproduction does not state its scale of copying, its look a little less than full size. The reproduction size is: wxh, map = 62x75.5cm. Reproduced with a middling coarse colour halftone screen it is not always possible to make out details on the map.
NB remember that these notes mostly concern Hampshire; much else on the map is ignored, many of the other areas being more interesting.
MAP FEATURES
HAMPSHIRE PLACES
MAP FEATURES
title cartouche    
oval cartouche    
title    
map maker    
publisher    
The map title is printed in an oval cartouche upper right:-
A NEW GEOLOGICAL MAP OF ENGLAND AND WALES, WITH THE INLAND NAVIGATIONS exhibiting THE DISTRICTS OF COAL and other Sites of Mineral Tonnage by W. SMITH, Engineer, 1820.
Below the cartouche is:-
LONDON: PUBLISHED BY J. CARY, 18 ST. JAMES'S STR. MAR. 18, 1820.
geology    
The map is coloured in geological areas. Each area on the map has a bolder tint at its older edge with a fill of paler tint; and has a key letter referring to a the table of symbols. The Hampshire Basin is clearly a basin; 'Chalk' in the northern part of the county, 'Brick Earth and Clay' in the south. At the north east the land is again in the 'Brick Earth and Clay'. In the east there is a small area of 'Sand of the Portland Rock'. (It is silly to try to draw this in words; that is what the map is for.) There is a table explaining the colouring.
Look at the pattern of rivers and the pattern of strata and in places you will see the relationship of landform to geology.

table of symbols    
Printed in the lower part of the map is an:-
EXPLANATION OF THE COLOURS
used for the geological areas. The areas that concern Hampshire are:-
...
b ... Brick Earth and Clay, interspersed with Sand & Gravel ... The lighter shade of brown shews the sandy districts which form extensive heaths ... [beige]
c ... Chalk, the upper beds of which are soft and contain flinty Nodules / The under beds with few Flints ... sometimes used as Building Stone / At the foot of the Chalk is the Green Sand in which is found the Fire Stone. Golt Brickearth beneath ... [green]
d ... Sand of the Portland Rock, locally containing a Limestone, the first Quarry Stone in the Series of English Strata, varying much in Quality, as at Portland, Purbeck, Chilmark, Swindon, Shotover, the Vicinity of Aylesbury, and Maidstone in Kent ... [pink]
...
table of data    
railways    
canals    
rivers    
There are two tables printed on the right of the map, a list of:-
RAILWAYS
which at this early date is short, and has nothing in Hampshire. And:-
A LIST OF THE CANALS & NAVIGABLE RIVERS SHEWING THE PRINCIPAL ARTICLES OF MINERAL TONNAGE
which includes, for Hampshire:-
Canals ... ... ... ... Article of Tonnage
...
Andover ... w ... ... ... Coal
...
Basingstoke ... w ... im ... Coal
...
and:-
...
Avon R. (Salisbury) 50M. ... Coal, Gun Flints
...
Itching R. ... 15M. ... ... Coal
...
scale line    
scale    
Printed on the left is a scale line of:-
British Statute Miles
chequered and labelled at 5 mile intervals, the 60 miles = 101.4 mm on the reproduction; the reproduction map scale is about:-
1 to 950000
15 miles to 1 inch

orientation    
compass rose    
up is N    
Printed in a space in the Irish Sea is a compass rose; no circle, star points for cardinal and half cardinal directions, lines for false points, North marked by a fleur de lys. The map is printed with North at the top of the page.

lat and long scales    
Scales of latitude and longitude for a trapezoid projection are printed in the borders of the map; chequered at 10 minute intervals, labelled at 1 degree intervals. The bottom scale is labelled:-
Longitude East of Greenwich
The map covers from 49d 50m to 56d 10m N, 2d 0m E to 6d 30m W; all of England and Wales, southern parts of Scotland, the edge of Ireland, and a bit of the coast of France.

sea area    
sea plain    
The sea is plain. A few sea areas are labelled, including, off Hampshire:-
SPITHEAD
coast line    
coast shaded    
harbours    
The coast line is shaded for emphasis.
Harbours can be recognised, the areas drawn with from lines, not shading.

rivers    
bridges    
Rivers are drawn by wiggly lines tapering inland from their estuary. Most of Hampshire's major rivers from the coast are shown, with a few tributaries. The inland rivers are less well represented. Rivers are mostly labelled, eg:-
R. Itching
River Avon
Loddon R. [wrongly labelling the Blackwater]
Bridges are mostly just implied by a road interrupting a river. At Stockbridge in Hampshire the bridge is clearly drawn (there is no road drawn there).

relief    
Relief is not indicated.

woods    
forests    
Wooded areas are not noticed, tho:-
NEW FOREST
is labelled as an area in Hampshire.

county    
County boundaries are fine dotted lines, the county area labelled, eg:-
HAMP / SHIRE
settlements    
The few settlements that are shown are mostly positioned by a cluster of two or three blocks; differentiated by labelling style, and perhaps by an asterisk.
city     group of blocks and an asterisk; labelled in upright block caps:-
WINCHESTER
town     group of blocks; labelled in upright lowercase text, eg:-
Stockbridge
Southampton

roads    
A few roads are included. In Hampshire these are (using some place names not on the map as well as those labelled):-
from London; through Staines, Middlesex; Bagshot, Surrey; Blackwater, Basingstoke, Whitchurch, Andover, Hampshire; Salisbury, Wiltshire, and west to Lands End

from London as before to Bagshot, Surrey, branching; across a corner of Hampshire; through Farnham, Surrey; then Alton Alresford, Winchester to Southampton, Hampshire

continued from Southampton through Redbridge and Ringwood, Hampshire; to Poole, Dorset

and continued from Southampton through Redbridge to Lymington, Hampshire

from London as before to Alton, then to Fareham and Gosport, Hampshire

from London through Kingston, Guildford, Godalming, Surrey; then Petersfield to Portsmouth, Hampshire

and a branch from Cosham to Havant; then Chichester, West Sussex

canals    
Canals are drawn by a curvy line (perhaps a triple line, light bold, light, but the reproduction is too poor for this detail). Canals are labelled. Through Hampshire there are:-
Basinge. Canal 1772
Salisbury & [ ]
Andover Can. 1771
and the extension to the last to Southampton:-
Ca. 1795
  top of page
HAMPSHIRE PLACES
The places in Hampshire included on the map:-
Alton
Andover
Basingstoke
Bishops Waltham
Christchurch [now Dorset]
Fareham
Fordingbridge
Gosport
Havant
Kingsclere
Lymington
Alresford [New Alresford]
Odiham
Petersfield
Portsmouth
Ringwood
Romsey
Southampton
Stockbridge
Whitchurch
Winchester
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