AN HISTORIC REPLICA OF THE ORIGINAL PLAN PRODUCED TEN YEARS AGO WHEN THE TOPOGRAPHY OF CARTOGRAPHY WAS BEING COMPILED PROFESSIONALLY MOUNTED BUT NOT FRAMED
Sixteen rabbits are drawn in silhouette on this map, one facing '' the opposite way from the rest. They are all found on the area coloured yellow. Methwold Warren, and represent many others of their kind. These 'conies'. and their tendency in reality to stray beyond the warren, were the cause of many local disputes. The warrener paid a fee to the Duchy of Lancaster, who owned the manor of Methwold, to farm rabbits there, which he expected to recoup by safes of their meat and fur. He suspected his neighbours of trespass on the warren to take rabbits, but these neighbours said that they were merely dealing with rabbits that strayed on their land and ate their crops. The map aimed to set out the boundaries of the warren so that no one could be in doubt as to where the rabbits were supposed to be. Before this-time. local maps might be drawn by people such as gentry or clergy, with no particular expertise in making maps. In this case. one of the new professional surveyor-mapmakers was called in. Around 1580 instruction manuals were published. new instruments available, wealthy landowners willing to commission maps for estate management or as status symbols. and (as here) courts now requiring maps as evidence. We know little of John Lane, who made and signed this map, but he may have made two similar maps for disputes heard in the Duchy of Lancaster Court. The map bears the hallmarks of the new style. It is set in a border with cardinal points in Latin, still in common use in documents of the time. West — Occidens — is at the top of the map. A large scale bar with dividers draws attention to the fact that the mapmaker used scale, a relatively new concept in these types of maps. From this we can work out that the warren was about four miles across at its widest, from north to south. So it was quite a long way for the party who. John Lane notes in the box at top left, walked around the edge of the warren to agree the boundaries. These men were commissioners appointed by the Duchy Court. who signed the map's top edge. and 'ancient inhabitants' of the area. A carefully drawn line of dots shows the route they took The map shows how the landscape around the warren must have looked. especially features on the boundary such as hills, crosses and gravel pits. A raised bank is shown crossing the warren, dividing parishes. Churches drawn in perspective indicate surrounding villages. Near Methwolid (top right) are two post windmills and 'Methold Lodge, which was recorded in 1413 and survived for another 27 years aimr t. map was drawn. Lane tells us that the local elders viewed the finished map. and swore that the warren's boundaries had been as shown on it, for as long as they could remember. However, rabbits cannot read maps, and the disputes continued after the map was made.
CONDITION: Excellent condition perfectly preserved in the archives.
MOUNTED
PRINTS AND MAPS are identical visually
to a regular paper or photographic image but enhanced with an
extra-rigid backing to provide stability and protection. In short,
the image is mounted onto a substance for ultimate protection against
warping and damaged corners.
The
print is perfect for free-standing display, an album collection, or
framing.
We
do not copy alter or reproduce any of the prints and maps we offer for sale
they are genuine vintage prints of the printing date stated below.
You
may occasionally see a similar item listed, this happens when we
have more than one of the print in the archives.
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