Dorsetshire Maps

There are maps from various mapmakers from c. 1627 through to 1935, of the whole county as well as areas and towns. If you don't see what you want, please ask.
Please contact us if you have an old map of Dorset to sell or let us scan (a fee is paid). Old names are used where recognisable, see the placenames page on this site

All maps on this page appear in a new popup window.

This is by Peter Keer (1627)

Jan Jansson's copy of John Speed's Dorsetshire map. Published in 1646. Jansson was a leading Dutch cartographer and publisher.

There is a nice image of John Speed's Dorsetshire map at the following site:
freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/

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1650 Map (entire county)

Map on home page (95kb)

a bit larger (165kb)

bit larger (315kb)

Even larger (532kb)

1650 Maps (by town)

Page with all 21 maps below (629kb)

Axminster Beaminster Blackmore Vale

Blandford Brownsea I. Bridport

Cranborne Dorchester Gillingham

Lyme Milton Abbas Poole

Portland Shaftesbury Sherborne

Sturminster Swanage Wareham

Weymouth Wimborne

Robert Morden's map. Approximately 1695. This is a beautiful map, with the ancient 'hundreds' marked. (see hundreds page). The first map to feature along the border the minutes relative to St. Paul's Cathedral ('Minuits of Time').

North-East (89kb)

North-West (95kb)

South-East (81kb)

South-West (75kb)

1695 Maps (details)

NE: medium large

NW: medium large

SE: medium large

SW: medium large

The River Stour and areas surrounding several towns & villages from Robert Morden's map. Approximately 1695. For help with the old names click here

River Stour

North: small medium large

Central: small medium large

East: medium large

Towns
Blanford	Bridport	Cranborn
Dorchester	Evershot	Gillingham
Lime	Pool	Portland
Shaftsbury	Sherborn	Sturmister
Sandwich	Weymouth	Wimborn

The Robert Morden small map, said to be scarce.

1700 small Map (entire county)

small 88kb medium 152kb

Francis Grose's map. Originally drawn in 1695 by John Seller, Grose modified the plates and used the map in his large work 'The Antiquities of England and Wales'.

1695 Map (entire county)

John Cary's map. From 'The Traveller's Companion' 1792. Note the unusual orientation. Also the part of west Dorsetshire around Stockland (at the top) is shown as entirely separate. The two mail coach routes are marked in green. Coaching inns are also marked as transport was increasing rapidly at the time.

1790 Map (entire county)

R. Creighton's map for Lewis' topographical dictionary. Approximately 1830. Appeared in Samuel Lewis's 'Topographical Dictionary of England' published in 1831.

1830 Map (entire county)

Thomas Moule's map approximately 1840. This copy not recently hand-coloured like many one sees. In the bottom left-hand corner there is a nice view of Shaftesbury with an image of the seal of St. Edwards' Abbey. At the top-left there is an image of the seal of Abbotsbury Abbey. The shaded areas are the estates of many of Dorsetshire's great houses; identification of them all (with the aid of this page) is left as an exercise for the reader.
From 'The English Counties Delineated' published in several editions 1837-1850.

1840 Map (entire county)

Joshua Archer's map. Approximately 1860, steel engraving.

1860 Map (entire county)

Bartholomew's 1935 map. widely used by cyclists and motorists.

1935 S & D Railway Route Maps

Spetisbury Blandford

Shillingstone Sturminster

Portland Weymouth

Wimborne Okeford

Sturminster Newton

Blandford Wareham

others in preparation

Bournemouth
c.1900

Bournemouth 1900 town map. From Branksome in the west to just past Boscombe pier in the east. Note the Dorset/Hampshire county boundary cutting the old railway line to Bournemouth West station. If you live in Bournemouth it might be interesting to compare 100 years on! Selected parts of the map can be supplied in greater detail if required.

Branksome
c.1900

Boscombe
c.1900