Rare County Maps of Sutherland.

Joan Blaeu's magnificent atlas of Scotland (1654) did not cover the whole country in detail. This is his map of Strathnaver, which contains an acknowledgement of Timothy Pont above the scale bar.

The map of Strathnaver, from Blaeu's Atlas, "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum sive Atlas Novus." 1654.

Detail from the Strathnaver map, showing Loch Eriboll and the Kyle of Tongue.

This is the other map in Blaeu's Atlas that depicts part of Sutherland. It is titled "Southerlandia", and it covers the SE portion of the county.

Detail from Blaeu's "Southlandia" map.

"Southlandia" by Joan Blaeu, 1654.

After Blaeu's Atlas, the next to appear was Hermann Moll's "Thiry-six New and Correct Maps of Scotland..." published in 1725. These were based very much on those in Blaeu's Atlas. So Thomas Kitchin's "Geographiae Scotiae" published in 1749 (title page above) was the next advance in the cartography ...

Kitchin's map of Sutherland was able to incorporate the survey of Bryce (1744) which untangled Cape Wrath from Farout Head - an error that had been in place for over 100 years.

A closer view of Kitchin's map of Sutherland, from his pocket atlas of 1749.

Thomson's "Atlas of Scotland, containing Maps of Each County..." was published complete in 1832. However, the maps were published over a period of a number of years: that of Sutherland is dated 1823.

It is a very fine Atlas. Thomson had gone to much trouble to make each map as accurate as possible. Not an easy matter when access was so difficult, as was the case with Sutherland.

Thomson had his details "Attested by Frances Suther, Major William Clunes, Gabriel Reid, Esq., and Captain Donald Mackay, RN. A valiant effort, but not quite the same as a full survey.

Deatil from Thomson's map of Sutherland, 1823. Notice that the road over the Moine between the Kyle of Tongue and Loch Eriboll had yet to be built.

Detail from Thomson's map of Sutherland, 1823.

John Lothian published aCounty Atlas of Scotland in 1829. My map comes from a lovely set of 8 maps comprising the North of Scotland, all housed in their original slipcase. It is a slightly later edition, 1835.

John Lothian's map of the County of Sutherland.

Lothian indicates the lighthouse at Cape Wrath: "2 minutes bright and red revolving light."

In 1833 the first full survey of the county was published as a map by Gregory Burnett and William Scott. The survey itself had been carried out over a two-year period, 1831 - 1832.

My example is a handsome item on wooden rollers, the map varnished. Not ideal for photography, but I will post a number of detailed images.

Burnett and Scott, 1833. Detail.

Burnett and Scott, 1833. Detail

Burnett and Scott, 1833. Detail.

A second edition of this map was issued in 1853.

Burnett & Scott map of Sutherland, 1853 (2nd edition). A large folding map.

The title section to the 1853 map.

Detail from Burnett & Scott's 1853 map of Sutherland.

The full map of the 1853 Burnett and Scott County Map of Sutherland.

Johnston's County Map of Sutherland is dated 1871.

W & AK Johnston's map of the County of Sutherland, 1871.

Title of the 1871 map.

Deatil from the 1871 map by the Johnstons. The border colouring is done by hand.

Deatil from the 1871 map by the Johnstons.

The last three maps I am posting all date from 1892. They form part of the Royal Commission (Highlands & Islands), the various colours showing existing croft holdings (green), areas suitable for extension of holdings (red), areas suitable for new holdings (yellow), and areas suitable for moderate-si...

This detail shows part of Assynt.

This map (1892) shows Loch Naver, extending westwards to Loch More.

Detail showing Ben Kilbreck, Altnaharra, etc.

The third map shows the southern end of Loch Shin, with the Kyle of Sutherland below.

A detail from the 1892 Royal Commission map, showing Lairg down to Bonar bridge, etc.

My research has indicated clearly that the difficulty of access into Sutherland very much limited the number of visitors, well into the 19th century. The lack of infrastructure also delayed accurate mapping of the county. Where the Lothians, for example, were surveyed in some detail from the 1740s onwards, Sutherland had to wait until 1833 before a map was published that had resulted from a full survey. John Thomson's fine county atlas was a carefully prepared volume that contains a map of Sutherland which was "attested by" Frances Suther (Factor to the Countess of Sutherland), Major William Clunes, Gabriel Reid Esq., and Captain Donald Mackay, RN, for Lord Reay's Country. It is dated 1823. However, the first full survey of the county was commissioned from Gregory Burnett and William Scott by the Duke of Sutherland - a name one barely dares mention on account of his part in the Clearances. I do not doubt his ultimate responsibility for those violent and unfortunate events (though the Scotsmen James Loch and Patrick Sellar were those directly overseeing the process), but I think his work on the infrastructure within the county should be acknowledged - his road across the Moine, the Inns he erected to aid travellers, and this map which was surveyed in 1831 - 1832, and issued in 1833.

I do not have copies of all the maps listed in Moir's Early Maps of Scotland Vol II (1983), but I have a fair number and will add them to this photo-album page. Should you wish to consult them in more detail, I suspect the images on the excellent NLS website will be far better than mine, and I would recommend that you visit it, but I hope mine are better than nothing....

I shall devote another, separate page to Bryce's map of the North Coast (1744).