A vital piece of Sherborne’s heritage saved for public benefit
200 year old town map gifted to Dorset History Centre
A huge and “beautifully illustrated” map of Sherborne dating back to 1834 has been gifted to Dorset History Centre.
The two by one metre parchment map was created by cartographer Thomas Percy nearly 200 years ago and the quality of the workmanship is still very evident.
It’s only one of two copies ever produced showing the town of Sherborne and the surrounding countryside.
Dorset Cllr Laura Beddow said:
“We are extremely grateful to Porter Dodson for this generous gift and are delighted to be adding such a fantastic item to the public collection."
The map is colour coded and “unusually detailed” with houses in pink, churches in black, industrial buildings in grey, arable land in dark yellow and pasture in green.
Now safely housed at Dorset History Centre, the map is vital in showcasing the history of Sherborne and is a ‘fine example of early nineteenth-century cartography’.
Law firm Porter Dodson held the map for several decades and kept it as the focal point in the firm’s boardroom before gifting it to Dorset History Centre where it will be “carefully conserved and digitised.”
Scott Bowley, Partner at Porter Dodson Solicitors said:
“We are extremely happy to gift the map knowing it will be preserved and enjoyed by the public at large for generations to come.”