The Nation Survey’d: Timothy Pont’s Maps of Scotland

Around 1583-1596, Timothy Pont, a young graduate of the University of St Andrews, undertook the remarkable task of mapping Scotland – the first person to do so in any detail, as far as is known. He spent 13 years during the post-Reformation period travelling around Scotland drawing and naming every hill, loch, and building in miniature sketches. Little is known of Pont’s life and the reasons for his initiative are still obscure. Many of Pont’s documents were destroyed in a fire in 1673, but at least 77 have survived. Now held by the National Library of Scotland, this collection provides a unique insight into the history, geography, landscape and architecture of 16th century Scotland. All the fragile manuscript maps attributed to Pont have now been scanned, revealing details previously invisible to the naked eye. They show natural features such as rivers, coasts, lochs and trees, as well as settlements, towns, bridges, mills and churches. In one 18 x 12 inch drawing of Lanarkshire, Pont included 1,385 names. The smallest map is a two-inch square drawing of the islands in Loch Maree.Although Pont uses symbols for small settlements, he shows important buildings and towns by individual sketches. Architectural and garden historians of 16th century Scotland believe that these tiny sketches may be fairly accurate representations of the buildings Pont saw, and in some cases may be the earliest depictions. These remarkable maps are enlivened by notes such as “fair salmond, trouts, eeles and pearls in Loch Tay. A king drowned here. Good fishing”.