Mapping the Middle Ages – Hatchards, Piccadilly

Join Professor Caroline Barron and Dr David Harrison for an illustrated discussion about making maps of the Middle Ages.

It is with great pleasure that, in collaboration with the Society for the Protection of Ancient Building (SPAB), we welcome leading historian and map-maker Caroline Barron, principal author of maps of Medieval and Tudor London, and David Harrison, author of the recently published first Road Map of England and Wales in the Late Middle Ages. Their illustrated discussion will reveal the process of making historic maps and the insights this provides.

Maps of Medieval and Tudor London and a Road Map of England and Wales in the Late Middle Ages

As we will discover, creating maps of past periods can distill a wealth of information onto a single page. Caroline and David will describe how they made their maps and the insights they gained. As befits an event with London SPAB members, there will be a particular focus on London and on buildings, looking at what has survived and what has been lost. David will discuss his debt to research on bridges commissioned by SPAB in the 1920s and 30s. Caroline will consider the difficulty of trying to construct a map of a medieval city which, as the result of the dissolution of the monasteries, the Great Fire of 1666, determined Victorian redevelopment and the bombing of the Second World War, has been almost completely obliterated.

Successful maps are a means of presenting information in an intelligible and attractive format, and the illustrated discussion will highlight the importance of design.

We hope you will be able to join us for what promises to be fascinating conversation and a feast for the eyes!