Saxton’s County Maps of Wales

Christopher Saxton (1542?–1610/11) was a professional surveyor and produced the first county atlas of England and Wales in 1579.

The 13 Welsh Counties were covered in 7 maps, as follows:

• Monmethensis Comitatus Regis Reference: MAP 5298
• Glamorgā comitatus … Reference: MAP 5227
• Radnor Breknok Cardigan et Caermarden … Reference: MAP 5360
• Penbrok comitat … Reference: MAP 5326
• Montgomeri ac Merionidh … Reference: MAP 5304
• Denbigh ac Flint duorum olim Cambriae … Reference: MAP 5190
• Mone Insulæ modo Anglesey, et Caernaruan … Reference: MAP 5088

Saxton’s work was based on detailed surveys and was the most detailed of its day. These maps, or variants of them continued in use for over a century, and later they were split into their individual counties for use in Camden’s Britannia (6th Latin edition of 1607). The National Library of Wales has multiple copies both bound and loose of Saxton’s Welsh maps and their derivatives.

Related links

• 16th and 17th Century Mapping of Wales
• Saxton, Christopher (1542x4–1610/11), ODNB, available within NLW