Old Map of County Down in 1685 by Sir William Petty - Bangor, Donaghadee, Hillsborough

This map of County Down was originally published in 1685 by Sir William Petty, based on his Down Survey of Ireland, the first ever detailed land survey carried out on a national scale anywhere in the world. Petty, a polymath who made significant contributions across science, economics and cartography, undertook the survey to measure land in Ireland following the English Civil War, much of which had been fought on Irish soil, so that it could be redistributed from Irish Catholic landowners to English Protestant settlers. This 1685 edition is a later, reduced-scale version of that pioneering survey.

The map covers the entirety of County Down, showing its towns, villages, roads and bridges alongside its bishopricks and archbishopricks, giving a comprehensive picture of the county's settlements and ecclesiastical divisions in the late seventeenth century. Among the places named are Bangor, Donaghadee and Hillsborough, along with the Mourne Mountains and the wooded grounds now known as Tollymore. Pictorial touches throughout depict the hills, forests, rivers, lakes and loughs of County Down, capturing the natural landscape alongside its human geography.

This map makes a meaningful gift for anyone with family roots in County Down, whether for a housewarming in Bangor, Donaghadee or Hillsborough, a wedding gift for a Northern Irish couple, a retirement present after years spent near the Mournes, or a Christmas gift for a homesick relative abroad. It also suits a corporate gift for a business based in Northern Ireland. The fine engraved detail of Petty's original 1685 survey has been carefully restored for this print.