Old Map of Lancashire in 1611 by John Speed - Lancaster, Preston, Blackburn

This reproduction print is based on John Speed's 1611 map of Lancashire, engraved by Jodocus Hondius and published in The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine. Speed placed a detailed inset of Lancaster, then the county's principal town, in the corner of the map, while Preston and Blackburn both appear as established market towns within the main survey.

At the time this map was drawn, Manchester and Liverpool, the latter recorded as Lerpoole, were still part of the wider Lancashire Palatine, long before either grew into the industrial cities they would later become. Elsewhere the map marks out Burnley, Leyland, Chorley, Bury, Rochdale, Oldham, Salford, Ormskirk and Lytham St Anne's, while Blackpool, by contrast, was little more than a hamlet at the time and barely registers as a settlement; it would take the arrival of the railway in later centuries to transform it into a major seaside resort. Toward the top of the map, Lake Windermere and Coniston Water, then known as Thurston Lake, mark the edge of the Lake District, framed by decorative portraits of English monarchs around the map's border.

This map makes a striking piece for a study, hallway or living room, and suits a wide range of gift-giving occasions. It's a popular birthday or Christmas present for anyone with Lancashire roots, a considered Father's Day gift for a dad who grew up near Preston or Blackburn, and a fitting leaving gift for a colleague moving away from the northwest. It also works well as a housewarming gift for someone settling into a new home in the county, offering a genuinely distinctive alternative to typical wall art.