Old Map of Cornwall in 1844 by Samuel Lewis - Truro, Falmouth, Penzance

Samuel Lewis produced this map of Cornwall in 1844 as part of his county-by-county survey accompanying the Topographical Dictionary of England, recording parishes and settlements across the county alongside a written history of each. The map also includes an inset of the Isles of Scilly, extending its coverage beyond the Cornish mainland to the scattered archipelago lying off Land's End. By the 1840s Cornwall's economy was still dominated by its historic mining and fishing industries, and Lewis's sheet captures many settlements under names or in forms that have since changed considerably, offering a record of the county before the decline of its tin and copper mining trade later in the 19th century.

Truro, established as a town in the 12th century, appears as Cornwall's administrative centre and home to its cathedral, while Falmouth, chartered in 1661, is shown for its famous deep natural harbour, one of the largest in the world. Penzance, which received its market rights in 1332, sits at the western end of the map as the gateway toward the Isles of Scilly, and St Austell, founded in the 12th century, was already known for the china clay industry that would come to dominate the area. Newquay appears still as a fishing village, centuries before it became known as a surfing destination, while inland mining towns including Camborne, recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, and Redruth, known since the 12th century, mark the heart of Cornwall's historic mining industry, alongside the market town of Saltash and the ancient settlement of Bodmin.

This map is well suited as a gift for anyone who returns to Cornwall year after year for their holidays, or who has recently bought a second home near Truro or Falmouth and wants a genuine piece of the county's history on the wall. It is available unframed in a full range of sizes, from a compact print to a large statement piece. Cornwall buyers should note this 1844 Lewis edition is the fourth Cornish map we carry, joining John Speed's 1611 map, Joan Blaeu's 1665 map and Robert Morden's 1722 map, each already distinct from the others: this is the latest and most detailed of the four, a Victorian-era record of the county that captures its mining towns and fishing villages just before the tin trade began its long decline.