Old Map of the Isles of Scilly in 1896 by Ordnance Survey - St Mary's, Tresco, Bryher

Surveyed by the Ordnance Survey and published in 1896, this map of the Isles of Scilly is one of the earliest detailed surveys of the archipelago, at a time when earlier general maps of Britain had shown the islands only in the vaguest outline. St Mary's, the largest of the islands and home to Hugh Town and the old fortification of Star Castle, sits at the heart of the map, surrounded by Tresco, Bryher, St Martin's and St Agnes, the four other inhabited islands that make up the group.

Scattered around these five main islands, the map also captures the smaller uninhabited islands and rocks that make Scilly such a distinctive place, including Samson, Gugh and Annet, along with the notorious rocks and reefs off Bishop Rock that have wrecked so many ships over the centuries. Because it predates the tourism boom of the twentieth century, the map offers a rare glimpse of the islands' fishing communities, their scattered farms and the granite-walled fields that still define the landscape today. For anyone who has visited Tresco's famous subtropical gardens or walked the coast path on St Agnes, this map offers a wonderfully detailed record of how the islands looked at the end of the Victorian era.

This print makes a beautiful addition to a coastal cottage, study or hallway, particularly for anyone with a love of Cornwall and the far southwest of England. It's an ideal birthday or Christmas gift for a keen sailor or walker, a fitting anniversary present for a couple who honeymooned on the islands, or a retirement gift for someone finally free to spend more time exploring St Mary's and its neighbours. It also works well as a housewarming gift for a new home within sight of the sea, offering a genuinely different piece of wall art with real island character.