Vintage Map of Dorset by Joan Blaeu, 1645

Dorset on Joan Blaeu’s 1645 Map

Joan Blaeu published this map in Amsterdam in 1645 under the title Comitatus Dorcestria, sive Dorsettia; vulgo Anglice Dorset Shire. The title associates the county with Dorchester and gives alternative Latin forms of Dorset before ending with its commonly used English name, Dorsetshire.

The first edition appeared in Le Théâtre du Monde ou Nouvel Atlas, the French-language edition of Blaeu’s expanding atlas. Later impressions were printed for editions in other languages, but the Dorset plate itself first appeared in 1645.

Blaeu did not undertake a new survey of the county. His English county series was based principally on earlier English cartography associated with Christopher Saxton and John Speed. The Amsterdam workshop presented this inherited geographical information through newly engraved copperplates, decorative lettering, heraldry and carefully composed cartouches.

Dorchester occupies its central position as the county town. Other recognisable places include Sherborne, Shaftesbury, Blandford, Bridport, Lyme Regis, Weymouth, Wareham and Poole, together with numerous villages and smaller settlements. Rivers and conventional pictorial hills provide a general representation of the landscape, but the engraving predates modern contour mapping and scientific topographical surveying.

Dorset’s southern coast is an important part of the composition. The Isle of Portland, coastal settlements and major inlets can be identified, while sailing ships decorate the sea. These vessels add maritime character but should not be interpreted as evidence of particular voyages, naval actions or established shipping routes.

The title cartouche is especially relevant to Dorset. Its red and gold framework is accompanied by bales representing wool and hemp. Sheep farming and wool formed important parts of the county’s rural economy, while hemp was closely connected with the production of rope, cordage and nets.

Bridport had been associated with rope-making since the Middle Ages. In 1211 King John ordered the town to produce ropes and cables for ships. Hemp and flax were cultivated in the surrounding district, and the industry became so well established that restrictions were later imposed upon competing rope production nearby. The hemp bales on Blaeu’s map therefore refer to a genuine and recognisable Dorset trade.

Four principal heraldic devices occupy the upper-right area of the map. The central device is the royal coat of arms, accompanied by arms connected with the county. These heraldic elements follow the general arrangement found on John Speed’s earlier Dorset map and form an important part of Blaeu’s decorative treatment.

The publication date places the map in the closing stages of the First English Civil War. Dorset had experienced divided loyalties, sieges and the movement of opposing armies. Sherborne Old Castle became a Royalist stronghold but fell to Parliamentarian forces in 1645 after an eleven-day siege.

The same year also saw the emergence of Dorset’s Clubmen—local people who attempted to protect their communities from the theft, requisitioning and disruption caused by armies on both sides. Around 3,000 gathered on the downs near Fontmell in 1645. These events supply valuable historical context, although Blaeu’s engraving does not identify battlefields, garrisons or troop movements.

The map should therefore be understood as decorative county cartography rather than a military, road or land-ownership survey. It records historic place names and broad geographical relationships while surrounding them with carefully chosen symbols of Dorset’s agriculture, maritime position and established trades.