The full title of this fascinating map by Richard Budgen was engraved by John Senex and printed by Henry Lintot is: ‘An Actual Survey of the County of Sussex divided into Rapes Hundreds and Deanryes. In which the exact longitude and atitude of all the remarkable places are determined from observation. Also an accurate deliniation by admeasurement of the sea-coast, roads and the rivers so far as navigable.’ [spelling original]

The map holds several claims to as to its importance, not least that it is far and away the most accurate map of the county of Sussex and not just to the date of its publication but also for many years after.  It is also the first large-scale map of the county with a scale of 1 inch to 1 mile.  Finally, it is, according to Kingsley [1] it is the first county map of Sussex to use a North South orientation, with a suitable compass rose included.  Likewise, the map was one of the first to include parallels and meridians which provide a reference grid and allow for easy location of the many country seats of the county Gentry who’s houses and lands (seats) are fastidiously engraved along the bottom of the map complete with a reference such that ‘By which Twill be easy to find if properties of any subscribers Seat in the county’ (does this beg the question that Budgen took subscriptions to include the Gentry in the making of this map?). Budgen further includes an one inch to the mile scale.

It has been suggested that the map was dedicated to The Rt Hon Spencer Compton as (amongst other titles) Knight of the Shire for the County of Sussex although in the absence of a Title cartouche it is difficult to track such a claim.

The coastline is remarkably accurate compared to other maps of the time and the inclusion of hydrography around Selsey Bill is an interesting feature giving notice to the sea-faring relationship that Sussex has always held.  According to Kingsley the information was taken from a slightly earlier 1721 chart [2]. In the true tradition of map and chart making Budgen was clearly quite happy to draw on other material in order to enhance the impact of his own work.

What is important to note about this detailed work is the detail and attention to detail Budgen has included.  He details in the title cartouche, symbols used which depict: Market towns, Manor or Farm Houses, Castles, Ruins of Abbeys, Furnaces, Forges, Watermills, Smiths Forges, Camps, Heaths, Mineral Waters, Marshland, Stone Quarries, Woodland, Commons, Rocks, Sands, Rivers and Parts of the county which ‘abound’ most with Oak Timber, Confines of he County, Rapes, Hundreds and other regions.  The reference to Oak Timber is of course hugely significant as to the reality of the demands of shipbuilding and construction.

The inclusion of Tridents, seashells and rather scary fish-like serpents around the title cartouche is, again, a reference to the sea-faring history of this beautiful county.

The map was also released by Budgen in 1723 as 24 loose sheets.

References

[1] David Kingsley, Printed Maps of Sussex 1575-1900. Published by Sussex Record Society. 1982.