DHMAP.ORG Tactile and large print maps by David Hawgood

Somerset 1835

Introduction - Description - Abbreviations and locations - Guidelines - Surrounding counties - Maps - Home page

Introduction

Graphics linked from the maps section of this page produce a large print map of Somerset in 1835, a tactile map with braille lettering, and a key to the tactile map. This page explains and describes the maps. Towns shown are parliamentary boroughs and polling places in 1835. The Description section says what is on the map. The Abbreviations section gives locations within the county. The Guidelines section gives a sequence of places along guidelines through the county. The page Somerset and Parliament 1835 gives information on the parliamentary status of places. The Maps section has links to the maps, which are in pdf (Acrobat) format, and to a page describing the way to produce a tactile map with braille letters from the pdf file. On another page is a general introduction to this series of maps of the English counties which are intended to be accessible to blind and partially sighted people. The Genuki pages for Somerset have more information about the county, its records, and all its towns and parishes.

Description

There is a solid circle at the top left of the map. The title follows it at the top of the map, which is the North.The county boundary is shown by a dotted line. Sea is shown by texture shading in the upper left area of the map. The Chapman County Code SOM is in large letters in the bottom left corner of the map. Towns are large dots, with a 2 letter abbreviation of the town name nearby. Guidelines linking the towns are solid lines. A ten mile scale bar is in the bottom right corner. Somerset is a coastal county, about 70 miles east to west by about 45 miles north to south. The shape is roughly that of an ankle and foot, with the narrower part like a foot extending to the West.The sea coast is North of the narrow Western part, and West of the larger Northern part. The sea is the Bristol Channel, and is narrower than shown on the map.

Abbreviations and locations

In the list below the two letter abbreviation is given first, then the place name, then the position on the map within the county.

AX Axbridge, near the West coast in the Northern area of the county

BA Bath, near the North-east corner of the county

BE Bedminster, just inside the Northern boundary

BR Bristol (city and county), On the Northern boundary, dot shown outside it

BW Bridgewater, in the centre of the map

FR Frome, half way up the Eastern boundary

IL Ilchester, lower part of the county, towards the East

SM Shepton Mallet, half way up and a little in from the eastern boundary

TA Taunton, lower part of the county, half way across

WE Wells, half way up, half way across the upper part of the county

WL Williton, near the North coast of the narrow Western part

WN Wincanton, near the South-east corner

Towns not shown, but larger later:

Weston super Mare is on the coast near Axbridge

Yeovil is near the South-West border, South of Ilchester

Guidelines

Guidelines are shown to link the places on the map. They are chosen to make it possible to describe the positions of places. In some cases the guidelines are roads, but generally they are arbitrary.

Three guidelines are shown.

Across the bottom of the county, with Taunton on the left, then right to Ilchester, on right to Wincanton.
Upper right part of the county, from Wells in the centre, right to Shepton Mallet, on right to Frome, then up to Bath in the top right corner.
On the left, from Williton in the centre of the part of the coast running east-west. From here right to Bridgewater, up and right to Axbridge, up and right to Bedminster, on to Bristol shown above the county boundary.

Surrounding counties

Names of surrounding counties surrounding Somerset are not shown on the map. To the North-West is the sea. To the South-West is Devon. To the South-East is Dorset. To the East is Wiltshire. To the North is Gloucestershire.

Maps

Graphic of Tactile map with braille names (pdf file)

Graphic of key in braille (pdf file)

Instructions for making a tactile map

Large print map (pdf file)

A single copy of this page can be made by or for any individual user. If you wish to make multiple copies or modifications, please contact David Hawgood - email david at hawgood dot com - I will normally give permission but I wish to know what use is being made of the maps. I also welcome comments.