Mapping England shows, through a series of compelling maps, both
historic and contemporary, how England has scrutinised itself, been seen
by others and how it has recorded its ever-changing circumstances.
England has been continuously mapped from Medieval times to the present;
politically, administratively and functionally as well as creatively and
imaginatively. Maps have helped to define ideas of what England is and
could be. They have developed and maintained its identity amongst other
nations and explored its essential character and limits.
The maps included show a country at times confident but also unsure of
itself. Often drawn for purely practical purposes they frequently and
unconsciously reveal the true state of the nation, and the hopes and
fears of its inhabitants. England has been the crucible for many of the
most significant developments in cartography and Mapping England tells
the story of how its position in the world has evolved and, in so doing,
entails new ways of seeing and expressing such findings in graphic form.