This large scale map of Dorset is by Christopher Greenwood (1786-1855) and his brother John Greenwood (1791-1867). They were both surveyors. Christopher Greenwood was from Yorkshire and settled in Wakefield by about 1815, before moving to London in 1818. His first large-scale survey was of Yorkshire published in 1817. His brother John was also a surveyor and in 1821 they joined forces. Along with the distribution capabilities of George Pringle and Son, they made an immediate impact with their series of large scale surveys of many English counties. This is one of six published in 1826, their most prolific year.

It is on a large scale of one inch to the mile and differentiates between woods and plantations, heaths and commons, different types of waterway and roads. Watermills, windmills, toll booths and railways are identified indicating their significance to the local economy. The railways at this point were all mining related. The Middlebere Tramway was a horse drawn railway and one of the first in southern England. It was built by Benjamin Fayle in 1805-06, a wealthy merchant in London, to carry Purbeck Ball Clay from the pits to Poole Harbour. The clay was used in potteries and demand was rising rapidly. The early 1800s was a time of rapid change in the landscape with the burgeoning industrial revolution.

A large vignette of Melcombe Regis, near Weymouth occupies the lower left corner. Their surveys utilised the latest system of triangulation adopted by Colonel Mudge and his surveyors for the Ordnance Survey. Indeed, they were in open competition with them. The Greenwood maps were coloured as opposed to the more functional black and white Ordnance Surveys of the period. Rodger (1972) 80; Tooley ‘Large Scale’ Map Collector 32 p. 18 DE4; Tooley’s Dictionary; Worms & Baynton-Williams (2011).