1783 Taylor & Skinner Downpatrick, Strangford, Portaferry, Killough & Ardglass, Ireland Road Map
This hand-coloured antique Irish road map, published in 1783, is Map 9 from the second revised edition of Taylor & Skinner’s Maps of the Roads of Ireland. Surveyed in 1777 and corrected down to 1783, it records the historic road network around Downpatrick, Strangford, Portaferry, Killough and Ardglass, together with numerous connecting roads, estates and settlements in County Down.
The original heading “From Portaferry to Newtown-Ardes And to Donaghadee” identifies the wider journey represented by this sheet. Mileage tables record the routes from Portaferry towards Newtownards and Donaghadee, including Grey Abbey, providing a useful record of late-18th-century travel distances.
Portaferry and Strangford are prominently shown on opposite sides of Strangford Lough, with the surrounding shoreline, roads and nearby landed properties carefully engraved. Castle Ward is identified close to Strangford, together with other country houses and estates associated with contemporary landowners.
The route through Downpatrick forms another major feature of the map. The town is shown with several roads converging around it, while nearby places and properties include Hollymount, Vionstown and Ballydugan, along with surrounding roads and local landmarks.
The engraving also records Kilclief, Ballyculter, Bishop’s Court, Killough and Ardglass, together with churches, country houses, waterways and local roads. Killough is prominently shown beside Dundrum Bay, while the coastal setting and surrounding terrain give this section of the map particular visual interest.
The large engraved county name DOWN provides a clear geographical reference, while Strangford Lough and Dundrum Bay are two of the most distinctive natural features on the sheet.
The map preserves several historical place-name forms. Downpatrick appears as “Down-Patrick,” while Newtownards is written “Newtown-Ardes” in the original heading and mileage table. Modern spellings are used throughout this listing to make the locations easier to identify, while the historical forms remain visible in the artwork itself.
As throughout Taylor & Skinner’s survey, numerous named estates, country houses and contemporary landowners appear beside the roads, giving the engraving additional interest for Irish local history, genealogy and family-history research.
Identified as Map 9 in Taylor & Skinner’s Maps of the Roads of Ireland, it forms part of their extensive late-18th-century survey of Ireland’s principal roads.