1783 Taylor & Skinner Dundalk, Carlingford, Newry, Warrenpoint & Rostrevor, Ireland Road Map
This hand-coloured antique Irish road map, published in 1783, is Map 11 from the second revised edition of Taylor & Skinner’s Maps of the Roads of Ireland. Surveyed in 1777 and corrected down to 1783, it is presented as two adjoining strip maps on a single engraved sheet, recording historic routes between Dundalk, Carlingford, Newry, Warrenpoint and Rostrevor across Counties Louth and Down.
The left-hand strip, headed “From Dublin to Carlingford,” follows the road from Dundalk towards Carlingford. Dundalk is prominently engraved with its surrounding roads and town plan, while the route continues through the countryside around Ballymascanlan and Bellurgan Park before reaching Carlingford.
Carlingford forms one of the major features of the sheet, shown beside Carlingford Lough with surrounding roads, estates and properties including Catherine Grove and Irish Grange. Hills, country houses and side roads are carefully recorded in Taylor & Skinner’s characteristic mile-by-mile style.
The right-hand strip is headed “From Newry to Carlingford And from Newry to Clough.” Newry appears as an important road junction, with routes towards Downpatrick, Dublin, Armagh and Castleblayney, together with the canal and waterways associated with the town.
From Newry, the route follows Carlingford Lough through the Narrow Water area and onwards past Warrenpoint and Rostrevor. Numerous estates, country houses and local landmarks are shown along the road, while a connecting route towards Downpatrick is marked at Narrow Water.
Rostrevor is prominently shown beside the lough with surrounding properties and estates, while Carlingford appears again on the opposite side of the sheet, illustrating the close relationship between the roads on both shores of Carlingford Lough.
The mileage tables at the head of the engraving record distances between Dundalk and Carlingford, and between Newry, Rostrevor, Kilkeel, Newcastle and Clough, providing a useful record of late-18th-century travel and road connections.
The map preserves several historical place-name forms. Narrow Water appears as “Narrow-water,” while Warrenpoint is engraved as “Warrenspoint.” Modern spellings are used throughout this product description to make the locations easier to identify, while the original 18th-century wording remains visible on the antique map 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 11 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.