1783 Taylor & Skinner Antrim, Randalstown, Kells, Connor and Grange, Ireland Road Map
This hand-coloured antique Irish road map, published in 1783, is Map 17 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 Antrim, Randalstown, Kells and Connor, together with numerous estates, churches, waterways and connecting roads in County Antrim.
The original heading “To Colerain by Antrim” identifies this sheet as part of the wider route towards modern Coleraine. The map preserves the historical spelling “Colerain”, while the modern spelling is used in this listing for easier searching.
Antrim is prominently shown beside Lough Neagh, with several roads converging around the town. Routes towards Carrickfergus, Templepatrick and Belfast are marked, together with the Six Mile River, nearby estates and numerous country properties.
Close to Antrim, Shane’s Castle is prominently identified on the shore of Lough Neagh, together with its extensive wooded grounds. Nearby properties include Ballow, Green Hill and Muckamore, adding considerable local and estate detail to the engraving.
Randalstown appears as another important settlement, with the road crossing the Main River and several routes meeting around the town. Nearby estates and properties include Hollybrooke, Moneyglass, Paymount and other residences associated with contemporary landowners.
The map also records Kells and Connor, together with churches, local roads and surrounding properties. Roads connect these settlements with the wider network represented on the sheet, while additional places such as Grange and Killead add further local detail.
Lough Neagh forms one of the most distinctive geographical features of the engraving and provides an important reference point for understanding the relationship between Antrim, Randalstown and the surrounding road network.
Although this map comes from the 1783 revised second edition, the engraved plate retains a 1778 publication inscription dated 29 July 1778 at the lower edge, reflecting the original issue of the plate before its inclusion in the corrected edition.
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 17 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.