1783 Taylor & Skinner Kilkeel, Newcastle, Dundrum, Annalong & Clough, Ireland Road Map
This hand-coloured antique Irish road map, published in 1783, is Map 12 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 roads through Kilkeel, Annalong, Newcastle, Dundrum and Clough in County Down.
The original heading “From Newry to Killkeele & Clough” identifies the wider journey represented by this section of the survey. The two strips show connected portions of the road network, together with mile markers, waterways, hills, estates, churches and numerous country properties.
One strip follows the route through Kilkeel and Annalong, with the road closely associated with the coastline and surrounding mountainous countryside. Nearby estates and properties include Ballyveagh, Bellhill, Heartsfort and Seafield, together with numerous named contemporary landowners.
Kilkeel is prominently engraved as a road settlement, while Annalong appears beside the coast further along the same route. The surrounding landscape is represented with Taylor & Skinner’s characteristic shaded hills, streams and estate grounds.
The adjoining strip records the route through Newcastle, Dundrum and Clough, with Dundrum Bay forming one of the most distinctive geographical features of the sheet. Newcastle is shown beside the bay with nearby roads connecting towards Tollymore, while Dundrum and Clough appear as important junctions within the wider road network.
Around Dundrum, the engraving identifies surrounding estates, waterways and roads towards Newry and Castlewellan. Clough is shown with connecting roads towards Downpatrick, Ballynahinch and Killough, demonstrating the number of routes converging around this part of County Down.
The map preserves the historical spelling “Killkeele” for modern Kilkeel in both the engraved heading and place name. The modern spelling is used in this listing for easier searching while the original 18th-century form remains visible in the artwork.
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 12 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.