William Smith’s
1815 Map
historical
period
William Smith, known as ‘Strata Smith’, was a surveyor who
drained marshes and built canals in England in the Industrial
Revolution (18th to the 19th century). He made the
connection between fossils and the layer of rocks they were
in, and used this to create the first geological map of
England and Wales. He became known as the ‘Father of
English Geology.”
Smith’s map of 1815, called ’Map of England and Wales
with part of Scotland’ was the first geological map to
identify the layers of rock based on the fossils they
contained rather than on their composition.
Portrait of William Smith
the object
The map in the Rotunda is 3/4 size reproduction of William
Smith's famous 1815 geological map of 'England and Wales
with part of Scotland'. This map was never published as a single
sheet. The large size of the original map and the size of the
printing presses in the early 19th century meant that it had to
be published in fifteen sections, each folded into six 'panels'.
The main focus of Smith's work was to apply his observations
and ideas to the everyday needs of the canal builders, quarry
and mine owners, landowners and agriculturists who were
underpinning the Industrial Revolution. He talked at meetings
about geology and its economic value. The titles of his map of
1815 (the first ever large scale geological map of a country)
and the subsequent 1820 edition, demonstrate the commercial
nature of the mapping.
The greatness and originality of Smith’s map was overlooked at
first by the scientific community of the time. His humble origins
combined with his limited education were an obstacle to
acceptance in learned society. He was also the victim of fierce
rivalry and unfair discrimination in the newly founded
Geological Society of London.
The modern geological map of Britain is based on Smith's
original work.
1815 Map of ‘England and Wales with Part of Scotland’
things to
ask . .
Why do you think William Smith did not include all of
Scotland in his map?
How often do you use maps? What do you use them for?
What differences are there between the maps you use
and William Smith’s map?
Can you locate Scarborough, Whitby and Filey on the map
of Yorkshire (use the physical features of the coastline to
help)?
The Rotunda Gallery contains some of Smith’s original fossil
specimens, can you identify any?
Can you find out any other important inventions from the
Industrial Revolution?
Map of Yorkshire