117 Samuel Arrowsmith 1836

Aaron Arrowsmith (1750-1823), originally from Durham, carried out some of the surveys for Cary when the latter was preparing his Traveller’s Companion published in 1790. Aaron set up his own business about this time and built himself a reputation for maps of the Americas and various parts of the world, especially the South Seas. He was succeeded by his two sons, Samuel and Aaron (fl.1820-30). However, it was left to a nephew, John Arrowsmith (1790-1873), to take over the firm on Samuel’s death in 1839.

During the 1830s the Government set up a Commission to consider the state of the Established Church; also to consider the finances and report on the pay structure of the clergy. These reports were accompanied by maps. In common with most of the maps there are two counties together; in this case Devon and Cornwall as these two counties contained the four arch-deaconries in the Southwest peninsula which made up the bishopric of Exeter. The four are labelled A-D and constituted three in Devon, Barnstaple, Exeter and Totnes, with Cornwall as the fourth. Each Archdeaconry is subdivided into up to nine Deaneries. The 26 maps constituted the Appendix to the 14-page report. Two diocese were to be eliminated (Bristol and Lincoln S) and two to be created (Manchester and Ripon).

All maps including the Devon and Cornwall map are signed S Arrowsmith lith(o)g and was the seventh in this report. Only Exeter is shown and was the only diocese without the note on Cathedral church and Bishop’s residence, except Bristol (which was divided up amongst other areas (see note below). The report was actually printed twice (text was reset). 

Considering the finances of the county a number of suggestions were made including that fees were to be apportioned so that the Bishop of Exeter, as head of one of the smaller Diocese, should receive more than £4000 but less than £5000 per annum. Proposition eight concerned area and suggested that the Scilly Isles come under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Exeter and the Arch-Deaconry of Cornwall.

Samuel Arrowsmith also engraved a map of England and Wales for the House of Commons published in the Accounts and Papers in 1833 and it is possible that he engraved the map of Devon and Somerset (110).

Size 312 x 320 mm.                                                                                                                                                                          No scale.

EXETER (unaltered) (Ea). Signature: S Arrowsmith lithg (EeOS). Plate number 7 (EaOS). Note below map (CeOS, present on all maps): 16 Ordered by the House of Lords to be Printed 10. March 1836. Note in Reference (Ee): Part coloured Red added. D(itt)o … Green subtracted (although there is no actual colouring).