On The Map Part 1

Exhibition Development

Planning for exhibitions involves researching the collections. This series of Discover articles covers the development of the On The Map exhibition. On The Map was displayed at North Lincolnshire Museum between March and October 2021. The exhibition displayed maps from the Museum’s collections and showed visitors the different ways maps have been used and what we can learn from them.

The first stage in the development of this exhibition is to assess what kinds of maps the Museum holds to establish what stories we can tell in the exhibition. I carried out an audit of our map collection to work out what categories of maps the Museum has for display.

The first step was to create a list of maps and other relevant objects from our collections database. I then found those objects, took photographs, and made sure the list is up to date and has the correct information.

Here is a taster of what was found:

Estate Maps

These are maps commissioned by landowners to show their extensive estates. These maps could be used for administrative and planning purposes but are also a demonstration of ownership and allow landowners show off their estates. These maps often depict the land after the common fields were enclosed and show a stark change in field boundaries and land use when compared with pre-enclosure plans.

Drainage Maps

The drainage of the land is an important chapter in the history of North Lincolnshire and the Museum hold maps and plans that chart this process. Drainage dramatically changed the landscape and its use which can be clearly seen in maps of the area.

Ordnance Survey Maps

The museum holds a large collection of Ordnance Survey maps of North Lincolnshire and surrounding areas dating from the 19^th and 20^th Centuries. Some of these have been collected as maps in themselves whereas others have been used to record and display information. For example, the Museum has a large number of OS maps that have been used to mark the location of archaeological finds by Harold Dudley.

Transport Maps

Maps related to transport take many forms. Some are large scale, detailed maps that show the course of railway lines and roads. On the other hand, the Museum holds transport leaflets for local bus and ferry services which include a route map. Many transport maps of this type take design inspiration from the iconic London Underground Map. They identify the routes by using different colours and are representative of the routes rather than an accurate mapping of the landscape.

Planning Maps

Scunthorpe as a town grew and developed quickly in response to the booming steel industry. As a result, the Museum holds a large collection of maps used in planning this development. These include maps planning new housing estates, new roads and dividing the town into zones for specific types of development.