Map of a Nation (64 page)

1
the best mathematicians
Cited in Harley and O’Donoghue, I, p. xxiv. Histories of the Ordnance Survey can be found in Close, 1969; Harley, 1986–7; Harley and O’Donoghue; Harley and Oliver; Owen and Pilbeam; Seymour.

2
Williams staged a mock battle
‘More Particular Account of the Grand Review of the Royal Regiment of Artillery’,
Morning Chronicle and London Advertiser
, 5982, 11 July 1788.

3
of all the sham battles
‘More Particular Account of the Grand Review of the Royal Regiment of Artillery’,
Morning Chronicle and London Advertiser
, 5982, 11 July 1788.

4
Ladies Night
Bath Journal
, 9 January 1792.

5
regular afternoon assemblies Star
, 1776, 15 February 1794;
Gazetteer and New Daily Advertiser
, 15656, 17 April 1779;
General Evening Post
, 7976, 4 February 1796;
St James’s Chronicle
, 6272, 1 March 1798.

6
never made an observation or calculation
Isaac Dalby to Thomas Colby, 5 February 1821, cited in Close, 1969, p. 42.

7
too much brains in it
William Mudge to Richard Rosdew, 20 November 1804, cited in Flint, p. 130.

8
impressed with just ideas
Mudge, William, 1800, p. 564.

9
He had grown up in Plymouth
For an account of the various extraordinary members and friends of Mudge’s family, see Flint.

10
the necessity of Government
Mudge, Zachariah, 1739, p. 62.

11
Obedience to Authority
Mudge, Zachariah, 1790, p. 2. 

12
there has been ever acknowledged
Mudge, Zachariah, 1790, p. 34.

13
strong indications
Flint, p. 33.

14
very fond of that method
Reynolds, I, p. xxxiv.

15
the Discovery of Longitude at Sea
Histories of the eighteenth-century ‘longitude’ debate are given by Sobel; and Howse, 1989, pp. 40–52, 74–84, 124–6. For
information
about Thomas Mudge’s part, see Howse, 1989, pp. 170–7 and Seccombe.

16
In the mid 1770s
Accounts of Thomas Mudge’s involvement in the quest to discover longitude at sea can be found in Mudge, Thomas; RS, MM/7/91, MM/7/94, MM/7/100, MM/7/114, MM/7/117–19;
The Times
, 2598, p. 2, 30 April 1793;
The Times
, 4166, p. 3, 10 April 1798.

17
discourage the advancement
Joseph Banks, Observations on Mr Mudge’s Application to Parliament for a Reward for his Time-keepers, RS, MM/7/100.

18
he inserted a brief aside
Mudge, William, 1800, p. 666.

19
William enjoyed clock-making
Flint, p. 122.

20
King of Denmark
Flint, p. 151.

21
Samuel Reynolds
For a life of Joshua Reynolds and his family, see Leslie; Reynolds.

22
very great danger
Leslie, I, p. 6.

23
every precaution
Leslie, I, p. 6.

24
at the very time predicted
Leslie, I, p. 6. Richard Aylmer of The Reynolds Newsletter has uncovered evidence that Offy actually died at 14 months (Aylmer, p. 11). I am grateful to Mr Aylmer for this information.

25
By the age of eight
Edgcumbe, pp. 724–6.

26
the schoolhouse according to rule
Leslie, I, p. 8.

27
his first disposition to generalize
Reynolds, I, p. xxxiii.

28
an ordinary painter
Leslie, I, p. 16.

29
painters of our own nation
Universal Magazine
, November 1748, cited in Postle.

30
coarse features, slovely dress
Knight, I, p. 9, cited in Postle.

31
gracious assistance, patronage, and protection
Chambers, West, Cotes and Moser, Memorial, 28 November 1768, in Sandby, 1862, I, p. 46.

32
Mudge’s Inhalers
Flint, p. 81.

33
Never mind!
Flint, p. 117.

34
excesses in new honey
Leslie, I, pp. 216–17.

35
What! Another, Dr Johnson?!
Boswell, I, p. 347, cited in Flint, p. 15.

36
esteemed an idol
Cited in Flint, p. 20.

37
learned and venerable old man
Edmund Burke to Malone, 1797, cited in Reynolds, I, pp. xxxiii–iv.

38
the wisest man
Joshua Reynolds, cited in Flint, p. 20.

39
I have lived in intimacy
Edmund Burke, cited in Flint, p. 20.

40
Samuel Johnson became William’s godfather
Johnson to John Mudge, 9 September 1783, in Johnson, 1994, IV, pp. 196–7.

41
a sharp boy
Flint, p. 121.

42
not very attentive
Flint, p. 121.

43
comfortable and pleasant
Risdon, p. 396.

44
freeman of Plymouth
For documentation regarding the Rosdews, see Plymouth and West Devon Record Office, 81/A/11–42. 1/117 refers to Richard Rosdew as coroner in 1791. He is also listed with ‘An Alphabetical List of Freemen of the Borough of Plymouth’, August 1817, which is held in Plymouth Local Studies Library.

45
Margaret Jane Williamson
Flint, p. 154.

46
made considerable progress in mathematics
Flint, p. 123.

47
a first rate mathematician
Flint, p. 123.

48
a man of the nicest feelings
Flint, p. 127.

49
devoted to his own
Flint, p. 154.

50
this operation might not rest
Mudge, Williams and Dalby, 1795a, pp. 446–7.

51
the uncertain nature of accuracy
Fascinating discussions of the idea of accuracy in the eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries can be found in Chapman; Gooday; Hacking; Stigler; and Wise.

52
a second scientific revolution
Kuhn, cited in Wise, p. 3.

53
the astronomer Francis Wollaston
Francis Wollaston to Joseph Banks, RS, MS/820, 13 September 1790.

54
on 15 August
Mudge, Williams and Dalby, 1795a, p. 429. Further information about the remeasurement of the Hounslow Heath baseline can be found in NA, MR1/382.

55
While the sun shone out
Mudge, Williams and Dalby, 1795a, p. 429.

56
several other members of the Royal Society
Mudge, Williams and Dalby, 1795a, p. 429.

57
Keg of small Beer
Edward Williams to Joseph Banks, RS, DM4, f. 29, 8 August 1791.

58
Thanks, for the kind Attentions
Edward Williams to Joseph Banks, RS, DM4, f. 32, 14 December 1791.

59
an official ‘handing over’ ceremony
Harley and O’Donoghue, I, p. xxv. The origins of the Ordnance Survey are discussed in Skelton, 1962.

60
seldom if ever had there been
Brown, Lloyd, p. 257.

61
laid down by the General
[Charles Lennox], ‘The Result Given by General Roy’, RS, DM4, f. 34.

62
in a very decayed state
Mudge, Williams and Dalby, 1795a, p. 437.

63
in a more permanent manner
Mudge, Williams and Dalby, 1795a, p. 437.

64
heavy iron cannon
Mudge, Williams and Dalby, 1795a, p. 438.

65
an operation of a delicate nature
Mudge, Williams and Dalby, 1795a, p. 438.

66
fixed at the extremities of the base
Mudge, Williams and Dalby, 1795a, p. 440.

67
27,404.3155 Mudge, Williams and Dalby, 1795a, p. 433.

68
a small oversight
Mudge, Williams and Dalby, 1795a, p. 434.

69
of similar construction to that
Mudge, Williams and Dalby, 1795a, p. 415.

70
Great Theodolite
Mudge, Williams and Dalby, 1797b, pp. 4, 12–13; cited in Harley and O’Donoghue, II, pp. xii, xiii, xiv.

71
to avoid towers and high buildings
Mudge, Williams and Dalby, 1795b, p. 31.

72
The same object
Berkeley, p. 127.

73
soon Mudge had got the hang
For an account of the Ordnance Survey’s progress and techniques between 1791 and 1794, see Mudge, Williams and Dalby, 1795a and 1795b. There are also details in NA, MR1/382.

74
process called levelling
A description of the Ordnance Survey’s method of
levelling
is given in Mudge, Williams and Dalby, 1795b, pp. 167–74.

75
the water’s edge
Mudge, Williams and Dalby, 1795a, p. 579.

76
boundless, yet distinct
Charlotte Smith, ‘The Emigrants’, 1793, in Smith, Charlotte, 1993, p. 162.

77
the top of a great hill
John Neal, ‘Ode to Peace’, 1829, in Kettell, III, p. 109.

78
like a map
James Rhoades, ‘Earth’s Message to the Old’, in Rhoades, p. 62.

79
spring waggon
Portlock, p. 25.

80
respectable Sussex women
Moir, Esther, p. 6.

81
if you love good roads
Horace Walpole to George Montague, cited in Moir, Esther, p. 6.

82
when the air was free
Mudge, Williams and Dalby, 1795a, pp. 456–7.

83
consisted primarily
Portlock, pp. 24–5.

84
Mr Howard of Old-Street
Mudge, Williams and Dalby, 1795a, p. 443.

85
strong tin cases
Mudge, Williams and Dalby, 1795a, p. 444.

86
found to equal everything
Mudge, Williams and Dalby, 1795a, pp. 443–4.

87
was lighted on Shooter’s Hill
Mudge, Williams and Dalby, 1795a, p. 444.

88
a General Survey of the Kingdom
‘Lights on the Coast’,
Sussex Weekly Advertiser
, 8 and 15 April 1793; cited in Harley and O’Donoghue, I, p. xxv.