Rev Timothy Pont (c. 1560–c.1627) was a Scottish minister,
cartographer and
topographer
Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps.
Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...
. He was the first to produce a detailed map of Scotland. Pont's maps are among the earliest surviving to show a European country in minute detail, from an actual survey.
Life
He was the elder son of
Robert Pont, a
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland.
The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...
minister in Edinburgh and Lord of Session (judge), by his first wife, Catherine, daughter of Masterton of Grange.
He matriculated as student of
St. Leonard's College, St. Andrews, in 1580, and obtained the degree of
M.A. in 1584. He spent the late 1580s and the 1590s travelling throughout Scotland. Between 1601 and 1610 he was the
minister of
Dunnet Parish Church in
Caithness
Caithness ( gd, Gallaibh ; sco, Caitnes; non, Katanes) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland.
Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and is otherwise bounded ...
. He took a year's leave in 1608 to map Scotland. He was continued 7 December 1610; but he resigned some time before 1614, when the name of William Smith appears as minister of the parish. On 25 July 1609 Pont had a Royal grant of two thousand acres (8 km²) in connection with the scheme for the
plantation of Ulster
The Plantation of Ulster ( gle, Plandáil Uladh; Ulster-Scots: ''Plantin o Ulstèr'') was the organised colonisation ('' plantation'') of Ulstera province of Irelandby people from Great Britain during the reign of King James I. Most of th ...
, the price being 400''l''.
Works
Pont was an accomplished mathematician, and the first projector of a Scottish atlas. In connection with the project he made a complete survey of all the
shires and
islands of the kingdom, visiting remote districts, and making drawings on the spot. A contemporary described how Pont "personally surveyed...and added such cursory observations on the monuments of antiquity...as were proper for the furnishing out of future descriptions."
He died having almost completed his task.
The originals of his maps, which are preserved in the
National Library of Scotland,
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, are characterised by neatness and accuracy. Pont's manuscript maps are key historical documents for their time, of importance in the fields of place-names, settlements, and other studies. Many of the maps have miniature drawings of major buildings (such as castles and abbeys), obviously sketched from life. Though on a small scale and not entirely accurate, these give an idea of the appearance of many buildings that have been altered or have disappeared completely.
James VI gave instructions that they should be purchased from his heirs and prepared for publication, but on account of the disorders of the time they were nearly forgotten.
Sir John Scot of Scotstarvet prevailed on
Robert Gordon of Straloch
Robert Gordon of Straloch (14 September 1580 – 18 August 1661) was a Scottish cartographer, noted as a poet, mathematician, antiquary, and geographer, and for his collection of music for the lute.
Life
The younger son of Sir John Gordon of Pi ...
to undertake their revision with a view to publication. The task of revision was completed by Gordon's son, James Gordon, parson of
Rothiemay, and they were published in
Joan Blaeu
Joan Blaeu (; 23 September 1596 – 21 December 1673) was a Dutch cartographer born in Alkmaar, the son of cartographer Willem Blaeu.
Life
In 1620, Blaeu became a doctor of law but he joined the work of his father. In 1635, they published ...
's ''
Atlas Novus
An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth.
Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geogra ...
'', vol. v. Amsterdam, 1654 (reissued in 1662 in vol. vi). The ‘Topographical Account of the District of Cunninghame, Ayrshire, compiled about the Year 1600 by Mr. Timothy Pont,’ was published in 1850; and was reproduced under the title ‘Cunninghame topographized, by Timothy Pont, A.M., 1604–1608; with Continuations and Illustrative Notices by the late James Dobie of Crummock, F.S.A. Scot., edited by his son, John Shedden Dobie,’ Glasgow, 1876.
Robert Sibbald based much of his work on Pont's.
References
;Attribution
External links
* The
National Library of Scotland'
Pont Maps websiteprovides access to zoomable images of all of Pont's maps and texts and includes related descriptive and contextual information.
The
National Library of Scotland Pont Project, which gives extensive detail on Pont and his work.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pont, Timothy
1560s births
1620s deaths
Scottish cartographers
Alumni of the University of St Andrews
Scottish mathematicians
Scottish surveyors
17th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland
16th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland
16th-century cartographers
17th-century cartographers