The defences against the Spanish Armada

PINE, John.

A Plott of all the Coast of Cornwall and Devonshire as they were to be fortified in 1588 against the Landing of any Enemy. Taken from the Original in the Cottonian Library.
London, John Pine, 1740. Coloured. 400 x 670mm.

A map of Devon and Cornwall marking the coastal defences prepared for the arrival of the Spanish Armada in 1588. The frame-like engraved border features a figure of Neptune and naval emblems. It was copied from a five-foot long manuscript map in the Cotton Library for publication in Pine's 'The Tapestry Hangings of the House of Lords: Representing the several Engagements Between the English and Spanish Fleets'. However the plate was not ready for the first edition of 1739, so it does not appear in early examples of the book.

The Cottonian was the collection of manuscripts belonging to Sir Robert Bruce Cotton (1571-1631), famed for once holding the only extant copy of 'Beowolf'. In 1702 the collection was donated to the country, later becoming one of the foundation collections of the British Library.


Stock ID : 19838