When we picture a map today, we imagine precision — longitude and latitude, accurate coastlines, and a globe that shows Earth as it truly is. Medieval maps, however, were something entirely different. Known as mappae mundi (Latin for “maps of the world”), they were less about navigation and more about...
The Lost Tomb of King Henry I & Forgotten Maps
6/10/25
King Henry I, son of William the Conqueror, was buried at Reading Abbey in 1136. Yet over centuries of war, dissolution, and urban growth, his tomb was lost — possibly lying beneath a car park or modern buildings. The search for his grave echoes a broader truth: geography often hides...
Stonehenge & Ancient Geography
29/9/25
Stonehenge, a Neolithic marvel on Salisbury Plain, has long fascinated archaeologists and historians. Its massive stones align with the solstices, suggesting a deep awareness of both geography and astronomy. To the builders, the landscape itself was part of a sacred map — rivers, burial mounds, and avenues connected the monument...
William Herschel & Mapping the Heavens and Earth
22/9/25
William Herschel, the Hanoverian musician turned astronomer, is celebrated for discovering Uranus in 1781. Yet his achievements went far beyond a single planet: he built some of the most powerful telescopes of his age, catalogued thousands of celestial objects, and sought to map the structure of the Milky Way. His...
Jane Austen & the Geography of Stories
15/9/25
Jane Austen’s novels may seem confined to quiet country houses, but geography plays a central role in her characters’ lives. The distances between estates, the challenges of travel, and the cultural differences between regions shaped her plots. In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet’s journey to Derbyshire transforms her understanding of...