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Timothy Pont

  • Name  : Pont
  • Born  : 1565
  • Died  : 1614
  • Category  : Religious Figures
  • Finest Moment : Completing his epic mapping of Scotland

The Reverend Timothy Pont was the eldest son of Robert Pont, the minister at Dunnet, Caithness. He graduated from the University of St Andrews in 1583. The following year, his father seems to have given him a graduation present - a charter of church lands - allowing him financial freedom. Timothy then spent a considerable amount of time and energy making an arduous journey round Scotland, with the intention of mapping the country. This was about 1584-96. There is no clear explanation as to his motives. There exists a map made by him of Clydesdale, dated 1596, which is the only map of Pont's with an indicted date.

Let no one doubt the perils of such a journey then. There is a description by Sir Robert Gordon, who later revised his maps, giving some indication of what Pont endured. '..with small means and no favouring patron...he travelled on foot right through the whole of this kingdom, as no one before him had done; he visited all the islands, occupied for the most part by inhabitants hostile and uncivilised, (and with a language different from our own); being often stripped, as he told me, by the fierce robbers, and suffering not seldom all the hardships of the dangerous journey, nevertheless at no time was he overcome by the difficulties, nor was he disheartened.'

To make matters worse, in 1584-85 Scotland was under the grip of the dreadful bubonic plague, the 'Black Death'. It was one of the worst outbreaks suffered by the country, and there were further outbreaks over the next three years.

Pont may not have been disheartened by the actual journey - he had after all the excitement of travel and the intellectual work entailed by his project. But he was to have more problems later on.

'But when, having returned, he prepared to publish the results of his labours, he was defeated by the greed of printers and booksellers (who refused to supply the necessary funds), and so could not reach his goal. While awaiting better times, untimely death took him away (in the flower of his age)'

He probably died between 1611-14, at the age of about 50. His maps were purchased by Sir James Balfour of Denmiln in Fife. Some 77 manuscript maps attributed to Pont survive. What has emerged from closer looks at his sketches are that though many of his drawings were tiny (paper was expensive!), the architectural details of buildings are obviously of good accuracy and are the earliest known depictions of these historical buildings. Some of the drawings are only 1-3 cm in size.

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