A map of Lancashire from the first large-scale atlas of the British Isles, Speed's 'Theatre'. In the top right-hand corner is an inset town-plan of Lancaster, probably the first printed plan of Lancaster. On the left-hand side are portraits of monarchs from the house of Lancaster, including Henry IV, and on the right of monarchs from the house of York, including Richard III.

John Speed (1552-1629) was the outstanding cartographer of his age. By trade a merchant tailor, but by proclivity a historian, it was the patronage of Sir Fulke Greville, poet and statesman, that allowed him to pursue this interest in earnest. His 'Theatre of Great Britain', from which the present work is drawn, was first published in 1611 or 1612 and is 'the earliest English attempt at atlas-production on a grand scale' (Skelton). Drawing heavily on the work of Saxton and Norden, little of Speed's cartography is original (he acknowledges, 'I have put my sickle into other mens corne'), instead it is his blend of cartography and history, incorporating town-plans, vignettes, and genealogy, that makes Speed an innovator.