On the west coast of the Inishowen Peninsula, just east of Fort Dunree, lies a small hill called Mullagharry, that played a pivotal role in the history of map-making. In 1839, the land around Mullagharry was chosen for Ordnance Survey hill-sketchers’ earliest experiments in contouring.
Drawing with Altitude juxtaposes reproductions of historical materials, such as maps and drawings, with contemporary creative responses: sketches, maps and models. These tell mapping stories of the emergence of contour lines on maps in the nineteenth century.
Two contour models of Mullagharry, show how contours have changed between the OS’s first (1839) contours, and the latest (OSI) contours of the hill. On the model of the 1839 contours, the angular straight-edged contours every 100 feet are interspersed with curvaceous lines drawn by eye that lend its flanks a conical appearance, particularly when compared with the irregular features seen on the contemporary model.
Drawing contour lines is just one way to delineate a hill. Before them, more pictorial techniques were used. From the 1790s, the OS employed hill-sketchers whose training included drawing from models. Stones shaped like hills were collected for drawing practice in the classroom. From around 1820, the horizontal style (rings that look like contour lines) were favoured over the vertical style (examples of both styles were featured in the exhibition).
The horizontal style of drawing, sometimes called horizontal hills, was also occasionally referred to as contouring (there was no fixed definition at this time). But drawing hills as cupping rings – like ripples on a lake – was likely to confound military cadets and hill-sketchers during their training. As an aid, their instructors devised methods for contouring stones and plaster model hills. Some of their methods were reproduced in the exhibition.
More contoured stones, and plaster models were made over the course of the exhibition. For her PhD, Dr Karen Rann explored nineteenth century sketching techniques in the hills surrounding Mullagharry. Working first on tracing paper (over sections of outline maps) outdoors, and using these to inform indoor drawings. Karen continued to draw outdoors and at the drafting desk in the exhibition space, adding to her attempts to capture local hills with horizontal lines.
Drawing with Altitude Symposium
27th & 28th July 2024
Saldanha Suite, Fort Dunree
A two-day symposium which included an introductory talk on the exhibition Drawing with Altitude, a programme of talks by artists, academics, and historians followed by a panel discussion. Talks encompassed OS activities in Ireland, contouring on the Inishowen Peninsula, as well as aspects of the history and heritage of the surrounding area. A pub quiz and buffet took place at The Laurentic Bar. On Sunday morning there were two guided walks. What do they call this place? Guided walk led by Mhairi Sutherland and John Hegarty and A Small Hill with a Huge Role in Map-making History. Guided walk by Karen Rann and Sharon Porter from Green Hill to Mullagharry
A view from the summit: the history of the geography: a talk by artist and key member of the the West Inishowen History and Heritage Society John McCarron.
Surveying the Surveyors: Archaeologies of Cartography: Professor Keith Lilley. Keith an historical geographer at Queen’s University Belfast in the Department of Geography.
Chasing a Line: Inishowen’s Place in the Story of Contour Lines on Maps: Dr Karen Rann. Karen works as a visual artist/researcher. In 2021, she was awarded a J. B. Harley Research Fellowship, a prestigious research award in the history of cartography. Her PhD from Queen’s University Belfast was titled: Horizontal hills: a creative historical geography of the emergence of contour lines in nineteenth-century Britain and Ireland.
Panel Discussion chaired by Dr Sean Beattie
Dr Sean Beattie is a research historian, editor of Donegal Annual, Macklin Festival and Colgan Heritage Weekend committee member, chairman of Ulster Local History Trust, author of a number of books on Donegal history, Ph.D. specialising in Congested Districts Board.
Dr Mhairi Sutherland’s visual arts research and practice explore issues of cultural identity, ecology and the archive, through photography and place. Her PhD was awarded from TU Dublin (2012) and an MFA with Distinction, University of Ulster, Belfast. (1996).
John Bradley holds a collection of surveying artefacts from 19th-20th century. Equipment includes a trigonometrical beacon, theodolite, heliotrope, and a circumferenter that was used to survey the area around Kilmacrenan.
John Hegarty is a historian and chair of the West Inishowen History and Heritage Society. He was born in Dunree Fort and qualified as an archeaologiest and has also studied geology.
Sharon Porter‘s love for hiking began on the Urris Hills with her father. She joined the Magee Hill Walking Club in 1989, developing a passion for mapping. A walk leader, Low Land Leader, and Mountain Leader Candidate, she also founded Solas Ireland Walks and Hikes to share her love for Donegal’s hills.
- October 17, 2024
