John Kirby (topographer)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Kirby | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1690 |
| Died | 13 December 1753 (aged 62–63) |
| Occupations | Surveyor and topographer |
| Children | Joshua and 4 other sons |
John Kirby (1690 – 13 December 1753) was an English land surveyor and topographer. His book The Suffolk Traveller, first published in 1735, was the first single county road-book.[1]
Kirby lived in Wickham Market, Suffolk and spent three years between 1732 and 1734 surveying the entire county. For part of this project he was accompanied by Nathaniel Bacon. In 1736 he published a large-scale map of Suffolk. Subscribers to this received a copy of his book as a free gift. A further large scale map was published the following year.[1]
Kirby, born in 1690 at Halesworth, Suffolk, was originally a schoolmaster at Orford in that county, and afterwards occupied a mill at Wickham Market. In 1714, he married Alice Brown.[2][3][4] Kirby died on 13 December 1753 at Ipswich, and was buried in the churchyard of St. Mary at Tower, Ipswich. His portrait, by Thomas Gainsborough, R.A., was by 1868 in the possession of the Rev. Kirby Trimmer.
