154. Edward Stanford / Richard Nicholls Worth 1878/1879

Richard Nicholls Worth (1837-1896) was a popular Devon journalist, geologist, author and editor of guide books. He produced two guide books covering north and south Devon in 1878/79 and these were printed and published until 1894 with maps by Edward Stanford. The south sheet map had a further printed map of the county as an inset. R N Worth is known to have spent six months researching the geology of the L&SWR Tavistock to Plymouth route in 1889 and read a paper to the Devon Association at Tavistock later that year.¹

Worth’s guides to North Devon and South Devon were published both individually and together as Tourist’s Guide To Devonshire In Two Parts, South And North²; all contained maps produced at Stanford's Geographical Establishment. Although there were several editions the number of changes made was minimal and every attempt made to keep to the original pagination.

Worth also contributed to county histories; The Popular County Historiesseries appeared c.1886; and a History of Devonshire in 1886. These were published by Elliot Stock (London, 62 Paternoster Row) and rather surprisingly there was no map of the county. Worth wrote a considerable number of works on the southwest: Devonport, sometime Plymouth Dock (Plymouth, 1870), History of Plymouth from the earliest period to present time (London, 1871), Somerset (London, 1881), Dorset (London, 1882), History of Plymouth (Plymouth, 1890) and he also edited many other Tourist’s Guides, Wye, Kent, Surrey, West Riding and Channel Islands, for example.

154S. – South Devon 1878

Size: 245 x 300 mm.                                                                                                                                   Scale of Statute Miles (15  =  75 mm).

MAP TO ACCOMPANY THE GUIDE TO SOUTH DEVON. The title is (AcOS) but DEVONSHIRE is written across the county. Plain border broken for Axminster. Scale Bar (AeOS). Imprint: London: Published by Edward Stanford, 55 Charing Cross: S.W. (CeOS). Signature: Stanford’s Geog^l Estab^t  (EeOS). There is no railway to Holsworthy or Ashton. The Eddystone is shown pictorially with the Scale Bar below (BeOS). There is a small inset map of the county (Ee): size 75 x 78 mm; English Miles (20 = 16 mm); DEVON is written across the county with a title GENERAL MAP OF THE COUNTY (AcOS).

154N - North Devon 1879

Size: 245 x 300 mm.                                                                                                                                          SCALE OF MILES (10 = 50 mm).

MAP TO ACCOMPANY THE GUIDE TO NORTH DEVON. The title is (AcOS) but DEVONSHIRE is written across the county. Plain border broken for Exmouth. Scale Bar (AeOS). Imprint: London: Edward Stanford, 55 Charing Cross: S.W. (CeOS). Signature: Stanford’s Geog^l Estab^t   (EeOS).

[1] F Booker; 1967 (1974); p. 240.