Although this map looks rather roughly drawn, it was a very important one in its day. Elizabeth I was Queen of England and the country was at war with Spain. The biggest fear of the time was that Spain would try to invade England, as in fact did happen in 1588 (you will probably have heard about The Spanish Armada).

In a world without electronic communication, the challenge was to find as quick a means as possible to report any sighting of an invasion fleet to London. A chain of beacons (fires) on high points (such as hills and church towers) was built. If the enemy was spotted, the beacon closest to them would be lit. This could be seen by the keeper of the next beacon, whose own beacon would then be lit. This pattern would be repeated again and again all the way to London.

During Tudor times this was the quickest and most effective way of sending such vital information. The red lines on the map show the direction that each beacon keeper would look towards as he waited for a signal.