This map of Lancashire was made in about 1590 for Lord Burghley who was Queen Elizabeth I's chief advisor. It shows where all the main Roman Catholic families lived in the county. In 1588 the Catholic King of Spain had tried to invade England (the Spanish Armada). Elizabeth was frightened that the Roman Catholics living in England might join with the Spanish invaders to fight against her, so she wanted to know where they all lived.

If you look carefully you can see many of the houses have red marks on them and the names of the owners written next to them - these are where Roman Catholics lived. This map helps us to understand just how important religion was in Tudor times.