We're lucky enough where we live to have a surviving map of the area from the 1600s. On this map, north is at the bottom, and south is at the top, as there was no convention that said it should be otherwise. From the same mapping survey there are other maps that are not oriented merely south but also southwest, southeast, West entirely. The survey taken in the 1600s was not even consistent from map to map - it was enough to show a compass to indicate which way North is.