Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
its workmanship is exceptionally high. Hills are depicted vividly with hachures, offering a
sense of the nature of the terrain that is unmatched by earlier maps of the region. Woodland,
open spaces, roads, and even individual buildings are rendered in painstaking detail, ensuring
that the map is of more than just military interest.
The map captures the landscape at a time when the social and economic ties between Lon-
don and its environs were especially strong. The growing population of city-dwellers - nearly
one million people by 1803 - relied heavily on the countryside for fresh food, and many
rural farmers earned their living from customers in the capital. Meanwhile, members of the
wealthy elite divided their time between residences in town and their country estates. Lon-
don was also expanding rapidly. Ribbon development along major roads and early industries
(such as gravel pits and brick kilns) on the fringes of the urban area formed a transitional
zone between the countryside and the city.
In fact, drawing a sharp dividing line between London and its surroundings has never been
easy. The distinction between town and country portrayed on this map reflects a common-
sense understanding of its size and scope. Urban settlement had outgrown the tiny City of
London and neighbouring Westminster - which was the seat of government and the royal
court - long before the 19th century, but not until the creation of the Metropolitan Board of
Works in 1855 would tentative steps be taken towards recognising this fact administratively.
Since that time, most of the places shown on this map, and many areas beyond it, have been
absorbed within the Greater London conurbation. These rural settlements of the past have
evolved new identities as neighbourhoods, suburbs and 'urban villages' within the modern
metropolis.