Published almost 300 years ago by master mapmaker John Rocque, this is the first detailed map of South East London. It was originally published in 1746, following a highly accurate survey of London and its suburbs starting in 1740. It is a beautiful, highly detailed and extremely rare old map.
This is sheet 1 of 16, covering the London Borough of Bromley, one of the boroughs that form part of Greater London that is located on the southeastern border of the city.
As you can see from the map, during the time this was published, a small part of today's East London was a part of the county of Kent.
Some of the locations on this map include: Chislehurst, Bromley, Mottingham, Southend, Sundridge, Widmore and Plainstow.
Rocque published two major maps of London. This map here is a single sheet from a very fine 16-sheet map of "London and 10 miles around". His other map, a 24-sheet map of central London with magnificent detail, is far more famous.
This map looks great at all sizes: 12x16in (30.5x41cm), 18x24in (45.5x61cm), 16x20in (40.5x51cm), 24x36in (61x91.5cm), 30x40in (76x101.5cm), 37x50in (94x127cm), 45x60in (114x152.5cm) and 52x70in (132x178cm), but it looks best at larger sizes.
I can create beautiful, large prints of this map up to 120in (305cm). Please get in touch if you're looking for larger, customised or different framing options.
The model in the listing images is holding the 18x24in (45.5x61cm) version of this map.
The fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.
If you’re looking for something slightly different, another option would be this amazing map of South East London by Edward Stanford in 1891.
Please contact me to check if a certain location, landmark or feature is shown on this map.
This would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving or housewarming gift for someone interested in South East London or someone from the London Borough of Bromley.
This map is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that suits most aesthetics. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame colour or material. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.