Bowles’s 1792 map of London, Westminster and Southwark, with the Thames from Chelsea to Deptford
Close-up of the engraved street detail on Bowles’s 1792 pocket map of London
Detail from Bowles’s 1792 New Pocket Plan of London
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Bowles’s Old Pocket Map of London 1792

Price range: £29.95 through £39.95

Carington Bowles’s New Pocket Plan of London, Westminster and Southwark, 1792

Follow Georgian London along the winding Thames, from Chelsea in the west to Deptford in the east. This old pocket map combines a closely engraved street plan with a reference table to churches and principal buildings, making it a rewarding print for anyone interested in the city’s streets, landmarks and changing outskirts.

Hyde Park and St James’s Park stand out beside the western streets, while the dense City contrasts with the more open ground around Islington and south of the river. The Thames links Westminster, Southwark and the eastern riverside settlements in one broad view. Familiar names sit among fields, gardens and roads that show how close the Georgian capital still lay to the countryside.

The title promises new buildings, roads and alterations up to 1792. That wording matters: this was intended as a current guide to a growing city, rather than a retrospective historical map. The rectangular grid and the long reference table give it the character of a practical working plan. Along the bottom, churches and important buildings are listed with their positions on the map, offering a second way to study its detail.

At the upper right, figures with surveying instruments surround the title cartouche. A compass rose sits within the great eastern bend of the Thames. The original’s fold divisions remain visible across the image, recalling a map made to be carried and opened for consultation. These details distinguish this larger New Pocket Plan from Bowles’s separate Reduced New Pocket Plan, with which it can easily be confused.

Reproduced as a fine art print on textured paper and supplied unframed, it brings together the appeal of an antique London map with the pleasure of finding places you know in their eighteenth-century setting.

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Historical Background

Bowles’s New Pocket Plan records the cities of London and Westminster and the borough of Southwark, together with their outskirts and the Thames from Chelsea to Deptford. The 1792 edition is catalogued under Carington Bowles of 69 St Paul’s Churchyard, London. Its combination of street detail, a reference grid and a table of important buildings reflects its purpose as a usable guide to the capital.

Map Details

  • Original title: Bowles’s New Pocket Plan of the Cities of London and Westminster with the Borough of Southwark
  • Publisher: Carington Bowles, 69 St Paul’s Churchyard, London
  • Date: 1792
  • Coverage: London, Westminster, Southwark and their outskirts; the Thames from Chelsea to Deptford
  • Original method: Engraved plan
  • Features: Reference grid, table of churches and principal buildings, surveying figures and compass rose

A City Meant to Be Read

The grid and reference table make this more than a decorative street pattern. They help the reader connect named institutions with positions on the plan. Churches, public buildings and other landmarks provided useful points of orientation in a city whose streets were becoming increasingly extensive.

London’s Changing Outskirts

The contrast between the crowded central streets and the open spaces beyond them is especially striking. Hyde Park and St James’s Park remain prominent, while Islington and the southern outskirts retain an immediate relationship with gardens and fields. The map lets you trace the transition from established city streets to the surrounding landscape without imposing the boundaries of modern London.

The Craft of the Pocket Plan

The figures around the title carry surveying equipment, presenting measurement as part of the map’s identity. The fold divisions visible in this reproduction are another reminder of its original function: a detailed engraved sheet could be folded down for carrying, then opened when its owner needed the larger view. The title’s reference to alterations up to 1792 emphasises the value of an updated edition.

For a later view of the capital, compare Benjamin Baker’s London plan of 1807; for a wider eighteenth-century setting, see Thomas Kitchin’s 30 Miles Around London, 1773.

Supplied unframed as a fine art print.

SKU: 9583820106 Category:

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