Greenwood’s large 1834 old map of London shown framed for interior inspiration; supplied unframed

Large Old Map of London 1834 – Greenwood - Image 2

Large Old Map of London 1834 – Greenwood - Image 3

Large Old Map of London 1834 – Greenwood

Name: Large Old Map of London 1834 – Greenwood
SKU: 73
Price: 219.95 GBP
Availability: InStock

£219.95

Greenwood’s Large Map of London, 1834

This imposing map of London was compiled by C. and J. Greenwood and published in 1834, with a dedication to King William IV. At approximately 58 × 40 inches as reproduced here, it is one of the largest maps in the collection and rewards close inspection with an exceptional amount of early nineteenth-century detail.

The Greenwoods were among the leading commercial surveyors and map publishers of Georgian Britain. Their county maps were based on extensive surveys, and their London work reflects the same appetite for detail. Streets, parishes, principal buildings and transport features are combined into a broad view of the rapidly expanding capital.

One especially interesting feature is the map’s treatment of the postal system. The extent of the Two-Penny Post delivery is marked, preserving a practical piece of London’s communications geography at a time when the Post Office was becoming increasingly important to commercial and domestic life.

The map also includes a keyed list of more than sixty parishes, while the London boroughs are distinguished by colour. These administrative details make the map more than a street plan: it is also a record of how London was divided, governed and understood before the later nineteenth-century reorganisation of the metropolis.

The Greenwich railway is another notable feature associated with this edition. In the early 1830s the London & Greenwich Railway was being planned and built, and it would open in stages from 1836 as one of the capital’s earliest passenger railways. Its appearance places the map precisely at the beginning of the railway age.

For anyone wanting a large, highly detailed statement map of pre-Victorian London, this is one of the strongest choices in the collection.

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Description

C. and J. Greenwood’s 1834 map presents London on a grand scale, combining streets, parishes, postal geography and transport features into a richly detailed survey of the capital during the reign of William IV.

Map Details

Mapmakers: C. and J. Greenwood
Date: 1834
Dedication: King William IV
Features: Streets, parishes, borough colouring, postal limits and early railway information
Print size: approximately 58" × 40" (147 × 101 cm)

London Before Victoria

The map dates from only a few years before Queen Victoria came to the throne. London was already enormous by British standards, but it had not yet experienced the railway construction, suburbanisation and municipal changes that would transform the city after 1837.

The street network is therefore recognisably modern in places while still preserving the structure of an earlier capital. The map allows the viewer to see central London alongside districts that were only beginning to be absorbed into the growing metropolis.

The Two-Penny Post

The marked extent of the Two-Penny Post delivery is one of the most distinctive historical features. Postal boundaries mattered in everyday life, determining where letters could be carried within the local London system and at what rate.

On the map, this postal information adds a layer of administrative geography that would be invisible on an ordinary street plan.

Parishes and Boroughs

More than sixty parishes are listed and keyed, while borough divisions are distinguished by colour. These details preserve the complex patchwork of local jurisdictions that existed before later metropolitan government attempted to bring greater uniformity to London administration.

The Beginning of the Railway Age

The early Greenwich railway is especially significant. The London & Greenwich Railway was among the first passenger railways built for the capital, and construction was under way in the mid-1830s. The map therefore catches London at the exact moment when rail transport was beginning to introduce an entirely new geography of movement.

A Monumental London Map

The great attraction of this edition is scale. At roughly 58 by 40 inches, details that can be overlooked on smaller reproductions become much easier to explore. The map works both as a decorative centrepiece and as a serious historical document.

Frame shown for interior inspiration only. Supplied unframed.