Large, rare map of London and environs published on 16 sheets.

In 1747, John Rocque, a French-born British surveyor and cartographer, published a detailed map of central London titled “A Plan of the Cities of London and Westminster, and Borough of Southwark”. The following year, he reused its surveys and engravings to produce a second, less detailed but far larger map, “An Exact Survey of the Cities of London, Westminster, the Borough of Southwark and the Country near Ten Miles Round”, extending coverage to the surrounding countryside. This map is the second of the two produced.

The title reflects 18th-century administrative realities: “the City’s of London, Westminster, and ye Borough of Southwark” were separate legal entities, with areas beyond the Roman walls governing themselves. The “Country near Ten Miles Round” referred to land outside the City of London’s jurisdiction, though all areas shown are now considered part of modern London.

Surveying for the first of the two maps began in 1738 and concluded in 1744, with engraving and planning taking nearly a decade. The project was funded by subscribers, who paid one guinea in advance and two on completion; among them was Frederick, Prince of Wales, later Rocque’s patron as Royal Cartographer. This map, the second of the two maps, began formulation in 1741 and was finished a year after the first in 1745.

Rocque employed two survey methods: ground-level measurement using compass and chain, and a triangulation network using a theodolite from elevated viewpoints. Discrepancies between these methods led to extensive remeasurement in 1742, prompting financial support from the City of London’s Court of Aldermen. Although surveyed as a whole, the map was engraved and issued in separate sheets.

The map is dedicated to Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, and includes a key identifying various land uses, such as orchards, arable land, parkland, pasture, and woodland. It features two decorative cartouches—one purely ornamental and the other bearing the dedication—positioned at the top and bottom of the map. The title is presented in both Latin (on the left) and French (on the right), while several scales and measurements appear along the lower margin. A further key numbers each of the individual sheets, and a small note in the lower-right margin records that the map was published in accordance with an Act of Parliament.