Over the past 2000 years, London has developed from a small town, fitting snugly within its walls, into one of the world's largest and most dynamic cities. London: A History in Maps illustrates and helps to explain the transformation using over 400 examples of maps. Side-by-side with the great, semi-official, but sanitized images of the whole city, there are the more utilitarian maps and plans of the parts--actual and envisaged--which perhaps present more than topographical records. They all have something unique to say about the time when they were created. Peter Barber's book reveals the "inside story" behind one of the world's greatest cities.

London has been changing and evolving. It has been renewing or replacing the streets and buildings at its heart and has been spreading inexorably outwards. This book illustrates this process by maps of London; and offers a panorama of London's history by focusing on its maps.

“This meticulously researched account underlines the importance of the capital’s docklands . . . from Roman landing to modern financial centre.” —Discover Britain The River Thames has been integral to the prosperity of London since Roman times. Explorers sailed away on voyages of discovery to distant lands. Colonies were established and a great empire grew. Funding their ships and cargoes helped make the City of London into the world’s leading financial center. In the nineteenth century a vast network of docks was created for ever-larger ships, behind high, prison-like walls that kept them secret from all those who did not toil within. Sail made way for steam as goods were dispatched to every corner of the world. In the nineteenth century London was the world’s greatest port city. In the Second World War the Port of London became Hitler’s prime target. It paid a heavy price but soon recovered. Yet by the end of the 20th century the docks had been transformed into Docklands, a new financial center. The History of the Port of London: A Vast Emporium of Nations is the fascinating story of the rise and fall and revival of the commercial river. The only book to tell the whole story and bring it right up to date, it charts the foundation, growth and evolution of the port and explains why for centuries it has been so important to Britain’s prosperity. This book will appeal to those interested in London’s history, maritime and industrial heritage, the Docklands and East End of London, and the River Thames.

London Bridge lined with houses from end to end was one of the most extraordinary structures ever seen in London. It was home to over 500 people, perched above the rushing waters of the Thames, and was one of the city’s main shopping streets. It is among the most familiar images of London in the past, but little has previously been known about the houses and the people who lived and worked in them. This book uses plentiful newly-discovered evidence, including detailed descriptions of nearly every house, to tell the story of the bridge and its houses and inhabitants. With the new information it is possible to reconstruct the plan of the bridge and houses in the seventeenth century, to trace the history of each house back through rentals and a survey to 1358, revealing the original layout, to date most of the houses which appear in later views, and to show how the houses and their occupants changed during five and half centuries. The book describes what stopped the houses falling into the river, how the houses were gradually enlarged, what their layout was inside, what goods were sold on the bridge and how these changed over time, the extensive rebuilding in 1477-1548 and 1683-96, and the removal of the houses around 1760. There are many new discoveries - about the structure of the bridge, the width of the roadway, the original layout of the houses, how the houses were supported, the size and internal planning of the houses, the quality of their architecture, and the trades practised on the bridge. The book includes five newly-commissioned reconstruction drawings showing what we now know about the bridge and its houses.

The 24 unique, fascinating, and beautiful maps and views in this book date from the 12th century to the present, including some of the earliest known maps of London as well as topographical maps, views of iconic locations and monuments, transit maps, maps used for advertising, road and bicycle maps, and much more. The images have been carefully selected by photographic historian George Sinclair, who traveled across Europe to mine some of the most obscure historical collections for a wide variety of unique, never-before-published, and visually and historically intriguing images. Every map or view includes the original printing information on the back and is accompanied by brief text that places the image in its historic context and further illuminates its qualities. In addition, Sinclair provides a thoughtful introduction to the collection of images. Printed on high-quality matte paper and exquisitely reproduced, these images are perfect for display in any home, office, library, dorm room, or classroom.

London as a center for business and culture provided the essential focus for the development of the English book trade. In physically constricted urban spaces, printing, bookselling and all the associated activities were organized in intricate topographical patterns. How this worked on the ground provides the central theme of the volume, containing essays by specialists in a variety of fields. Several chapters explore the communities of printers and booksellers around St. Paul's Cathedral and its neighborhood in the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Other topics range across the areas of London associated with the print trade, and with French emigres in the book trade, to the output of private presses in the London suburbs in the nineteenth century.