The oldest surviving map of London is to go on display next week for the first time.
The Civitas Londinium, originally created in the 1570s, gives a birds-eye view of the capital as it was at the time, stretching from Southwark in the south, up to Hampstead and Highgate in the north of the city.
There are three surviving prints of the map, all made in 1633. No one knows who originally made it, or why.
The Civitas Londinium is the centre of a new, free exhibition called Magnificent Maps of London at the London Metropolitan Archives in Clerkenwell, which starts next Monday (April 11).
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Other exhibits include The Ruins of London, a survey commissioned by the City of London Corporation after the Great Fire of London tore through the city in 1666.
The corporation commissioned the survey in the week after the fire – which destroyed 13,000 houses – as part of efforts to rebuild the city following the devastating blaze.
Other artefact in the exhibition include Victorian maps showing the spread of deadly diseases like typhoid, cholera and smallpox.
The chair of the City of London Corporation’s culture, heritage and libraries committee, Wendy Hyde, said: “This new exhibition gives a unique and compelling insight into how London was literally put on the map.
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“It charts this extraordinary city’s development through some of the tumultuous events that defined it, like the Great Fire.
“We are bringing the history of London to life for our visitors, unlocking imagination, creativity, and innovation.”
The exhibition runs from April 11-October 26. For more information click here.