Before 1680 the ancient towns and villages now absorbed in
Greater London were rarely considered important enough to be
mapped in their own right. From the 1680s, as the villages
became socially and economically integrated into the London
region, this changed. They were shown like stars surrounding the
central sun of London, which had previously been depicted only
with the villages of Middlesex, north of the Thames. Road
surfaces improved considerably from the late 18th century.
Coaches began to run regularly between the centre of town and
the outlying villages and it became possible for businessmen to
live permanently in their country villas with their families and
commute on a daily basis. Nevertheless, despite their increasing
integration with London, most villages were still surrounded by
fields in 1850. Click the pins on the Google Map above or follow
the links below to view some of the key maps from this period in
our Online Gallery. Survey of the Parish of Islington, 1735 Plan
of a proposed Turnpike ro