Vintage Map of Middlesex by Joan Blaeu, 1645

Joan Blaeu’s Middle-Sexia: Middlesex Before Greater London

Joan Blaeu’s map of Middlesex, entitled Middle-Sexia, was first published in Amsterdam in 1645. It formed part of the fourth volume of his Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, sive Atlas Novus, devoted to England and Wales. This ambitious volume brought the English counties into one of the most celebrated European atlases of the seventeenth century.

Although Joan inherited the Blaeu publishing house from his father, Willem Blaeu, the map belongs to Joan’s period of leadership and should be attributed to him. By 1640, Joan was directing the Amsterdam firm and expanding its atlas collection in competition with the rival mapmaking house of Johannes Janssonius. Blaeu’s volume of English and Welsh county maps appeared in 1645, a year before Janssonius published his competing collection.

A County Beside the Capital

Historic Middlesex occupied the territory immediately north and west of London. Its southern boundary followed the River Thames, while the rivers Lea and Colne helped define its eastern and western limits. To the north, the county extended towards the higher ground adjoining Hertfordshire.

The name Middlesex derives from the “Middle Saxons”, although the county had developed a distinct administrative identity long before Blaeu’s map was produced. It was one of England’s smallest historic counties, yet its position beside London gave it an importance far beyond its geographical size.

The City of London was legally separate from Middlesex, having its own government and privileges. Nevertheless, Blaeu included the densely built city on the right-hand side of the map because it provided essential geographical context. Westminster, by contrast, lay within Middlesex, alongside settlements that would eventually become familiar parts of modern London.

Reading the Seventeenth-Century Landscape

The map records a Middlesex that would be almost unrecognisable today. London and Westminster occupy only a small part of the county, while the surrounding landscape is filled with individual villages, market towns, fields, woodland and open country.

Along the Thames appear communities such as Chelsea, Fulham, Hammersmith, Brentford, Isleworth, Twickenham and Hampton. Further north and west, the map identifies places including Harrow, Uxbridge, Edmonton, Enfield, Tottenham and Hampstead. Many were then independent settlements separated from London by farmland and commons.

Middlesex was closely connected to the life of the capital. Its farms, gardens and estates supplied London with hay, grain, fruit, vegetables, livestock and building materials. Rivers and established routes connected these settlements with the city’s markets, while wealthy Londoners increasingly acquired houses and estates in the surrounding countryside.

Blaeu’s engraving was not intended to function like a modern road map. Settlements are indicated with conventional pictorial symbols, while small clusters of buildings distinguish more important towns. Rivers are given particular prominence, and shaded hill forms suggest the shape of the landscape. Historic spellings add to the character of the map and reflect the lack of standardised place names during the period.

Middlesex in 1645

The publication date places the map in the middle of the English Civil War. London and Westminster were central to Parliament’s political, financial and military strength, making the surrounding approaches through Middlesex strategically important. Roads across the county carried soldiers, supplies, correspondence and travellers between the capital and other parts of England.

Blaeu’s map does not depict the conflict directly. Instead, it presents an orderly and decorative image of the county, characteristic of a prestigious European atlas. For its original owners, the map combined geographical information with the craftsmanship and visual splendour expected from the Blaeu publishing house.

Decorative Design and Later Editions

The map’s decorative treatment is a significant part of its appeal. An elaborate figure cartouche in the lower-right area contains the Latin title and scale, while the British royal arms provide a prominent heraldic feature. These ornaments balance the densely engraved representation of London and the numerous place names spread across the county.

Printed from a copperplate, Middle-Sexia appeared in successive editions of Blaeu’s atlases, accompanied by text in different European languages. The map was later incorporated into the monumental Atlas Maior, first issued during the 1660s. Surviving examples therefore vary in their accompanying text and colouring, although the underlying engraved design remained substantially the same.

Today the map offers a compelling portrait of Middlesex before the enormous growth of London absorbed most of the historic county. Familiar districts can still be located, but they appear as small and separate communities within a predominantly rural landscape—making the map especially fascinating for anyone interested in London, Middlesex or local family history.