Old Map of Surrey

Historical Background

John and Charles Walker’s map records Surrey during the development of its railway network, while retaining the roads, estates and administrative geography of an older county landscape. The engraved publisher’s imprint is dated 1835. Railway information appears on the reproduced sheet, however, so that imprint should not be treated as proof that every feature shown belongs to the original 1835 state. The precise date of this railway-updated impression has not been established.

Map Details

• Original title: Surrey
• Mapmakers: J. & C. Walker — John and Charles Walker
• Publisher named on the sheet: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown & Co.
• Publication place: Paternoster Row, London
• Date: Nineteenth-century railway-updated map; engraved imprint dated 1835
• Area shown: Historic Surrey and adjoining parts of Middlesex, London, Kent, Sussex and Hampshire
• Orientation: North at the top
• Administrative detail: Eastern and Western Divisions, hundreds, election and polling places
• Original format: Folding sheet map; fold lines remain visible in the reproduction

Surrey before modern boundaries

The county extends towards the Thames and the southern side of London. Places now closely associated with Greater London appear within a much wider historic Surrey landscape, while Middlesex is named across the river to the north.

Guildford and Godalming occupy the western half of the map, with Dorking, Reigate and Croydon farther east. The dense network of smaller settlements and roads allows familiar local names to be traced beyond the principal towns. Green areas identify parks and wooded estates, breaking up the closely engraved geography.

Divisions, hundreds and polling places

The large labels “Western Division” and “Eastern Division” show that this is more than a map of physical geography. At the foot of the sheet, separate lists name the places of election and polling places for the two divisions.

A numbered reference identifies Surrey’s hundreds, older territorial divisions used for local administration. The coloured lines and numbered areas allow those historic districts to be compared with the settlements inside them. They do not represent modern borough boundaries.

Railways across the county

Strongly marked railway routes cross a finer network of roads, providing a clear visual contrast between new transport corridors and established local connections. London occupies the upper-right corner, with routes extending across the county and towards neighbouring regions.

The sheet belongs to a period when county maps were revised as railways developed. Its original imprint and later transport information need to be read together: a date engraved on the plate could remain while geographical details were updated. This map should therefore be described as showing an early railway landscape, rather than as the first map to depict railways.

The character of the folding original

The reproduction retains the original sheet’s fold lines and aged surface. Those marks belong to the historic source image; the product is a newly printed fine art reproduction.

Its appeal lies in the combination of practical detail and recognisable places: the Thames boundary, green estates, county divisions, polling lists and railway routes record different aspects of Surrey on one carefully engraved sheet.