Surrey (from The British Gazetteer)

A finely engraved county map of Surrey, drawn and engraved by John Cary for The British Gazetteer. The map delineates the county with clarity and precision, extending from the Thames and London in the northeast to the Sussex border in the south, and from Hampshire in the west to Kent in the east.

Administrative divisions are shown by hundreds, numbered and keyed in a reference table. An extensive network of roads and turnpike routes is carefully plotted, reflecting Cary’s emphasis on practical cartography. Rivers, including the Thames, Wey, and Mole, are clearly delineated, while towns, villages, parks, commons, and wooded areas are systematically labeled.

The map is embellished with a decorative engraved title cartouche, compass rose, and a hand-coloured county outline, all typical of Cary’s restrained yet elegant style.

Issued as part of The British Gazetteer, this map forms part of a comprehensive late-Georgian survey of England and Wales. John Cary’s maps were widely regarded as the most accurate of their period and were frequently consulted by travelers, administrators, and scholars.

This map records Surrey immediately prior to large-scale suburban and industrial expansion, preserving the county’s late-18th-century landscape and infrastructure at a moment of increasing connectivity with London. It stands as an excellent example of English Enlightenment cartography focused on precision, utility, and clarity.