London
did not simply expand between 1750 and 1850. It was transformed.
Private initiatives to create a dignified setting for an imperial
capital, like the Adelphi development of the Adam brothers, were
emulated by government particularly in the development of Somerset
House, Hyde Park Corner, Regent Street, Regent's Park and Trafalgar
Square.
A conscious effort was made to emulate Paris and Berlin in creating
a magnificent city. In the 1790s, when the population was just under
a million, Richard Horwood tried to produce a wall map showing every
house in London. By 1851, with a population approaching 2.5 million,
such a map had become unrealisable.
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.
