John Rocque's maps of London

In 1746, the French-born British surveyor and cartographer John Rocque produced two maps of London and the surrounding area.

Taking nearly ten years to survey, engrave and publish, it has been described as "a magnificent example of cartography ... one of the greatest and most handsome plans of any city".

[2] Also in 1746, Rocque published another, smaller-scale, map of London, Westminster, Southwark, and their environs in sixteen sheets: its full name is An Exact Survey of the city's of London Westminster ye Borough of Southwark and the Country near ten miles round / begun in 1741 & ended in 1745 by John Rocque Land Surveyor; & Engrav'd by Richard Parr.

A prospectus for the map was published in 1740,[3] stating: This Plan will be contained in 24 Sheets of the best Imperial Paper, being near 13 Feet in Length, and 6 Feet and an Half in Depth, and will extend from West to East, on the North Side, from beyond Mary-bone Turnpike, by Tottenham-Court, the New-River-Head, Hoxton and Part of Hackney to near Bow: From thence, Southerly, by the Easternmost Parts of Mile-End and Lime-House, cross the River Thames to Deptford Road; from whence the Southern Side will extend Westerly, by Newington and Vaux-Hall, to that Part of Surrey which is opposite to Chelsea-College; which Building, together with some Part of Knights-Bridge and Hyde-Park, will be included in the Western Limit ...[3]The map was financed by people subscribing to obtain a copy – one guinea was paid as a deposit and two guineas when the map was received.

[3][7] The two methods needed to be reconciled and at the start of his work Rocque relied too much on his ground surveys, only to find they were not in agreement with triangulation.

[3] The map shows internal details for some buildings, such as St Paul's Cathedral, and in less densely populated areas gardens are shown.

[8] After being drawn, each paper sheet was placed over a waxed copper plate and the lines were traced manually to produce the engraving.

[10] In the Annals of London (2000) the map is described as a "massive achievement";[11] and according to Chetham's Library it is "a magnificent example of cartography and an indispensable reference tool for historians: one of the greatest and most handsome plans of any city".

[21] A 2008 historical crime drama, City of Vice, is a British television series set in Georgian London.

To link between the various narrative scenes, Rocque's map is shown from above, then becomes three dimensional, and finally merges into the next film sequence.

A key to symbols distinguishing orchards, arable land, formal parkland and gardens, pasture, and woodland is included at bottom right.