Speculum Britanniae

[1] It was intended to take the form of a series of county maps, accompanied by place-by-place written descriptions.

Norden was primarily a surveyor and cartographer, and the written descriptions always had a subsidiary role, being much slighter than other early county histories.

Nevertheless, they were based on direct observation, and Norden recorded much topographical and antiquarian detail of interest, including the heraldry of tombs, and archaeological sites.

The first instalment, Speculum Britanniae: the First Parte: an Historicall, & Chorographicall Discription of Middlesex, was published in 1593.

In 1595 Norden wrote a "Chorographical Description" of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, Wight, Guernsey and Jersey, as a presentation manuscript for Queen Elizabeth (now British Library Add.