Faithfully reproducing the original hand colouring, it shows street names, prominent buildings, the new docks in the lower reaches of The Thames, numerous factories beside the river, canals leading away to other parts of the country and a few of the earliest railways. All is shown in minute detail.
Beyond the limits of the developed area, which in 1843 extended no further than Hyde Park in the west and Stepney in the east, can be seen the orchards and market gardens of Chelsea and Southwark, the marshes of the Isle of Dogs and the outlying villages of Earls Court, Kentish Town and Bow.