Surveying the City: John Britton’s ‘London Topography’, 1820-1840

John Britton (1771-1857) built a fifty year career as a prolific producer of illustrated works on the landscape, architecture and antiquities of Britain, subjects he encompassed in a reformed vision of topography. This presentation addresses Britton’s works on ‘London Topography’. Often collaborative enterprises, undertaken with a range of artists, engravers and writers, these range widely in form and subject, including prints, maps, memoirs, magazine articles, albums of views, volumes of architectural illustration and pictorial guides. The subjects include the Colosseum Panorama, Regents Park, John Soane’s house-museum and the works of the London to Birmingham Railway as well as wider districts of the metropolis. Published at various stages of his career, Britton’s works on London topography survey the expansion and transformation of the city from a reformist perspective, at times precariously so as the pace of change quickened, including that of topographical publication. This presentation focuses on a magnificent display map Britton published in the wake of the Reform Act The Topographical Survey of the Borough of St Marylebone (1834).

All are welcome! However, places are limited, so if you would like to attend please contact our Events Manager, Ella Fleming on [email protected]

The seminar will be followed by a drinks reception.