A plan of the defences of London during the Civil War

At the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642 London was staunchly Parliamentarian, even giving sanctuary to the five M.P.s whose attempted arrest by Charles I sparked the conflict. As the Royalist army approached London defences were thrown up arround the whole urban area of London and Westminster, including Lambeth and Southwark south of the river. Despite the Royalists winning the Battle of Brentford in November they never tested these defences. The engraver (and probably publisher) of this map was George Vertue, a leading member of the Society of Antiquaries. He specialised in copying rare early manuscripts, prints and maps for posterity, for example the so-called 'Agas' map of Tudor London and this map, one of the very few printed maps of Civil War London.