This hand-drawn map of Anglo-Saxon London is utterly beautiful

London’s evolution over time is a story that people are always seeking to find new ways of retelling.

This map, produced last year, recently found minor Reddit fame for its hand-drawn beauty and documenting of place names from between roughly 500-1066 AD.

For the full size image click here (Picture: The Londonist)

The Londonist hand drew the map based on reader feedback and several academic sources, which provides an interesting insight into the Anglo-Saxon origin of many of London’s most famous locations.

As the original article pointed out:

The map shows 'Wemba Lea', the land belonging to a local chieftain by the name of Wemba. We know nothing about Mr Wemba, yet his name is familiar to millions, perhaps billions, through its continuation into our own times as Wembley.

Similarly, Croydon is a corruption of Crog Dene, which meant something like 'valley of the crocuses'.

To see the evolution of London’s boundaries in a little more detail, you can also see the below video from The London Evolution Animation.

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