Map of Belper town centre showing field boundaries, buildings and the route of the railway

This is a typically elegant 19th century estate map, probably by George Henry Hopkins, showing field boundaries, buildings and the route of the railway (opened 1840) at a scale of 2 chains to 1 inch. It covers land lying to the east of the River Derwent, from the south end of the Fishyards to the north side of Bridge Hill, part of Alderwasley Lane, Swinney Lane, Lawn Hill, Common Side, Kiln Lane and Cowhill.

The skill that went into surveying the land and producing the maps in this period is even more noticeable when you realise the maps were produced on several sections of paper and then pasted together onto linen.

The railway is shown in more detail than in earlier maps but houses that were to be demolished can still be seen, so the map was probably produced shortly before or just after the railway opened in 1840.