Bacon's gem map of London and suburbs

This map, published by Bacon in the 1920s shows the extent of London's suburban growth. The map extends from Plumstead and Thornton Heath in the South to Ealing and Wood Greeen in the North. London's outward spread meant that the built-up area virtually doubled in size between 1900 and 1930. Concern about the impact on the countryside led to the Green Belt Act of 1939, which attempted to halt London's spread through planning restrictions. Interestingly the red circles and lines on the map appear to have been added by hand at a later date than publication and seem to refer to the location of main roads out of London. The large red circle is centred on Aldywych in central London, with the red road lines spreading out from the central circle to the suburbs. The smaller red circles marked along the lines are numbered 1-28.