Old Map of Leicestershire in 1611 by John Speed - Leicester, Loughborough, Hinckley

First published in 1611 by the English cartographer John Speed and engraved in Amsterdam by Jodocus Hondius, this map formed part of Speed's landmark atlas, The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine, one of the earliest attempts to map every county of England and Wales in fine detail. It captures Leicestershire as it stood at the start of the seventeenth century, with the county town of Leicester rendered as a walled settlement on the River Soar, surrounded by the market towns of Loughborough, Hinckley and Wigston that still anchor the county today. Market Harborough, Melton Mowbray and Ashby-de-la-Zouch also appear across the sheet, alongside dozens of smaller villages and hamlets that made up rural Leicestershire four centuries ago.

Look closely and the map reveals a landscape shaped as much by history as by geography. Market Bosworth sits near the site of Bosworth Field, where Richard III lost his crown and his life in 1485, ending the Wars of the Roses, while the wooded expanse of Charnwood Forest is marked stretching across the centre of the county. Speed traced the River Soar as it winds north through Leicester towards the Trent, and noted the fertile Vale of Belvoir along the county's eastern edge. Leicestershire was at this date still closely bound to its small neighbour Rutland, and Speed's original plate paired the two counties on a single sheet, a reminder of how differently England's administrative map was once drawn. Details like these make the print as much a historical document as a decorative one.

As a piece of wall art, this Leicestershire print brings genuine seventeenth-century character into any room, whether hung in a study, hallway or above a fireplace. Its warm, hand-tinted colouring and period lettering sit comfortably in both traditional and contemporary interiors, and it works particularly well as a thoughtful gift for anyone with roots in Leicester, Loughborough or the wider county. It has proven popular as a birthday present for local history enthusiasts, a Christmas gift for family who have moved away from the area, and a housewarming present for someone settling into a new home nearby. Unframed and printed on quality paper, it is ready to be styled to suit its owner's own taste.