Old Map of Kent in 1947 by Ernest Clegg - Canterbury, Dover, Sevenoaks

Published in 1947 by the illustrator and mapmaker Ernest Clegg, this richly decorated pictorial map presents Kent in the years immediately after the Second World War. At its centre sits a detailed map of the county itself, showing Canterbury, the cathedral city that gives the county its historic heart, alongside Dover, Sevenoaks, Maidstone and the many towns and villages that make up the 'Garden of England'.

Around the edges of the map, Clegg filled the sheet with detailed illustrations celebrating Kent's landscape and its recent wartime history. The white cliffs of Dover are pictured looking out across the Channel, a view that became a powerful symbol of Britain during the war, and the map includes imagery recalling the Battle of Britain, much of which was fought in the skies above Kent and the surrounding counties in 1940. A line from Winston Churchill's famous tribute to the RAF pilots of that summer appears alongside these illustrations, tying the map firmly to the county's wartime story. Elsewhere, the historic naval town of Chatham, the cathedral city of Rochester and the spa town of Tunbridge Wells are all marked, alongside the coastal resort of Margate further along the coast.

This map of Kent makes a distinctive and characterful gift, particularly for anyone with a connection to the county or an interest in its wartime history. It is a fitting Father's Day gift for a father with an interest in military history, a meaningful retirement present for anyone who has spent their career in Kent, and a fitting anniversary gift for a couple who married in Canterbury or along the Kent coast. Supplied unframed on quality paper, it offers a lively, illustrated piece of wall art quite unlike a conventional county map.