The city of London has inspired many beautiful panoramic maps over the centuries, each lovingly crafted by talented artists. Interestingly, these panoramas almost always share a common perspective - north from the south side of the River Thames. This same viewpoint is used in Frederick James Smyth’s 1844 Panorama of London.
Exeter University’s Digital Humanities Lab has created an interactive guided tour of Smyth’s Panorama of London. Using Knight Lab’s StoryMap.js platform, the project offers a rich, navigable journey through 19th-century London as captured in one of the era’s most visually striking urban illustrations.
Originally commissioned by the Illustrated London News and first published in 1845, Smyth’s panorama is a remarkable feat of Victorian printmaking. Stretching over eight feet in length, it presents a detailed bird’s-eye view of the city from a south-of-the-Thames vantage point.
Exeter University’s story-map guides viewers through some of 1844 London’s most prominent landmarks. These include long-lost sites such as Millbank Penitentiary (where convicts were held before deportation to Australia) and the Hungerford Suspension Bridge. It also features familiar icons that remain central to the city today, including St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Houses of Parliament, and Buckingham Palace, to name just a few.
More vintage panoramas of London:
1543 - The Wyngaerde Panorama
1616 - Claes Jansz Visscher's Panorama (1848 copy)
1829 - View of London from the Adelphi
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