THE DRAINING OF THE FENS JONAS MOORE A Mapp of Ye Great Levell of ye Fens extending into ye Countyes of Northampton, Norfolk, Suffolke, Lyncolne, Cambridge & Huntington & the Isle of Ely as it is now drained. Printed and Sold by Christopher Browne at the Globe near the West end of St. Paul’s Church, 1706 [but 1836]. Engraved map on 16 sheets, each 360 x 475 mm. on a scale of 2 inches to the mile. Some slight fraying and a few tears in the very wide margins, not affecting the printed images. Watermark of J. Whatman, 1836. The Bedford Level Company was set up in 1630 [their arms appear above the title of the map] and contracted with Cornelius Vermuyden to perform the necessary drainage works on the Level; his initial works completed in 1636. Further works were carried out in 1651 and 1652. In 1654 Jonas Moore was given leave to publish a map of the area; printed in 1658 only one copy survives, in the National Archives. In 1684 it was reprinted with a number of errors corrected, by Moses Pitt; a single copy copy is known, held at the Bodleian. Christopher Browne published the final edition in 1706 and these plates were used to print two further issues [identified by dated watermarks], one in 1824, and this final one in 1836. The original map is considered to be the first large scale map published of any area of England; it is astonishingly detailed, showing each plot of land and in some cases the owners name.