This handsome map of Chelsea was first issued by Thomas Faulkner in his 'Historical and Topographical Description of Chelsea' in 1810. The map shows Chelsea as it would have looked in 1717, and is based on a 1664 survey by James Hamilton. The map's imprint states that it was copied from the original by Edward Ward, suggesting that Faulkner had access to a copy of Hamilton's map around 1810. We have been able to find no surviving record of Hamilton's 1664 map, possibly making Thomas Faulkner's 1810 and 1829 maps the earliest surviving printed maps to focus on Chelsea.

Chelsea is shown as a small village next to the River Thames, surrounded by large, open fields. The Royal Hospital is, of course, shown on the map, along with its gardens, stables, and burial ground. The owners of many of the individual properties in Chelsea are named, including the Duke of Beaufort, the Earl of Ranelagh, and Lord Wharton. The acreage of each field is also listed, again based on James Hamilton's survey of the 1660s. 

The author of the map, Thomas Faulkner, was a builder, historian, and stationer with a shop on Paradise Row (next to the Royal Hospital). He would have been very familiar with the area and its residents, and many details of this map were likely drawn from personal experience and study. The map is dedicated to Revd. Gerard Wellesley, Rector of Chelsea, who is thanked for his assistance in producing the map and the book of history within which it was printed. The King's Road bisects the map east to west, with the eastern end specifically named as 'King's Private Road', the origin of the name.

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