Map of Weston, Hertfordshire

A large (5ft 3 x 7ft inches, 180 x 215 cm), finely drawn and lightly coloured map of the town and manor of Weston, part of the possessions of Sir Thomas Puckering, Bart., and the manor of Lannock, part of the possessions of William Hale, Esq., by Henry Lily, 1633. Henry Lily (1589-1638), a heraldic painter, was appointed Rouge Dragon Pursuivant by the College of Arms in 1638. The map incorporates the Hale coat of arms in full colour. Fields and strips in the common fields are numbered, and there is a key listing owners and occupiers. Field names and road names are given, and the church and other buildings are drawn in perspective view. The map clearly demonstrates the persistence of the medieval agricultural system of fields and strips in common ownership, and the parish of Weston was not inclosed until 1801.