1-191-930 - © London Museum/Heritage-Images

The Rhinebeck Panorama, c1807. Extraordinary bird's eye view of London at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The view from high above the river, mid-way between Bermondsey and the Tower of London, looks west. The wide vista looks down on streets and squares and across chimneys and rooftops to churches and several landmarks which are clearly recognisable today. The Pool of London is crowded with coastal and European shipping, lighters, wherries, skiffs and barges. The Thames winds its way west as far as Windsor Castle which is just visible on the horizon. The panorama consists of four watercolour panels stretching almost nine feet, or just over two and a half metres, in length. It was discovered in 1941 in Rhinebeck, a town on the Hudson River in the USA, lining a barrel full of pistols.