The first printed large-scale maps of Suffolk to the scale of one inch to a mile were by James Corbridge in 1735 and John Kirby in 1736. Neither advanced the cartography of the county, merely drawing upon earlier works on a larger scale. This survey was undertaken by Joseph Hodskinson (1735?-1812) who first announced it in a set of Proposals published in 1776. He had already engraved a large-scale map of Bedfordshire for Thomas Jefferys in 1765 and Cumberland for Thomas Donald in 1771. He was also co-surveyor of the magnificent large-scale map of Yorkshire published by Thomas Jefferys in 1771-72. His assistant in this project on Suffolk was Andrew Dury (fl.1754-78) who died in 1777 causing some delay. Further Proposals were published in March 1780 with an apology caused by his death (illustrated Harley, 1965, p. 61). The promise of having your seat and name added to the map as a subscriber would cost one and a half guineas when published.

The undertaking of the survey is displayed on the map with the use of a triangulation diagram, one of only a handful published to include one. The finished work was engraved by William Faden. A very fine plan of Ipswich upper centre follows the survey of Joseph Pennington in 1778 and is drawn at the excellent scale of 66 yards to an inch. The map indicates all the usual features found in maps of the period including water mills, windmills, and even farms and cottages. The road network is defined by ‘Inclosed’ or open roads with two different mileages recording those from either London a nearby town. The contours of the land are defined by graduated shading. An engraving of the Abbey Gate at Bury St. Edmunds is lower left. The map is dedicated to the Duke of Grafton, Lord Lieutenant of the county.

The work was considered worthy enough to be awarded the Gold Medal from the Society of Arts. However, recent research has shown that he underestimated the size of the county by some 3-4 percent. A second edition was also published by Faden in 1820. Provenance: Rennie Sinclair collection. Eden (1979) H419; Harley (1965); Kentish (2004); Kentish (2012) no. 84; Rodger (1972) 415; Worms & Baynton-Williams (2011).