This survey of the Belvoir hunt was ‘Accurately laid down from a Survey taken in the years 1804. 5. & 6’ by William King (fl.1791-c.1810). It is only the second to be undertaken since that in Saxton’s time. Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire was first built shortly after the Norman conquest in 1066 and has since been rebuilt at least three times. It is the Seat of the Dukes of Rutland, to whom this map is dedicated. The fifth Duke chose the architect James Wyatt to rebuild the castle around 1800. Nearing completion in 1816, it was almost destroyed in a fire. Major art works were lost with an estimated value of £120,000 including pictures by Titian, rubens, van Dyck and Reynolds. It is situated at the heart of one of the most famous fox-hunting regions of the country. The Belvoir Hunt was established in 1750.

This is the first edition of this rare map, a corrected edition appeared in 1836 which is similar uncommon. It details many of the features of interest to fox hunters, namely the nature of enclosed areas such as gorse, thorns or pasture. Many minor roads and tracks are identified and the variation of magnetic north as recorded on 31 December 1806. Tony Burgess in his work on fox hunting maps was only aware of six known examples as of 2015. Baum (1972) p. 24; Carroll (1996) p. xxv; Deadman (2010) p. 136; Eden (1975); Herbert (2022) Tony Burgess Obituary in IMCoS Journal 168 p. 48; Tooley’s Dictionary (1999-2004).