A 400-year-old map of Norfolk in pristine condition is to go under the hammer in Aylsham.

The 1623 map of the county is by John Speed, one of the leading mapmakers of the Elizabethan era.

Mr Speed worked from a room in the Custom House in London courtesy of the direct permission of Queen Elizabeth herself.

The framed paper map includes all of the ‘hundreds’ – the areas into which the county was divided for administrative purposes.

It is up for auction in Keys Auctioneers and Valuers’ two-day book and ephemera sale on December 15-16.  

The map has a pre-sale estimate of £300-£350.

Keys' head of books, Andrew Lindsey-Bullock, said: “This is as good a condition Speed map as I have ever seen at auction.

“Often maps are folded and become frayed along the fold, but this one has clearly been kept flat for four centuries.

“It is fascinating to see how much has changed in our county in 400 years.  

"Many of the suburbs of Norwich which we regard as part of the city were very separate settlements, including Sprowston, Lakenham, Catton and Bowthorpe.”

The Speed map of Norfolk was published during the reign of King James I, who in 1605 was the intended target of Guy Fawkes’ Gunpowder Plot.

More details of the sale, which is also online, are at www.keysauctions.co.uk.