Donate to Remove ads

Got a credit card? use our Credit Card & Finance Calculators

Thanks to johnstevens77,Bhoddhisatva,scotia,Anonymous,Cornytiv34, for Donating to support the site

Historical maps etc.

NomoneyNohoney
Lemon Slice
Posts: 972
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 10:31 am
Has thanked: 336 times
Been thanked: 438 times

Historical maps etc.

#51441

Postby NomoneyNohoney » May 5th, 2017, 3:41 pm

Found this on Reddit today : a website with many different types of maps to view, including Ordnance Survey maps from the 1840s.
See how your area has changed over the years!

http://maps.nls.uk/os/

From their home page there's other types to explore as well...

DiamondEcho
Lemon Quarter
Posts: 3131
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 3:39 pm
Has thanked: 3060 times
Been thanked: 554 times

Re: Historical maps etc.

#51495

Postby DiamondEcho » May 5th, 2017, 7:21 pm

NomoneyNohoney wrote:Found this on Reddit today : a website with many different types of maps to view, including Ordnance Survey maps from the 1840s. See how your area has changed over the years! http://maps.nls.uk/os/
From their home page there's other types to explore as well...


Wonderful stuff, hope you won't mind if I x-post to London Lovers board :)
I happen to collect old maps, I find them FASCINATING! My oldest being 1570 [Ortelius map of er.... what is now Great Britain]. I find their inaccuracies, from that era striking, they remind us of our horizons back then, like the little island of 'Brasil' about 200 miles to the west of Ireland :) I have a Tomaso Porcacci map of the current day USA from 1576, and paid £50-60 or so for it at a west-country auction. This one> that got £2375 recently at Christies :lol: :shock: http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/ ... tails.aspx
I have some later OS maps from c1880[?], linen backed, of West London that I picked up at Portobello Road for about £10 a piece in the '90s.
It's fascinating to see from an image via your link that the street my London home is on, went by another name, that of an adjacent sub-district in fact, back in the 1874 edition. That's a surprise to me, brilliant!

I have maaany other maps. From ones by Michael Drayton, Queen Elizabeth 1sts Court Poet which are whimsical to the point of minimalism and geographic irrelevance. His thing seems to have been 'river nymphs'. Here London/Middlesex > http://www.johnunderwoodbooks.com/book/ ... tfordshire
And Ogilby's 1675 road map of the route from London to Oxford.
http://www.wellandantiquemaps.co.uk/roa ... ilby-c1698
and the second part of that 3 part London to Aberystwyth series, which might be Oxford - Bristol or similar.
These maps were supposedly practical travellers maps. A coachman would have them open in his lap, and look out for the geographic indicators shown, an uphill stretch is shown as a hill, whereas a hill shown literally upside down was a piece of road going downhill. There's a lot more detail shown, 'boggy parts', and 'dangers' are noted. The toll-gate at Noten-Barnes [>c1840], marks the entry road to Noten Barns Farm, the old Notting Hill Farm [later Portobello Road named after the Battle of Portobello], that gave it's name to Notting Hill Gate.

How deep you you want to go, these old maps are amazing? :lol:

malkymoo
Lemon Slice
Posts: 349
Joined: November 23rd, 2016, 9:45 am
Has thanked: 29 times
Been thanked: 116 times

Re: Historical maps etc.

#51615

Postby malkymoo » May 6th, 2017, 12:53 pm

The site below uses 19th and 20th century maps from the NLS and British library to provide coverage of the Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire area. Very good user interface, you can compare old and current maps easily, includes a variable transparency overlay. Fascinating stuff!


http://www.kypwest.org.uk

NomoneyNohoney
Lemon Slice
Posts: 972
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 10:31 am
Has thanked: 336 times
Been thanked: 438 times

Re: Historical maps etc.

#51723

Postby NomoneyNohoney » May 6th, 2017, 7:16 pm

When I was a nipper, I lived near Bristol. I recall going for walks with my parents and we sometimes walked down a track, which was surfaced with what seemed like 6' square slabs of stone. I always believed it was a Roman road or track. Does anyone know how this would be marked on an old map? Courtesy of the previous post, I can see an 'old and new' rolling map display of the area but can't see anything indicating 'old road' or 'Roman Road/path.'

Is it likely there would be any specific logo or marking to indicate such a feature?

tjh290633
Lemon Half
Posts: 8208
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 11:20 am
Has thanked: 913 times
Been thanked: 4096 times

Re: Historical maps etc.

#51747

Postby tjh290633 » May 6th, 2017, 10:28 pm

The track of Roman Roads is indicated on Ordnance Survey maps. 6 ft square blocks do not sound like a Roman Road. It might have been a tram road, although they usually had two sets of paving with softer ground between for the horses to walk on. Most of those I have seen have an angle iron each side to guide the wagon wheels.

There are some good images of the construction of Roman Roads at https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=roman ... 80&bih=915

There is a description of a typical tramroad at http://brinore-tramroad.powys.org.uk/resource/guide.pdf

TJH

DiamondEcho
Lemon Quarter
Posts: 3131
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 3:39 pm
Has thanked: 3060 times
Been thanked: 554 times

Re: Historical maps etc.

#51799

Postby DiamondEcho » May 7th, 2017, 11:12 am

NomoneyNohoney wrote:When I was a nipper, I lived near Bristol. I recall going for walks with my parents and we sometimes walked down a track, which was surfaced with what seemed like 6' square slabs of stone. I always believed it was a Roman road or track. Does anyone know how this would be marked on an old map?


Hmmm! If you're sure it was stone rather than concrete then it must have been a strategically important route, to merit the laying of slabs like that!
Is the location in a place, perhaps a village, that has an entry in Wikipedia? If so it's possible the track is mentioned there. Or you might google and find a local history enthusiast who has described this track somewhere online. Does the parish have a website or similar? It seems quite a lot do these days, to help list local events, news and so on, but also feature articles on local history etc.

malkymoo
Lemon Slice
Posts: 349
Joined: November 23rd, 2016, 9:45 am
Has thanked: 29 times
Been thanked: 116 times

Re: Historical maps etc.

#51814

Postby malkymoo » May 7th, 2017, 12:03 pm

NomoneyNohoney wrote:When I was a nipper, I lived near Bristol. I recall going for walks with my parents and we sometimes walked down a track, which was surfaced with what seemed like 6' square slabs of stone
?



Do you really mean 6 ft square, or did you mean to put 6 inch square?

DiamondEcho
Lemon Quarter
Posts: 3131
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 3:39 pm
Has thanked: 3060 times
Been thanked: 554 times

Re: Historical maps etc.

#51828

Postby DiamondEcho » May 7th, 2017, 1:08 pm

Do you recall it's location? If so can you see it in 'satellite view' via google/maps? It's location and positioning should give clues to it's use.

If you know the name of the nearest village you might try googling on:
'[x] fields paved roadway' and
'[x] fields paves packway'

NomoneyNohoney
Lemon Slice
Posts: 972
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 10:31 am
Has thanked: 336 times
Been thanked: 438 times

Re: Historical maps etc.

#51897

Postby NomoneyNohoney » May 7th, 2017, 6:48 pm

Well, if anyone fancies a go at this:

I used to live in Rock Road, Keynsham, Bristol. To get to the path or track, I recall we walked uphill a bit, and my memory is that the slabbed surface was about 6' across, and there was a couple of foot verge each side. I particularly recall that the surface was slightly bowed upwards : at a later time I did a project on Roman History, and their roads were similarly bowed. Yes the slabs - as I recall were about five or six feet long, although whether square or rectangular, I can't really remember. I was only about six or seven at the time, so there is a possibility that my mind has played tricks over the years.

I don't think it could have been that far from my home: I wouldn't be capable of long walks, so I'd expect a mile radius at most.

I'd love to pin this down, as I'd really like to revisit there sometime.

AJC5001
Lemon Slice
Posts: 447
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 4:55 pm
Has thanked: 161 times
Been thanked: 158 times

Re: Historical maps etc.

#51932

Postby AJC5001 » May 7th, 2017, 10:52 pm

NomoneyNohoney wrote:Well, if anyone fancies a go at this:

I used to live in Rock Road, Keynsham, Bristol. To get to the path or track, I recall we walked uphill a bit, and my memory is that the slabbed surface was about 6' across, and there was a couple of foot verge each side. I particularly recall that the surface was slightly bowed upwards : at a later time I did a project on Roman History, and their roads were similarly bowed. Yes the slabs - as I recall were about five or six feet long, although whether square or rectangular, I can't really remember. I was only about six or seven at the time, so there is a possibility that my mind has played tricks over the years.

I don't think it could have been that far from my home: I wouldn't be capable of long walks, so I'd expect a mile radius at most.

I'd love to pin this down, as I'd really like to revisit there sometime.


Is this any use? http://www.riveravontrail.org.uk/archive/the_dramway.pdf

Adrian

NomoneyNohoney
Lemon Slice
Posts: 972
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 10:31 am
Has thanked: 336 times
Been thanked: 438 times

Re: Historical maps etc.

#52083

Postby NomoneyNohoney » May 8th, 2017, 6:27 pm

Thanks Adrian - the size of the track is about what I remember, but my memory is that the centre of the path was slabbed. Irrespective, that's quite an interesting walk you've highlighted - if I go back there, I may well search it out.

tjh290633
Lemon Half
Posts: 8208
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 11:20 am
Has thanked: 913 times
Been thanked: 4096 times

Re: Historical maps etc.

#52120

Postby tjh290633 » May 8th, 2017, 10:52 pm

The Dramway link is interesting. My father worked for the NCB after nationalisation and was an underground surveyor in the Forest of Dean coalfield. He used to go to Yate/Coalpit Heath and to the Somerset coalfield to do surveying there for some time. He used to stay in Wells when he did the Somerset pits, but Coalpit Heath may have been a day trip.

TJH


Return to “Curiosity Corner”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 6 guests