Welcome to The Old Map Site
This site provides old map scans taken over a 40 year period from the late 1940s to the late 1980s showing how the road network has developed in key areas.
The maps are taken from a variety of old sources, including my collection of old Bartholemew atlases. I have not used extracts newer than 1990 as the road network hasn't changed greatly since then, and I am not keen to reproduce maps that are still earning their owners money!
The site also hosts Alistair Beaton's retro-strip maps showing how some of our motorways would have looked when first constructed.
What's New?
28th May, 2006
After a long wait, during which you could be forgiven for thinking that I'd given up altogether, I've finally got a working scanner, and have now set up a page full of scans of the West Midlands area. The more observant will also notice that I've tidied things up around here, with a change to the way the pages are put together.
25th July, 2005
The site is launched with features on Newcastle and Manchester. In the future I hope to tackle other large urban areas - the West Midlands, London, Glasgow and Liverpool. The launch version of the site also contains Alistair Beaton's retro strip maps, which includes a very comprehensive history of the A74 and its upgrade to motorway. I've not even begun to tackle the issues surrounding the numbering of this route.
Copyright © 2005 - 2006 Simon Davies