OLD ORDNANCE SURVEY MAPS: THE GODFREY EDITION

August Newsletter

The major news this month is that we have now completed coverage of England & Wales at the Inch to the Mile scale. This has been a major project of over 300 maps, a long journey!

We brought out sheet 20/21 Tyneside & Wearside 1878 many years ago as a 'one-off', but publication of the maps as a series began in February 1997 with sheets 4 Holy Island 1863 and 238 North Chilterns 1888.

The series is completed with sheet 270 South London 1893, with a friendly nod to Dr Christopher Board, very much resident in that area, whose suggestions really led to the series all those years ago. Chris also contributed the introductions to one or two of the early 'One Inch' maps. It has always been important to me that each map should include a specially written introduction, and I am grateful to all the authors who have taken part in the venture.

Recently, to help spur the series forward, we have asked a handful of authors to write several introductions, and so a special thanks to Barrie Trinder, who has written 59 of the introductions, Derrick Pratt, with 35, Richard Oliver, with 28, and Tony Painter, with 23. (Numbers on a 'back of an envelope', so please don't write in if they are one or two out!) All these authors, of course, are also regular contributors to our better known large scale reprints. It is also a pleasure here to thank John Griffiths, who edited the first hundred or so 'One Inch' titles, and got the series well underway.

A major feature of our Inch to the Mile series is that the maps also include a large scale map of a village or small town. This has made it possible to include many interesting places for which a large scale reprint would not have been viable, and so has helped bring places like Hunstanton, Market Bosworth, Mevagissey, Ventnor and many more into the series. The thumb here is of Askern, on the reverse of sheet 79 Goole

One disappointment was that the handful of coloured 'One Inch' reprints did not take off, and sales were very disappointing. Happily the coloured editions of larger scale maps, of which we have so far brought out about a dozen, have been very well received - the map of Central Huddersfield 1889 is our bestseller of the year so far - and we are planning many more of these.

And, of course, we have not finished work on the Inch to the Mile maps either, as we are publishing more reprints of maps for Ulster, ie Northern Ireland plus counties Cavan, Monaghan and at least part of Donegal. We hope to have coverage of the Six Counties by late 2012. From time to time, too, we may issue further Inch to the Mile maps in England and Wales for different dates, perhaps giving rather more harmonious coverage.