County Maps of Essex

Strip road maps of Essex from the 17th to 19th centuries

Ogilby published his monumental Britannia in 1675, but it was hardly a book to take with you - it was a coffee table book, good for a gentleman to show that he had an interest in his country and was familiar with its roads and places.

There was then a gap of 44 years until there was a sudden rush (& rash) of copying - the Senex, Gardner and Bowen books all used Ogilby's maps, but printed them in books that you could take with you for use on the road (maybe).

Below are listed some of the strip maps produced for England and Wales, using examples that show the roads leading to Saffron Walden (& elsewhere in Essex); the intention is that it is easier to comapre the various publications if the pictures are all of the same area.

The dimensions against each map are Height x Width. The measurements are of the outermost neat line of the map (not the size of the sheet of paper).

Thumbnail maps	Mapmakers, their Atlases and Maps
	John Ogilby Britannia 1675 325mm x 428mm The start of all strip maps and of British Road Books.
	Thomas Gardner A Pocket-Guide to the English Traveller 1719 172mm x 274mm Reduced copy of Ogilby's Britannia.
	John Senex An Actual Survey of all the Principal Roads of England and Wales 1719 150mm x 219mm Reduced copy of Ogilby's Britannia.
	Bowen & Owen Britannia Depicta, or Ogilby Improv'd 1720 181mm x 113mm Reduced copy of Ogilby's Britannia, but this time with lots of additional information on places and maps of counties.
	John Bowles An Actual Survey of all the Principal Roads of England and Wales 1757 150mm x 210mm The maps are now printed double sided, with plate numbers.
	Thomas Jefferys Jefferys's Itinerary: or, Travellers Companion 1775 153mm x 205mm Thinner strips, but otherwise little changed.
	Carington Bowles Bowles's Post-Chaise Companion 1782 135mm x 152mm Same underlying map, but smaller again.
	Daniel Paterson Paterson's British Itinerary 1785 147mm x 86mm Strip maps complementing his more frequently printed Paterson's Roads.
	Charles Smith Smith's New Pocket Companion 1826 155mm x 95mm A new set of smaller scale strip maps for England & Wales.

Old maps of Essex

Strip road maps of Essex from the 17th to 19th centuries