SoylentNews

Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

Here’s a real treat [maps.nls.uk]. The National Library of Scotland’s Map Department [maps.nls.uk], supported by David Rumsey [davidrumsey.com], have taken some very high-resolution scans [mappinglondon.co.uk] of the Ordnance Survey 1:1056 (that’s 60 inches to the mile!) set of 500+ maps of London issued between 1893 and 1896 and, crucially, reorientated and stitched them together, so that they can be presented seamlessly (using OpenLayers [openlayers.org]) on top of a “standard” Google web map or OpenStreetMap, with the base map acting as a modern context.

The detail in these maps is breathtaking. In the above extract (direct link [maps.nls.uk]) of the eastern end of Fleet Street, you can see each individual alleyway. Much of London has of course changed in the intervening 120 years. In the extract, the printing works have been replaced with banks and other offices, the pub and several of the alleyways (“courts” here) themselves have disappeared, as has the tiny fire station, and the urinals are long derelict and locked shut.

Fun for those who like maps.

Original Submission