Street & house-level maps

[elfinblues]

Hello! I'm looking to buy some 19th century maps - mostly London, but some from elsewhere - that show street-level detail: specifically, house numbers. Can anyone recommend a series of maps that would give this information (and if you know where I can get them, too, that would be a bonus!).

Many thanks in advance.

[stanmapstone]

Try www.alangodfreymaps.co.uk

Stan

[elfinblues]

I've bought some Alan Godfrey maps before, but they don't give you house numbers - do they? Perhaps a different series that I'm not aware of exists??

[stanmapstone]

No they don't show house numbers. As far as Ordnance Survey maps are concerned you would have to get a scale of 1/1250 or larger to get house numbers, the Alan Godfrey maps are reproductions of the 1/2500, which do not have house numbers shown.
The only way I have been able to determine house numbers is to use the Godfrey maps in conjunction with either Historical Directories or the Censuses.
Stan

[stanmapstone]

Just to add that house numbers have only been recorded on 1/1250 maps since 1946 and on basic scale 1/2500 maps since 1955, enough are shown to enable the missing ones to be inferred.

Stan

[stanmapstone]

The most detailed map I have seen is one of a scale 1/528 of Sunderland (1855-57) and even this does not show house numbers.

Stan

[elfinblues]

OK- thanks for the info, and the tip about how to work out house numbers. I was aware that maps showing house numbers were, at best, rare, but equally aware that I've read family histories that describe where a house once stood that far back in time and I wondered how people worked that out.

[jim1]

Try these online maps.
http://www.rootschat.com/links/08m2/

jim

[km1971]

Unfortunately OS maps - strictly speaking they are plans - did not record house numbers until after WW2.

As Stan says you have to use directories which gives you the house number on a main road at each side street. Also in Liverpool the rule was that if you stood at the end of the street with your back to the Town Hall number 1 was the first house on the left.

I did a major study of house numbers in Wirral many year ago and another problem you have in Birkenhead for example is that they changed their minds about how to deal with number 13. At times they ignored it, at others they used 11A, at others they used 13. At least in Liverpool they always used 13. So your council may be different.

If you cannot find a directory you can often follow the route of the census enumerator - he would do 1, 3, 5 , 7 then a side street 1 to 19, then 20 back to 2, then carry on with 9 on the main road.

Ken