Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => The Knowledge => GPS => Topic started by: Wowbagger on 29 October, 2020, 06:08:26 pm
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OK, not GPS at all, but related.
I've been doing some tidying up and I've come across a beautiful map of Kent that I've never really looked at in detail before, published by G. W. Bacon. https://www.dg-maps.com/gw-bacon.html refers.
Given that my mother hails from Kent, and that the last maps produced by Bacon were in 1922, when she was 11 years old, I would guess that this was bought by her parents and accompanied them on cycling trips around the Garden of England. It really is rather lovely, although it has torn at the folds in a few places. In one corner, superimposed over quite a lot of Sussex, is a list of useful cycle routes, the longest of which, at some 71 miles, is London to Margate.
The scale seems to be something in the region of 9mm:1 mile and the map is divided into 5-mile squares. Longitude and latitude are shown in degrees and minutes - the map precedes the introduction of the National Grid by several decade.
I think I'm going to get it mounted and frames, and will give it to my Maidstone daughter.
Has anyone else seen any of Bacon's maps before?
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Yes. I even have or have in the past had one or two. Cycling and motoring maps. I think I probably slightly prefer the cartography of Bartholomew's but Bacon's are also wonderful.
The scale seems to be something in the region of 9mm:1 mile and the map is divided into 5-mile squares. Longitude and latitude are shown in degrees and minutes - the map precedes the introduction of the National Grid by several decade.
That would be about 1 inch to 1.8km?
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That would be about 1 inch to 1.8km?
No - much smaller than that. 1 inch to about 4.8km.
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Doh! I divided instead of multiplying. :facepalm: ::-) :-[ Go straight to jail, do pass go and do not consult the map.
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The scale seems to be something in the region of 9mm:1 mile
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3/8” to the mile?
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29 Knuts to a Sickle
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I think I have a 100 year-ish old cycling map of Essex you might be interested in - I must dig it out and look at the details. I think it's a Batholomews map.
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There's a few available online at the National Library of Scotland. https://maps.nls.uk/mapmakers/name/Bacon
Seems some are 1 inch to 3 miles, or 1 inch to 6 miles. The oldest one specifies it is a scale of "English miles". Another one shows both "British Statute Miles" and "Geographical Miles".
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That sounds fascinating, I'd love to see it.
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I have discovered another G. W. Bacon map in my possession. This is "Bacon's Motoring and Cycling Road Map of South Wales." although it doesn't show anywhere east of Cardiff. It's on cloth and has the name Eli Walker written on it. Eli was one of my great uncles who emigrated to the USA in the depression. He was born in New Tredegar (most of my dad's family were, it seems) on 3rd April 1891 and settled in Scranton (how topical!), where presumably he dug coal. I think he died in 1962 - I know he either left or gave some money to my dad in that year, with which he bought his first car.
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settled in Scranton (how topical!), where presumably he dug coal.
He could have worked for Penn Paper and Supply or possibly even Dunder Mifflin...
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I have a cloth copy of 'Bacon's Road Map for Cycling and Motoring' for an area which covers a 30 mile radius round London.
I cannot find a date on it, but it contains an advert for shipping vehicles to the continent, which pictures what I think is a 1912 Rolls Royce being craned onto a boat. It has hand written notes in pencil, from an previous owner.
I also have a copy of Bacon's Guide to London with 'Maps, Sixteen Full-page Illustrations, and Route Guides'. This has a date of 1911 on it and, I guess, was the A to Z of its day. Buckingham Palace is pictured in the book, in its previous guise - ie without the balcony on which they watch the fly-pasts from and an absence of columns and pediments. These were all added in 1913. Also, the shot taken of The City, looking north over London Bridge. The tallest structure is The Monument. That, and church spires.
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That sounds fascinating, I'd love to see it.
Your wish...
https://photos.app.goo.gl/dW86KbmAf62ct22n9
I tried using the Google Photo embedding tool that Woolly posted a couple of months ago but was unable to make it work this time. Can't see what I'm doing wrong.
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Out of interest, what route does it offer for London to Margate?
Watling Street / Thanet way? Or something closer to the FNRttC Whitstable route?
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I can't tell - I've dropped the map off at the picture framers this morning. I can't expand the image to read what it says. Maybe you can have a try.
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If you download it from your link, you can open it using Preview, and then zoom in to your heart's content.
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Sorry, just too blurry.
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There's a few available online at the National Library of Scotland. https://maps.nls.uk/mapmakers/name/Bacon
Seems some are 1 inch to 3 miles, or 1 inch to 6 miles. The oldest one specifies it is a scale of "English miles". Another one shows both "British Statute Miles" and "Geographical Miles".
I hadn't noticed these before, I naturally gravitated towards the 1895 Cycling map of Scotland (South sheet), and am amused by some of the errors and inconsistencies.
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If you download it from your link, you can open it using Preview, and then zoom in to your heart's content.
London, Newcross, Blackheath, Shooters Hill (danger(?)), Dartford, Gravesend*, Rochester, Chatham (steep hill) , Sittingbourne, Faversham, Boughton Hill (steep), Canterbury, Sturry, Birchington, Margate
*Site of the finest Georgian street in England © Leggy
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If you download it from your link, you can open it using Preview, and then zoom in to your heart's content.
London, Newcross, Blackheath, Shooters Hill (danger(?)), Dartford, Gravesend*, Rochester, Chatham (steep hill) , Sittingbourne, Faversham, Boughton Hill (steep), Canterbury, Sturry, Birchington, Margate
*Site of the finest Georgian street in England © Leggy
Ah!
I was looking for it marked on the map - rather than in the footnotes.
Ta.
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That sounds fascinating, I'd love to see it.
Your wish...
https://photos.app.goo.gl/dW86KbmAf62ct22n9
I tried using the Google Photo embedding tool that Woolly posted a couple of months ago but was unable to make it work this time. Can't see what I'm doing wrong.
That is wonderful, thank you :-*
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I bought a part set of Bacon's Cycling Road-map of England from a local auction today. Slightly non uniform and incomplete set, 1 and 6 are in slightly wider slip cases, and case 8 contains 50 miles around Birmingham, badly discoloured from the case having been wet. Still, very pleased with them for £18.60.
They're printed on very fine silk. There's no sheet 4 or 7, but I can't be arsed to search the bay / second hand bookshops etc. for the missing sheets. Definitely early 1890's, judging by adverts on the back of 5 of the cases for Rover and other cycles from J K Starley & Co.
The company was only known by that name from 1889 to 1896, according to Grace's Guide https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/John_Kemp_Starley
https://www.arthurjohnson.co.uk/catalogue/lot/a1c2c4066e3ac5fbaf7b2ad18c83a2cc/008abd168fa2e55ef2d93ca439d43434/the-saturday-auctions-12th-march-2022-lot-656/
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Out of interest, what route does it offer for London to Margate?
Watling Street / Thanet way? Or something closer to the FNRttC Whitstable route?
I reckon
New Cross
Blackheath
Shooters Hill
Dartford
Gravesend
Rochester
Chatham
Sittingbourne
Favesham
Boughton Hill
Canterbury
Sturry
Sarre
Birchington
Margate
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/fP_ZBctXcqKnhzmiMReTJJrPm8y83cjUr8xjJQhGJfZKJICn9l-JPqKWtkFKwMWh4mtqxYVMxnFuI8D_rWy4l1sRmX5Mab_42QyzyXKGfIfk2tQ5ZP8lrvh4l3SKZpqYXIUeH8Xt_w=w2400)