Old Maps (2): Lumps, bumps and slag heaps

Looking at old maps can be endlessly fascinating, but for me they become even more interesting when I can relate them to actual features on the ground.  Thankfully, there is now a website of old maps covering the whole country – courtesy, strangely enough, of the National Library of Scotland. They're happy for me to reproduce their maps, so long as I give them the credit so... "Hooray for the National Library of Scotland!"  On this example from an Ordinance Survey 1 inch map of 1896, I've zoomed in on a fairly nondescript area of the Forest of Dean. Let's see if I can bring it to life.

Here's a closer look at the area on a 25 inch map from about 1885. There, at the top, is the Rising Sun Beer House (BH) where I join the Ukes uv Azzard on Thursdays to play my ukulele. Incidentally, the pond, clearly shown on this map, is still there. Perhaps it marks the site of even older mine workings.

Here's how it looked in about 1905 – unfortunately not as clear as the earlier map. Bethlehem Chapel has gone – perhaps it was a little too close to the beer house – but Crown Colliery has appeared, together with some new railway tracks.  It's time to put on my walking boots and go exploring!

Firstly, an even closer look at the 1905 map, with my photo locations marked

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4. The air shaft on the right (marked on map)
ventilates Moseley Green Tunnel

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To add a finishing touch, I found this snippet of an aerial photo, taken in 1946. There still seems to be some activity around New Engine Colliery (centre left, known by this time as Brick Pit) but Crowns looks abandoned.

There are, of course, far more interesting places to explore on maps and on foot, such as nearby Parkend (shown below on a circa 1885 map), and doubtless your favourite corner of the Kingdom too. A nice feature of the National Library of Scotland site is that maps can be overlaid with modern Bing aerial photos, though this proved well nigh impossible to show here.

I wish you many hours of happy exploration.