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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => London and Middlesex => Topic started by: elfinblues on Wednesday 02 November 11 13:26 GMT (UK)

Title: Identifying house numbers/names on maps
Post by: elfinblues on Wednesday 02 November 11 13:26 GMT (UK)
Hello! I have a number of addresses in London for my ancestors going back a couple of centuries from 1940 which I have collected from various census forms. Does anyone know of any maps where house numbers are given? I would absolutely love to identify houses in which my ancestors lived and to find out (and visit them) if they are still there. Thanks so much in advance for any help, and best wishes.
Title: Re: Identifying house numbers/names on maps
Post by: JenB on Wednesday 02 November 11 13:32 GMT (UK)
There are lots of good maps here http://mapco.net/london.htm although I'm not sure if they are detailed anough to show numbers

You could also try http://www.old-maps.co.uk/index.html

But please remember that many streets have been re-numbered over the years, so that the position of the house you've found on a census isn't necessarily where you think it is!
Title: Re: Identifying house numbers/names on maps
Post by: chasbaz on Wednesday 02 November 11 14:24 GMT (UK)
Horwood is the best early map and has house-numbers
Title: Re: Identifying house numbers/names on maps
Post by: [Ray] on Friday 04 November 11 10:02 GMT (UK)
Hi

Links .................................

"School Board"
http://www.oldlondonmaps.com/stanfordpages/stanfordMAIN.html

Horwood 1792 (Can't see house numbers - ChasBaz is there another one?)
http://www.oldlondonmaps.com/horwoodpages/horwoodmain.html

Wider List ..............
http://www.oldlondonmaps.com/maplist.html

Ray
Title: Re: Identifying house numbers/names on maps
Post by: ottobottle on Friday 04 November 11 10:16 GMT (UK)
I've done a bit of work tracing London residences for various family members back to about 1860. It can be tricky as the numbering has altered in some areas. I don't know of a definitive source that lists the old numbers.

My advice would be to check out as many of the old maps (as others have listed) to get an idea of the areas, then compare to the modern map. Also take advantage of Google Streetview which is a cheap way of checking out the modern site. You can immediately see whether the building has been replaced with something more modern. Bombing has altered some areas quite significantly and I there is a map which shows the areas that suffered bomb damage to varying degrees. Other areas were once dense slums or narrow streets which have been cleared away. A lot of the old alley networks are gone, or remain in part.

Also, try and read as much of you can on the history of the areas you're interested in. There's some smashing contemporary accounts, some online. It's worth doing a lot of Googling.

Finally, if you can, I recommend tracing it all on the ground, on foot ideally. It's a great way to get a feel for the areas and even if the exact building can't be identified, or has gone completely, there's often an old building nearby which your ancestors must have known. Seeing what they saw is a great way to connect.

Hope this is helpful.

Regards,

Mark
Title: Re: Identifying house numbers/names on maps
Post by: chasbaz on Friday 04 November 11 18:04 GMT (UK)
Yes - that is the right Horwood,  Certainly has house-numbers