SABRE Maps
@maps.sabre-roads.org.uk
The largest freely available online archive of twentieth century georeferenced OS maps of Great Britain and Ireland at "road map" scales from 1:25k to 1:633k including One Inch, Half Inch and Quarter Inch mapping.
https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/maps
https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/maps
Pinned
SABRE Maps
@maps.sabre-roads.org.uk
· Nov 26
(1/8)
So, who are we?
We're the largest freely available georeferenced online archive of twentieth century OS maps of Great Britain and Ireland at "road map" scales from 1:25k to 1:625k including One Inch, Half Inch and Quarter Inch mapping.
But that's not all! We also have...
So, who are we?
We're the largest freely available georeferenced online archive of twentieth century OS maps of Great Britain and Ireland at "road map" scales from 1:25k to 1:625k including One Inch, Half Inch and Quarter Inch mapping.
But that's not all! We also have...
We've been asked a few times about whether we recorded the recent Zoom session, "An Introduction to SABRE Maps". We have finally worked out how to get the recording out of Zoom, and onto YouTube, so here it is!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s1L...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s1L...
An Introduction to SABRE Maps
YouTube video by SABRE Maps
www.youtube.com
February 2, 2026 at 9:23 PM
We've been asked a few times about whether we recorded the recent Zoom session, "An Introduction to SABRE Maps". We have finally worked out how to get the recording out of Zoom, and onto YouTube, so here it is!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s1L...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s1L...
The OS One Inch Fifth Edition from the 1930s is a very flawed #map series. It changed standards, got called "muddy", changed layouts and only covered the south of England. Yet it's one of our favourites, so another 12 additional sheets from 1934 have gone live on SABRE Maps today. buff.ly/4MsHl9Z
February 2, 2026 at 6:01 PM
The OS One Inch Fifth Edition from the 1930s is a very flawed #map series. It changed standards, got called "muddy", changed layouts and only covered the south of England. Yet it's one of our favourites, so another 12 additional sheets from 1934 have gone live on SABRE Maps today. buff.ly/4MsHl9Z
Thanks to our volunteer development team, the Traffic Counts information on SABRE Maps has been hugely improved with more accurate locations, better graphs and data from Northern Ireland too! You can click on each traffic type to diplay, and see just how busy roads really are. buff.ly/XH6mVqm
January 26, 2026 at 6:03 PM
Thanks to our volunteer development team, the Traffic Counts information on SABRE Maps has been hugely improved with more accurate locations, better graphs and data from Northern Ireland too! You can click on each traffic type to diplay, and see just how busy roads really are. buff.ly/XH6mVqm
If you want to save any work that you do during this session, you'll need a SABRE account - so sign up at the site beforehand! Go to Go to the SABRE Maps website at buff.ly/MZtqikI , and click "register" at the top right.
www.sabre-roads.org.uk
January 25, 2026 at 10:00 AM
If you want to save any work that you do during this session, you'll need a SABRE account - so sign up at the site beforehand! Go to Go to the SABRE Maps website at buff.ly/MZtqikI , and click "register" at the top right.
Following the success of our introductory Zoom talk on SABRE Maps, we'll be holding a second one around our Grid Calibrator tool, showing how we georeference maps, and how you can help! There will be opportunities to ask questions, and click along! buff.ly/TzVhjsT
January 25, 2026 at 10:00 AM
Following the success of our introductory Zoom talk on SABRE Maps, we'll be holding a second one around our Grid Calibrator tool, showing how we georeference maps, and how you can help! There will be opportunities to ask questions, and click along! buff.ly/TzVhjsT
And amazingly, that's been there for the last six years - it first appears on the 2020 edition, and it's there ever since!
It is, of course, really the A132.
It is, of course, really the A132.
January 19, 2026 at 10:48 PM
And amazingly, that's been there for the last six years - it first appears on the 2020 edition, and it's there ever since!
It is, of course, really the A132.
It is, of course, really the A132.
After all those maps from 1975, it's #MapMonday and time for the first modern OpenData #map of 2026!
OS Miniscale is smilar to the old Ten Mile or Route Planning maps and therefore great for looking for major changes in GB over time. Can you find the changes from our 2025 layer?
buff.ly/pIyUpVm
OS Miniscale is smilar to the old Ten Mile or Route Planning maps and therefore great for looking for major changes in GB over time. Can you find the changes from our 2025 layer?
buff.ly/pIyUpVm
January 19, 2026 at 6:01 PM
After all those maps from 1975, it's #MapMonday and time for the first modern OpenData #map of 2026!
OS Miniscale is smilar to the old Ten Mile or Route Planning maps and therefore great for looking for major changes in GB over time. Can you find the changes from our 2025 layer?
buff.ly/pIyUpVm
OS Miniscale is smilar to the old Ten Mile or Route Planning maps and therefore great for looking for major changes in GB over time. Can you find the changes from our 2025 layer?
buff.ly/pIyUpVm
Thank you to everyone who attended tonight's Zoom session on "An Introduction to SABRE Maps". We hope that you enjoyed it, and that we answered the questions posted fully.
We're looking to hold another session in mid-February, so look out for the announcement!
We're looking to hold another session in mid-February, so look out for the announcement!
January 14, 2026 at 8:53 PM
Thank you to everyone who attended tonight's Zoom session on "An Introduction to SABRE Maps". We hope that you enjoyed it, and that we answered the questions posted fully.
We're looking to hold another session in mid-February, so look out for the announcement!
We're looking to hold another session in mid-February, so look out for the announcement!
Reposted by SABRE Maps
Map Festival: This looks like a great event hosted by the National Library of Scotland @nls map room at Causewayside on February 6th. Full details on their website. #mapfestival #maps #cartography #edinburghevent
Map festival | National Library of Scotland
Ever wondered what secrets lie in a map? Join us for the Map Festival, a day dedicated to all things cartographic in Edinburgh.
buff.ly
January 13, 2026 at 10:51 AM
Map Festival: This looks like a great event hosted by the National Library of Scotland @nls map room at Causewayside on February 6th. Full details on their website. #mapfestival #maps #cartography #edinburghevent
Don't forget that this is tomorrow!
Want to learn more about SABRE Maps? Not sure which #maps we have available or how to find them? Or what other mapping functions we have? Perhaps you just like maps, history or the railways? Join us for our first-ever Zoom session, Wed 14 Jan 2026 - free at 1930 UK/Ireland time. buff.ly/JxwTeg1
January 13, 2026 at 3:12 PM
Don't forget that this is tomorrow!
Did you guess that this set of maps originally published in 1975 would be at the Half Inch scale?
We have three sheets available dotted across Ireland at a fascinating time when the old T and L roads system was being replaced by the modern N and R roads. What will you find?
buff.ly/HKHyQq5
We have three sheets available dotted across Ireland at a fascinating time when the old T and L roads system was being replaced by the modern N and R roads. What will you find?
buff.ly/HKHyQq5
January 12, 2026 at 6:04 PM
Did you guess that this set of maps originally published in 1975 would be at the Half Inch scale?
We have three sheets available dotted across Ireland at a fascinating time when the old T and L roads system was being replaced by the modern N and R roads. What will you find?
buff.ly/HKHyQq5
We have three sheets available dotted across Ireland at a fascinating time when the old T and L roads system was being replaced by the modern N and R roads. What will you find?
buff.ly/HKHyQq5
Our friends at NLS have also been really busy since 1 January - go and enjoy their new offerings that compliment those that we've been doing.
This #MapMonday we're taking you back in time ⌛
We've just added over 9,000 out of copyright Ordnance Survey maps published in 1975 to our Map Images website.
What did your neighbourhood look like fifty years ago? 🗺️
🔗: maps.nls.uk/additions/#191
#MoreMaps
We've just added over 9,000 out of copyright Ordnance Survey maps published in 1975 to our Map Images website.
What did your neighbourhood look like fifty years ago? 🗺️
🔗: maps.nls.uk/additions/#191
#MoreMaps
January 12, 2026 at 9:51 AM
Our friends at NLS have also been really busy since 1 January - go and enjoy their new offerings that compliment those that we've been doing.
We know that feeling! We have literally boxes and boxes of maps that are only partially catalogued, let alone scanned, and without a few dedicated volunteers, we wouldn't be able to do as much.
Maybe all of us archives should get together and figure out how we get more volunteers to help?
Maybe all of us archives should get together and figure out how we get more volunteers to help?
January 11, 2026 at 9:21 AM
We know that feeling! We have literally boxes and boxes of maps that are only partially catalogued, let alone scanned, and without a few dedicated volunteers, we wouldn't be able to do as much.
Maybe all of us archives should get together and figure out how we get more volunteers to help?
Maybe all of us archives should get together and figure out how we get more volunteers to help?
ICYMI this from yesterday!
Want to learn more about SABRE Maps? Not sure which #maps we have available or how to find them? Or what other mapping functions we have? Perhaps you just like maps, history or the railways? Join us for our first-ever Zoom session, Wed 14 Jan 2026 - free at 1930 UK/Ireland time. buff.ly/JxwTeg1
January 9, 2026 at 7:27 PM
ICYMI this from yesterday!
Want to learn more about SABRE Maps? Not sure which #maps we have available or how to find them? Or what other mapping functions we have? Perhaps you just like maps, history or the railways? Join us for our first-ever Zoom session, Wed 14 Jan 2026 - free at 1930 UK/Ireland time. buff.ly/JxwTeg1
January 8, 2026 at 10:00 AM
Want to learn more about SABRE Maps? Not sure which #maps we have available or how to find them? Or what other mapping functions we have? Perhaps you just like maps, history or the railways? Join us for our first-ever Zoom session, Wed 14 Jan 2026 - free at 1930 UK/Ireland time. buff.ly/JxwTeg1
It was, yes. It was renumbered when the section of M4 to the south of the Port Talbot Bypass (to J37) opened in 1978, but mapping often still shows the PTBP as A48(M) after that point - for example the 1:250k OS map only updates in 1981.
January 6, 2026 at 4:39 PM
It was, yes. It was renumbered when the section of M4 to the south of the Port Talbot Bypass (to J37) opened in 1978, but mapping often still shows the PTBP as A48(M) after that point - for example the 1:250k OS map only updates in 1981.
For this #MapMonday, we'll be making sure that all of the Ordnance Survey Quarter Inch #Maps that were published in 1975 are available on SABRE Maps, with the addition of Sheet 6 to add to all the others already available. Any ideas as to which 1975 maps we'll add next? buff.ly/AWqLo5c
January 5, 2026 at 6:01 PM
For this #MapMonday, we'll be making sure that all of the Ordnance Survey Quarter Inch #Maps that were published in 1975 are available on SABRE Maps, with the addition of Sheet 6 to add to all the others already available. Any ideas as to which 1975 maps we'll add next? buff.ly/AWqLo5c
It's actually true regarding A-Zs - often they're streets that you can find on the map but not in the index. And OS do indeed put in copyright traps - they sued AA mapping for a 1996 breach and won.
January 2, 2026 at 1:55 PM
It's actually true regarding A-Zs - often they're streets that you can find on the map but not in the index. And OS do indeed put in copyright traps - they sued AA mapping for a 1996 breach and won.
Don't forget that we've also got every single Ordnance Survey Landranger #map from 1975 already online for your delectation and delight. And remember that you can compare them to the 1974 editions (and the previous One Inch maps) using our Map Fader.
buff.ly/6ToTdlJ
buff.ly/6ToTdlJ
January 2, 2026 at 10:00 AM
Don't forget that we've also got every single Ordnance Survey Landranger #map from 1975 already online for your delectation and delight. And remember that you can compare them to the 1974 editions (and the previous One Inch maps) using our Map Fader.
buff.ly/6ToTdlJ
buff.ly/6ToTdlJ
Don't forget about ours!
January 1, 2026 at 3:57 PM
Don't forget about ours!
And we've got out first 1975 small-scale mapping online!
January 1, 2026 at 3:16 PM
And we've got out first 1975 small-scale mapping online!
Yes, it's how we managed to publish our first 1975 copyright Ordnance Survey sheet this morning (1976 Route Planning Map).
If you really want to mess with your own head, then Irish Government Copyright is also 50 years in Irish law. But what's the GC copyright term if you're in the UK?
If you really want to mess with your own head, then Irish Government Copyright is also 50 years in Irish law. But what's the GC copyright term if you're in the UK?
January 1, 2026 at 12:03 PM
Yes, it's how we managed to publish our first 1975 copyright Ordnance Survey sheet this morning (1976 Route Planning Map).
If you really want to mess with your own head, then Irish Government Copyright is also 50 years in Irish law. But what's the GC copyright term if you're in the UK?
If you really want to mess with your own head, then Irish Government Copyright is also 50 years in Irish law. But what's the GC copyright term if you're in the UK?
There's basically three categories in UK law:
* Crown Copyright - 50 full years
* Work for hire - 70 full years
* Named author - life of the author plus 70 full years
If the author isn't named, then it's the standard 70.
Irish law is broadly similar, except for CC read "Government Copyright".
* Crown Copyright - 50 full years
* Work for hire - 70 full years
* Named author - life of the author plus 70 full years
If the author isn't named, then it's the standard 70.
Irish law is broadly similar, except for CC read "Government Copyright".
January 1, 2026 at 11:58 AM
There's basically three categories in UK law:
* Crown Copyright - 50 full years
* Work for hire - 70 full years
* Named author - life of the author plus 70 full years
If the author isn't named, then it's the standard 70.
Irish law is broadly similar, except for CC read "Government Copyright".
* Crown Copyright - 50 full years
* Work for hire - 70 full years
* Named author - life of the author plus 70 full years
If the author isn't named, then it's the standard 70.
Irish law is broadly similar, except for CC read "Government Copyright".
It is a complex situation - for example, all A-Z maps that specifically name Phyllis Pearsall are in copyright until 2066, long after later editions that do not name her have dropped out of copyright. And there's all sorts of "gotchas" - try working through the legal position of format shifting
January 1, 2026 at 11:32 AM
It is a complex situation - for example, all A-Z maps that specifically name Phyllis Pearsall are in copyright until 2066, long after later editions that do not name her have dropped out of copyright. And there's all sorts of "gotchas" - try working through the legal position of format shifting