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
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.
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.
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?
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.
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 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