1698 Ogilby Strip Map of the Road between London and Marlborough

This is John Ogilby's road map detailing the first leg of the road between the cities of London and Bristol. It is a strip-map, following the London Road and the Bath Road from London eastwards to Marlborough in seven lengths, presented as if on a single, unspooled scroll. The road passes through Hammersmith, Harlington and Harmondsworth, Colnbrook Maidenhead, Reading, Woolhampton, Thatcham, Newbury, Chilton, Ramesbury, and Marlborough. Smaller towns, bridges, forests, churches, manors, and county borders are all noted along the way. Parks, Greens, and even some ruins (for example Donnington Castle near Newbury) are marked as well.

You Take the High Road

Strip maps served to inform travelers of the distances, landmarks, obstacles and resting points along a given road between two destinations. Changes in direction along the way are indicated by the placement of attractive compass-roses. The wise traveler, of course, would never leave the high road; consequently, no further routes would require consideration.

London after the Fire

Ogilby had, following the destruction of the Great Fire of 1666, gained an appointment as 'sworn viewer' and was among those tasked with reestablishing pre-fire property lines in the city. His observations of the city allowed him, with the assistance of his step-grandson William Morgan, to produce the first accurate plan of the city of London produced after the fire. The area affected by the fire on Ogilby's road map and on his plan of London are comparable despite the necessary reduction of detail here; this is thus among the earliest representations of the rebuilt city.

The Cartouche

The map's attractive cartouche is embellished with the royal arms, garlanded with fruit. It is further decorated with pastoral scenes: cattle being led to market, cows being milked, and in the background, a gentleman and lady courting over a tankard of ale.

One of the First Road Atlases

This distinctive map appeared in John Ogilby's Britannia: a uniform road atlas based on Ogilby's firsthand survey of England's roads. The results of the surveys were presented at a uniform scale of one inch to one mile. Of more general importance, Ogilby standardized the English mile throughout his book at 1,760 yards (prior to this, no such uniformity existed in England). Ogilby's work was the first to utilize strip maps of this kind, but the 18th century would see similar works published by Bowen, Gardner and Senex.

Apps Advise a Different Route

The traveler today consulting a modern, ubiquitous app will be advised to take the M4 west, taking exit 14 at Shefford Woodlands to follow A338 and A4 to Marlborough, just a bit more than a two hour drive. Ogilby's route can be expected to take no less than twenty-five hours by foot, and the wise traveler will break this up over several days. A strong cyclist should be able to manage it in seven hours.

Publication History and Census

The map was engraved for inclusion in Ogilby's Britannia, Volume the first: or, an Illustration of the Kingdom of England and Dominion of Wales, printed by the author in 1675. This example appeared in the 1698 edition of the atlas, with no changes apart from the addition of the page number in the lower right. Both editions are well represented in institutional collections. An example of the 1675 issue of this map has been catalogued by the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Washington library.