Research Notes


Map Group AMALGAMATED PRESS 1930's
Amalgamated
Press 1930s
NOTES from the AMALGAMATED PRESS ROAD MAPS of the BRITISH ISLES, 1930s
These notes are taken from a set of 31 road map cards, HMCMS:FA2003.96 covering the England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland, with a general index map, which were presented with the New Motoring Encyclopedia, published by the Amalgamated Press, Fleetway House, London, perhaps 1930s. Card 6 has Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, and parts of surrounding counties.
THE MAP CARDS
MAP FEATURES
HAMPSHIRE TOWNS
GAZETTEER
ITEMS in Collection
THE MAP CARDS
The index map is headed:-
Key Plan of the Road Maps presented with the
NEW MOTORING ENCYCLOPEDIA
This Key Plan of the thirty-one Road Maps covering the British Isles indicates the area mapped in each one of the thirty-one sections. The large figure in the red label on each map corresponds with its number in this plan. A detailed list of the maps is printed overleaf.
Overleaf:-
'NEW MOTORING ENCYCLOPEDIA' LIST OF MAPS
Map No. / Town, County or Area / Scale
...
6 / Isle of Wight, Hants, Wilts, Berks, Oxford / 1 [inch] = 10 miles
...
Printed at the bottom on this and all the map cards is:-
The maps are based upon the Ordnance Survey with the sanction of the Controller of H.M. Stationery Office and printed by the Amalgamated Press, Ltd., The Fleetway House, London, E.C.4.

The maps are printed in black for boundaries and placenames, red for roads, and blue for sea, on white card. The rectangular map border is a black line. It is possible to see, at each corner, registration lines (an L various ways up) printed in red.
The map scales vary; from 2 to 20 miles = 1 inch.
The map size is: wxh, card = 20x27cm.
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MAP FEATURES Map features are described for one map, card 6, which includes Hampshire. Features are described for that county where possible, perhaps ignoring other areas. The map size is: wxh, sheet = 20x27cm; wxh, map = 175x247mm. The map has no title. Its sheet number, 6, is in white on a red circle at the top right.
orientation    
up is N    
The map has no indicator of orientation; it is printed with North at the top of the sheet.

scale line    
scale    
Printed lower right is a scale line of:-
image snip from map
English Miles
chequered and labelled at 5 mile intervals. The 15 miles = 37.4 mm gives a scale 1 to 645459. The map scale is about:-
1 to 650000
10 miles to 1 inch
(agreeing with the scale given on the list of maps).

table of symbols    
Printed lower right is a table of symbols.
image snip from map
Class A Roads [broad red line, MoT road number beside the route]
Class B Roads [red line, MoT road number beside the route]
Minor Roads [narrow red line]
(Cath.) = Cathedral (Ch.) = Church
(Cas.) = Castle (Rs.) = Ruins
(Mn.) = Historic Mansion, [crossed swords] = Site of Battle
N. = North, S. = South, E = East, W. = West
index grid    
The map borders are marked to divide the map's area in 24 cells, 4 across by 6 on the sides; labelled A..D across, 1..6 down. The letter number references are used in a gazetteer on the reverse of the map card.
Adjacent cards are indicated by red labelling around the map border. On card 6, on the left:-
Continuation Map 7 / Continuation Map 10
at the top:-
Continuation Map 10 / Continuation Map 5
on the right:-
Continuation Map 3
sea area    
sea tinted    
The sea is printed blue. Some sea areas are labelled, eg:-
ENGLISH CHANNEL
SPITHEAD
THE SOLENT
coast line    
headlands    
harbours    
image snip from map

The coast is just a line. Some headlands are labelled, eg:-
St. Alban's Hd.
Selsey Bill
And some harbours are labelled, eg:-
Poole Harbour
but not Portsmouth Harbour!

rivers    
image snip from map
Rivers are drawn by a black wiggly line, and might be labelled, eg:-
R. Test
R. Itchen
In Hampshire there are only the Stour, Avon, Test, Itchen, and Meon, and no tributaries. A few other estuaries are recognisable, such as the Beaulieu River.

relief    
No relief is shown.

county    
image snip from map
County boundaries are fine dotted lines. The county are is labelled, eg:-
HANTS
BERKS
ISLE OF WIGHT
Or, a county whose area runs off the edge of the map is labelled outside the map border. Card 6 has, in the left margin:-
DORSET / GLOSTER
at the top:-
OXFORD / BUCKS
on the right:-
HERTS / SURREY / SUSSEX
settlements    
Settlements are positioned by a red circle. Where this is on a broad red road the position mark appears to be a white dot, ie the hole in the circle. Settlements are differentiated by style of lettering.
city    
town     		Labelled in bold upright block caps, eg:-
image snip from map
WINCHESTER
SOUTHAMPTON
PORTSMOUTH
town     Labelled in bold upright lowercase text, eg:-
image snip from map
Alton
Andover
village    
hamlet     		Labelled in upright lowercase text, eg:-
image snip from map
E. Meon
Middle Wallop
The choice of places is not made solely on size; for instance Middle Wallop, which is a hamlet, is shown, presumably because it is on the road, but Over Wallop and Nether Wallop villages, off either side of the road, are ignored. The system of labelling of city and towns is not clear; '21' towns of Hampshire are listed below with notes of their labelling.

roads    
image snip from map
AS explained in the table of symbols three sorts of road are shown, each by red lines which dominate the map. Broad lines are A roads; medium lines are B roads; narrow lines are minor roads. Roads are labelled with their Ministry of Transport road number.
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HAMPSHIRE TOWNS
         
Alton bold upright lowercase sans serif
Andover bold upright block caps sans serif
Basingstoke bold upright block caps sans serif
Bishops Waltham bold upright lowercase sans serif
Christchurch bold upright block caps sans serif
Fareham bold upright lowercase sans serif
Fordingbridge bold upright lowercase sans serif
Gosport bold upright lowercase sans serif
Havant bold upright lowercase sans serif
Kingsclere bold upright lowercase sans serif
Lymington bold upright block caps sans serif
New Alresford bold upright lowercase sans serif
Odiham bold upright lowercase sans serif
Petersfield bold upright lowercase sans serif
Portsmouth bold upright block caps, larger sans serif
Ringwood bold upright lowercase sans serif
Romsey bold upright block caps sans serif
Southampton bold upright block caps, larger sans serif
Stockbridge bold upright lowercase sans serif
Whitchurch bold upright lowercase sans serif
Winchester bold upright block caps, larger serifed
The larger size text of Winchester, Southampton, and Portsmouth, makes sense. The serif on Winchester might be thought to mark a city, but Salisbury and Chichester, both of equal standing, on the same map, have no serifs.
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GAZETTEER On the reverse of the card is a gazetteer:-
'NEW MOTORING ENCYCLOPEDIA' Map No.6 - Places Worth Visiting
Figures after the place-names , thus [C 1], refer to the divisions of the map on the other side within which they are situated.
The entries for Hampshire are:-
Andover [B 3], - Bury Hill,a Roman-British camp, is 1 1/2 miles distant.
Basingstoke [C 3], - Holy Ghost Chapel (1525, ruins); S. Michael's Ch. (16 cent.)
Beaulieu [B 5], - Abbey remains; Palace House.
Bishop's Waltham [C 4], - Ruined manor of Bishops of Winchester (12-15 cent.)
Brockenhurst [B 5], - Picturesque village; centre for New Forest.
Christchurch [B 5], - Priory ch.; remnants of Nor. Castle.
Fordingbridge [B 4], - Church (13-15 cent.)
Highclere [C 3], - Famous mansion (Earl of Carnarvon).
Hurst Castle [B 5], - Fortress built by Henry VIII, and for a time, in 1648, prison of Charles I.
Lymington [B 5], - Historic old port, centre for New Forest; Ch. of S. Thomas a Becket.
Lyndhurst [B 5], - New Forest; King's House.
New Forest [B 5], - Woodland district of Hampshire (area 144 sq. miles); Rufus Stone.
Odiham [D 3], - Castle; ch. (brasses); whipping post; George inn.
Petersfield [D 4], - Ch. (part Norman); William III statue.
Porchester [C 5], - Roman remains; Nor. castle; Portsdown Hill (Nelson monument).
Portsmouth [C 5], - Royal Dockyard; Nelson's Victory; Ch. of S. Thomas a Becket (12 cent.); garrison ch.; Southsea Castle; Dicken's birthplace, now a museum; war memorial.
Romsey [B 4], - Abbey ch. (Norman).
Silchester [C 3], - Roman remains; Stratfield Say (Duke of Wellington).
Southampton [C 5], - Famous port; churches of S. Michael and the Holy Rood; Canute's house; God's house; Bar Gate; remains of old walls; King John's house.
Southsea [C 5], - Castle (Henry V).
Stoney Cross [B 5], - In New Forest, near is Rufus Stone.
Stratfield Saye [C 3], - Mansion presented to Duke of Wellington, 1815.
Titchfield [C 5], - Ch. (Perp. and some Saxon); remains of Titchfield House (16 cent.).
Whitchurch [C 3], - Ch. (Saxon head-stone).
Winchester [C 4], - Cathedral (longest nave); Wolvesey Castle; County (Great) Hall; King Arthur's Round Table; City or Butter Cross; West and King's Gates; King Alfred statue; college; S. John Hospital; God-Begot Hostel; George hotel; the Piazza or Pentice; Hospital of S. Cross, one mile distant.
Winchfield [D 3], - Bramshill Park (Jacobean mansion).
As with all such lists one can only wonder at which places are included and which left out, and what is said about the places.
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ITEMS  in HMCMS Map Collection   (scanned item in bold)
  HMCMS:FA2003.96 -- road map
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   All Old Hampshire Mapped Resources