Old Maps around Dursley

Under construction, and likely to remain so for a long time!

There's a number of us doing one sheet each. Unfortunately, the number is one (a.f.a.i.k.).

The Maps
Roads
Railways
Bridges etc.
Admin.

The Maps

Ordnance Survey 1":1mile (1:63360) New Popular Edition

Sheet 156, Bristol & Stroud, 1946: 'Revision Full 1930 with later corrections', covering:

³53-³93 East,
¹65-²10 North.

Ordnance Survey 2cm:1km (1:50000) Landranger Second Series.

No. 162, Gloucester & Forest of Dean area, 1984: 'Revised 1978 // Selected revision 1983'.
No. 172, Bristol, Bath & surrounding area, 1988: 'Revised 1978-79 // Selected revision 1983, 1987'.

Most of the changes listed below also appear in AA Book of the Road, c. 1965, but have disappeared by 1973 (Esso Atlas).

Roads

Rather obviously, no M4 (M48), M5, M32 or the consequent minor diversions & closures. Bartholomew's Atlas (1962) shows M5 J16-17 open and M4 J20-Crick proposed.
Nor the many bypasses and Ring Roads, especially A4174 Bristol Ring Road.

A419 Stonehouse - Standish - Hardwicke. Renumbered B4008: A419 diverted over old A4096 to M5 Junction 13 and Whitminster.
A434 Nailsworth - Tetbury - Malmesbury. Renumbered B4014
A4096 Stonehouse - Eastington - Claypits. Renumbered A419 to Oldbury Services, u/c through Eastington.

B4055

Westbury Park-Westbury-on-Trym. Renumbered A4018.
Westbury-on-Trym - Henbury - Cribbs Causeway - no change.
Cribbs Causeway. Incorporated into extended A4018.
Cribbs Causeway to Almonsbury and to Redwick - Northwick - no change.
Redwick - Aust. Renumbered A403 (from Avonmouth), a number pinched from what's now A40 Shepherd's Bush - Hanger Lane - Northolt.

B4057 Winterbourne - Stoke Gifford - Patchway - Charlton (including diversion around Filton Aerodrome) - Henbury. Severed by aerodrome extensions:

Bartholomew (1962) shows Winterbourne - Stoke Gifford - Patchway unclassified. Now reinstated along original (Gypsy Patch Lane) route to A38 flyover.
Bartholomew also shows the severed Patchway - Henbury classified. Only the last section A4018 roundabout - Henbury remains so.

B4072 Pitchcombe - Gloucester. Renumbered A4173 to A38 roundabout.
B4427 Keynsham - Willsbridge - Warmley - Downend. Renumbered A4175 and diverted via Bridge Yate. (May be downgraded again when A4174 Ring Road is opened in 2001.)
B4465 Pucklechurch - Hinton - A46 (??? Pub). Now unclassified: B4465 was diverted over M4 to Westerleigh Hill, then runs north of Motorway to Doddington Ash.

Railways

Left until later. For now, let's just say there's lots on the old map and fewer on the new ones!

Bridges etc.

Ferry Aust - Beachley. Replaced by Severn (Road) Bridge.
Severn (Rail) Bridge Sharpness - Lydney. Now demolished.

Admin.

Most villages & towns vastly expanded. Yate is now a poor man's Milton Keynes.

Gloucestershire/Monmouthshire border shown as County & Parish not National.
Gloucestershire including Acton Turville, Tormarton, Cold Ashton, Marshfield, Bitton, Kingswood, Filton. All later disappeared into Avon, latterly Bath & North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

For many, many centuries, Monmouthshire was part of England. A.f.a.i.k. it returned to Wales as part of the Heath/Walker reorganization (1974) that created Gwent and Avon which were in turn abolished by ???/Major (199?). I am not aware of any Monmouthshire Liberation Front campaigning for re-admission into England!

Construction Site

Geoff Whiley 2000