A NEW reprint of an old map provides a fascinating snapshot of Herefordshire as it looked in the 1830s.
The Cassini Historical Map is based on the one-inch to the mile Old Series, the first Ordnance Survey maps made of the area after nationwide surveys began in 1791.
The Hereford & Leominster map matches the same area of the modern OS Landranger 149 map and comparison of the two is revealing.
Long before the motorcar era, horse-drawn traffic trundled through Leominster's narrow High Street and Hereford's 15th century Wye Bridge was still the only river crossing in the city.
The lack of major roads on the old map contrasts with an extraordinary network of lost lanes. There is no trace of many of these old routes today but a large number survive as footpaths and green byways.
The area covered includes Ledbury, Bromyard and Tenbury Wells. Kington and Ross-on-Wye are covered by other maps in the same series.
Old Series Map, 149 Hereford & Leominster, is published by Cassini at £6.49.
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