MAPS of Herefordshire dating back hundreds of years will be on offer at a selling exhibition which opens next weekend.

MP Philip Dunne is to officially open the event on May 3 at Aardvark Books in Brampton Bryan.

A total of 130 original maps of Wales and the four counties covered by the Council of the Marches, which administered the borders for over two centuries from 1472 to 1689, are up for grabs.

Sarah Swinson, from Aardvark Books, said the exhibition will features an extraordinary variety ranging from single county maps, to foreign-made maps of the area.

Hand drawn estate maps are also included as is an estate atlas for the village of Clifford near Hay-on-Wye. Another rarity is John Bill’s map of Herefordshire of 1626 while some of the estate maps have never previously been shown in public.

Sarah added that star exhibits include unique hand drawn estate maps of Kingsland, Lawton Farm and The Wharf. While cartographers will also be interested to see an unusual Zincograph map of Leominster from 1868, together with a number of Herefordshire strip maps, showing key routes through the county.

Sarah said: "This exhibition is made up of examples from four different collections, and reflects their individual interests and pre-occupations. "It includes examples from all the major map makers of the period including Speed, Overton, Blaeu, Janssen, Morden, Bowen, Kitchin, Cary and the Ordnance Survey." All the maps are for sale, many of them from £60, and there will also be an opportunity to purchase postcards and facsimiles of some of the maps.

For more information on "Mapping Wales and The Marches May 3-18", call 01547 530888.