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Edward Stanford

The School-Board Map of London, c. 1872

Scale 6 inches to one mile.

Edward Stanford's cartographic establishment was (and remains) one of the most prolific and famous London map-making companies. Their School-Board Map is a massive large-scale map of London. According to conventional wisdom, the London School Board approached Stanford in 1877 and asked him to produce 200 sets of a London map showing the locations of schools. Stanford subsequently provided this map, the area of London being covered not by one single map, but by ten maps each corresponding to the school divisions. Board schools were marked in red, public elementary schools in blue. The 1877 'first' edition was marked with Stanford's address of 55 Charing Cross.

The set we have, however, clearly predates 1877 by some 4-5 years. Our set of ten maps is marked with the address 6 & 7 Charing Cross, which premises Stanford vacated in 1873. Our maps also do not distinguish board from elementary schools with any colour marking (which the 1877 set does). The boundaries marked in red ink on our set of maps possibly indicate school districts - but we're not sure (the postal districts are clearly marked by the large, outlined letters), so if anyone has any information on this, please email us. It is possible the set we have is an early version, and the School Board subsequently asked Stanford to more clearly mark schools. It is also a complete version, which is not the case with most sets available today.

Whatever the case, Stanford's School-Board map is one of the most comprehensive and detailed maps of mid-Victorian London available.

This is a big (larger even than Horwood) and highly detailed map and thus we will be putting it up in sections. The School-Board map of London is sub-divided into ten large maps, some with as many as 32 sheets. We have kept the scans at very high resolution as the printing on the map is very fine.

Sections currently available:

Southwark division , including Bermondsey, Deptford and Rotherhithe

Westminster division , including Charing Cross, Knightsbridge, Hyde Park, Pimlico and Soho.

Chelsea division, which includes Brompton, Kensington and Kensington Park, Fulham, Kensal Green and Kensal New Town, Wormwood Scrubs, Shepherds Bush, Hammersmith, Earl's Court, Notting Hill and Holland Park.

Hackney division, incorporating Hackney, Hackney Wick, Hackney Marsh, Hoxton, Haggerstone, Bethnal Green, Clobet, Dalston, Homerton, Shacklewell, Upper and Lower Clapton, and part of Kingsland.

Finsbury division, incorporating Highbury, Holloway, Stoke Newington, Barnsbury, Canonbury, Pentonville, Islington, Clerkenwell and the British Museum and Lincoln's Inn Fields areas of London.

Tower Hamlets Division, incorporating the Isle of Dogs, Stepney, Limehouse, London Docks, West and East India Docks, Millwall Docks, Shadwell, Goodman's Fields, Poplar, Mile End New Town and Old Town, Whitechapel, Ratcliff, Old Ford, Spitalfields, and Bromley.

The City Division

Coming Shortly: Marylebone Division, incorporating Regent's Park, St John's Wood, Hampstead, Marylebone, Paddington, Kilburn, South End, West End, Kentish Town and parts of Highgate.

Once all the sections are done we will include a key map to show precisely to what part of London each section corresponds.

 

 

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