SABRE Maps/MOT coverage project

This SABRE Maps Coverage Project is to provide online coverage of the OS Ministry of Transport Road Map series.

These maps are probably the single most important historical mapping series from the early days of road numbering within Great Britain, with the initial coverage being to show the brand-new road numbers across the whole of Great Britain. They were then updated during the 1920s to keep pace with the early changes in the network at a time when no other Ordnance Survey mapping carried road numbers.

The importance of the series declined in the 1930s when the OS Ten Mile Road Map of Great Britain became the official series of record, and road numbers started to appear on OS Quarter Inch and OS One Inch Fifth Edition sheets, amongst others. There was a final hurrah following the 1935 changes when a number of maps were reissued.

Bear in mind that the older OS Half Inch Large Sheet series confusingly comes in covers called Ordnance Survey Road Map, and some sheets were revised well into the 1930s, but these are based on the ordinary pre-World War 1 series with no road numbers printed on them, and are not the same thing as the Ministry of Transport Road Maps. As such, these maps are not part of this Coverage Project.

Which projection type are these maps?

See Also: SABRE Maps/Calibrating

MoT maps of England and Wales use the Cassini (Delamere) projection and should be georeferenced accordingly; whilst those of Scotland use the Bonne (Scotland) projection.

Current Status

Sheet status by year

Key

Available on SABRE Maps

Online, but needs replacement source

Unconfirmed Revision

Within the pipeline

Pipeline (Military edition)

Acquired but not scanned

Copy needed

In copyright (copy available)

In copyright (copy needed)

No map printed (or empty cell)

Map layers		1922-23	1924-25	1925-27		1927-29		1929-32			1936-37
Sheet	Name	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
1	Jedburgh, Berwick upon Tweed and Alnwick	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
2	Carlisle	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
3	Newcastle upon Tyne	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
5	Lake District	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
6	Middlesbrough, Richmond and Ripon	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
7	Whitby and Scarborough	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
8	Lancaster, Southport and Preston	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
9	Harrogate, Leeds and Bradford	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
10	York and Kingston upon Hull	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
11	Carnarvon, Bangor and Colwyn Bay	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
12	Liverpool, Manchester and Chester	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
13	Sheffield	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
14	Lincoln and Grimsby	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
15	Barmouth and Aberystwyth	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
16	Wrexham, Shrewsbury and Hanley	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
17	Derby, Nottingham and Leicester	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
18	Peterborough and Boston	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
19	Norwich and Great Yarmouth	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
20	Pembroke and Fishguard	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
Map layers		1922-23	1924-25	1925-27		1927-29		1929-32			1936-37
21	Brecon and Lampeter	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
22	Worcester and Ludlow	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
23	Birmingham, Leamington and Northampton	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
24	Bedford and Cambridge	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
25	Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
26	Swansea	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
27	Gloucester, Monmouth and Newport	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
28	Oxford and Swindon	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
29	North London, St Albans and Hertford	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
30	Colchester	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
31	Bideford, Ilfracombe and Tiverton	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
32	Bristol and Cardiff	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
33	Salisbury, Winchester and Reading	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
34	London	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
35	South West Cornwall and Scilly Isles	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
36	Plymouth, Torquay and Exeter	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
37	Weymouth, Yeovil and Taunton	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
38	Southampton, Portsmouth and Isle of Wight	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
39	Brighton	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
40	Chatham, Margate and Hastings	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
Map layers		1922-23	1924-25	1925-27		1927-29		1929-32			1936-37
1	Shetland Islands (North)	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
2	Shetland Islands (South)	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
3	Orkney Islands (North)	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
4	Orkney Islands (South)	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
5	Lewis	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
6	Cape Wrath	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
7	Wick and Thurso	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
8	Ullapool and Gareloch	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
9	Dornoch and Cromarty	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
10	North Uist	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
11	Skye	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
12	Loch Carron	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
13	Inverness and Nairn	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
14	Elgin, Keith and Huntly	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
15	Aberdeen and Banff	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
16	Barra	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
17	Mallaig and Tobermory	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
Map layers		1922-23	1924-25	1925-27		1927-29		1929-32			1936-37
18	Ben Nevis	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
19	Ballater and Pitlochry	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
20	Forfar and Stonehaven	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
21	Oban and Iona	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
22	Oban and Killin	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
23	Dundee, Perth and Stirling	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
24	Montrose, Dundee and Kirkcaldy	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
25	Islay	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
26	Glasgow and Firth of Clyde	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
27	Lanark	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
28	North Berwick and Kelso	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
29	Kintyre and Isle of Arran	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
30	Ayr	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
31	Moffat and Dumfries	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
32	Hawick, Jedburgh and Otterburn	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
33	Wigtown and Stranraer	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
34	Dumfries, Kirkcudbright and Cockermouth	1922-23	1924-25	1925-26	1926-27	1927-28	1928-29	1929-30	1930-31	1931-32	1936-37
Map layers		1922-23	1924-25	1925-27		1927-29		1929-32			1936-37

Key

Available on SABRE Maps

Online, but needs replacement source

Unconfirmed Revision

Within the pipeline

Pipeline (Military edition)

Acquired but not scanned

Copy needed

In copyright (copy available)

In copyright (copy needed)

No map printed (or empty cell)

Sheet List: England and Wales

Maps online are in bold title for 1922-23 revision, other revisions are also in bold if online.

Maps known to exist at a legal deposit library but not online are in italic.

Maps owned by a member of SABRE and available for use on SABRE Maps (although removal of dissections may be required) are marked by §

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Map Number	Map Name	Overlaps	Revisions	Notes
1	Jedburgh, Berwick upon Tweed and Alnwick	Scotland sheets 28, 32	1926-27 § 1931-32	1926-27 - BL (dissected), Steven (Library edition) 1931-32 - NLS
2	Carlisle	Scotland sheets 31, 32, 34	1928-29	1928-29 - NLS (discoloured)
3	Newcastle upon Tyne		1924-25	1924-25 - BL (dissected), Cambridge UL (unknown condition), Steven (excellent)
4	Isle of Man			Not issued as an MOT map
5	Lake District		1927-28	1927-28 BL
6	Middlesbrough, Richmond and Ripon		1927-28 § 1936-37	1927-28 BL, Steven (Dissected edition) 1936-37 - BL (dissected)
7	Whitby and Scarborough		1926-27	1926-27 BL, Steven)
8	Lancaster, Southport and Preston	9	1924-25 1930-31
9	Harrogate, Leeds and Bradford	8	1924-25 §	1924-25 - Steven, BL and Cambridge UL (unknown condition)
10	York and Kingston upon Hull		1927-28 1936-37	1927-28 BL, Steven
11	Carnarvon, Bangor and Colwyn Bay		1929-30	1929-30 - Cambridge UL (dissected)
12	Liverpool, Manchester and Chester		1924-25 1928-29 1929-30 1936-37	1924-25 - Steven
13	Sheffield		1924-25 1929-30 § 1936-37	1924-25 BL 1929-30 - Steven 1936-37 - Steven
14	Lincoln and Grimsby		1927-28 1936-37	1927-28 BL
15	Barmouth and Aberystwyth		1927-28	1927-28 BL
16	Wrexham, Shrewsbury and Hanley		1926-27	1926-27 BL
17	Derby, Nottingham and Leicester		1924-25 1928-29 1936-37	1924-25 - BL, Steven
18	Peterborough and Boston		1926-27	1926-27 - BL, Cambridge UL (unknown condition), Steven (excellent)
19	Norwich and Great Yarmouth		1924-25 § 1927-28 1936-37	1924-25 BL, Steven (Library Edition) 1927-28 - BL and Cambridge UL (unknown condition), Steven (dissected
20	Pembroke and Fishguard		1924-25	1924-25 - Ritchie333
21	Brecon and Lampeter		1927-28	1927-28 BL, Steven
22	Worcester and Ludlow		1924-25 1929-30	1924-25 - BL and Steven 1929-30 - Cambridge UL (poor condition)
23	Birmingham, Leamington and Northampton		1926-27 1936-37	1926-27 BL
24	Bedford and Cambridge		1927-28 1936-37	1927-28 BL and Ritchie333
25	Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich		1924-25 1927-28 1936-37	1924-25 - Cambridge UL (unknown condition), Steven (good) 1927-28 - Ritchie333
26	Swansea		1924-25 § 1925-26	1924-25 - BL, Cambridge UL (unknown condition), Steven (Library Edition)
27	Gloucester, Monmouth and Newport		1926-27	1926-27 BL
28	Oxford and Swindon		1924-25 1930-31	1924-25 BL and Steven (dissected)
29	North London, St Albans and Hertford	30, 34	1926-27	1926-27 BL
30	Colchester	29, 34	1927-28 1936-37	1927-28 BL
31	Bideford, Ilfracombe and Tiverton		1927-28 1936-37	1927-28 BL
32	Bristol and Cardiff	37	1926-27 1936-37	1926-27 BL 1936-37 - Cambridge UL
33	Salisbury, Winchester and Reading	38	1927-28	1927-28 BL and M40
34	London	29, 30, 39	1925-26 1927-28 1936-37	1927-28 BL and Ritchie333
35	South West Cornwall and Scilly Isles		1927-28 1930-31	1927-28 BL
36	Plymouth, Torquay and Exeter		1927-28 1930-31	1927-28 BL
37	Weymouth, Yeovil and Taunton	32	1927-28 1930-31	1927-28 BL 1930-31 Steven
38	Southampton, Portsmouth and Isle of Wight	33	1926-27 1929-30	1926-27 Steven (Library Edition), BL
39	Brighton	34	1924-25 1925-26 1927-28	1924-25 BL 1925-26 - Steven 1927-28 - M40 - scan is badly foxed
40	Chatham, Margate and Hastings		1924-25 1925-26 1930-31	1924-25 - Steven, BL, Cambridge UL (unknown condition) 1925-26 BL

Sheet List : Scotland

Map Number	Map Name	Overlaps	Revisions	Notes
1	Shetland Islands (north)
2	Shetland Islands (south)
3	Orkney Islands (north)		1930-31	Inset for Fair Isle
4	Orkney Islands (south)		1930-31
5	Lewis		1927-28, 1930-31	Inset for Flannan Islands 1927-28 BL
6	Cape Wrath
7	Wick and Thurso
8	Ullapool and Gairloch	11
9	Dornoch and Cromatry	13
10	North Uist		1927-28	1927-28 BL
11	Skye	8
12	Loch Carron
13	Inverness and Nairn	9	1927-28
14	Elgin, Keith and Huntly
15	Aberdeen and Banff
16	Barra		1927-28, 1930-31	1927-28 BL
17	Mallaig and Tobermory
18	Ben Nevis
19	Ballater and Pitlochry	24
20	Forfar and Stonehaven	24
21	Oban and Iona
22	Oban and Killin
23	Dundee, Perth and Stirling	24
24	Montrose, Dundee and Kirkcaldy	19, 20, 23
25	Islay	29	1927-28
26	Glasgow and Firth of Clyde	26	1928-29
27	Lanark		1927-28, 1936-37
28	North Berwick and Kelso	England & Wales Sheet 1, 2	1927-28
29	Kintyre and Island of Arran	25, 26, 30
30	Ayr	29, 33
31	Moffat and Dumfries	34, England & Wales Sheet 2
32	Hawick, Jedburgh and Otterburn	England & Wales Sheet 1, 2
33	Wigtown and Stranraer	30	1927-28, 1930-31
34	Dumfries, Kirkcudbright and Cockermouth	31, England & Wales Sheet 2	1927-28, 1930-31

Technical info

MOT maps predate the National Grid, and are derived off base maps that predate the Popular Edition which unified the whole of Great Britain under one projection system.

England and Wales

The English and Welsh maps use the Cassini (Delamere) projection. This is defined from an origin in Delamere Forest, Cheshire (roughly where the A54 meets the A556) - approximately here.

Each map is broken up into 4x4 mile (ie: 21,120x21,120 feet) grid squares.

For English and Welsh maps, there are usually 13 1/2 west to east ("1" to "14" with 14 being half length, and 9 or 12 north to south ("A" to "J" or "M", "I" is not used). Most maps are "J" maps - the "M" maps include sheets 35 and 40. Sheet 40 is also narrower than most, with only 11 1/2 squares. The actual Delamere Forest origin is approximately 11/64 miles (907ft 6in) north and 9/128 miles (371ft 3in) west of the nearest grid square corner on sheet 12 (which is treated as the "false" origin for all other maps).

Most maps align exactly with each other, with only a few overlaps, the size of which is always a whole number of miles. The edges of the grid squares therefore generally line up with each other. The notable exceptions appear to be sheets 21, 31, 35 and 36, which have been aligned to fit as much land on the map without requiring an insert.

Scotland

The Scottish maps use the Bonne (Scotland) projection, defined in feet from latitude 57.5, longitude -4, which happens to be about halfway between Inverness and Nairn here. This is (from measuring map scans) about 1042 feet east and 438 feet north of the nearest grid square.

Scottish maps appear to be all 12 squares by 9 squares, though the orientation can vary between portrait (9 across, 12 down) and landscape (12 across, 9 down). A couple of maps (eg: sheet 24) overlap substantially with others.

General

All maps also has markers and bars along the edges specifying a specific arc of longitude or latitude, at minute intervals (with 60 minutes to a degree), with every 5 minutes marked explicitly. Latitude is always positive, longitude is positive east of the Greenwich Meridian, or negative west of it. This is useful for testing the corner of the map is where you think it should be.