Stanfords the map shop has a new home

[Serial_Apologist]

For those like me who are passionate about localities and their history, Stanfords, the shop with the well-known address in Long Acre, a couple of hundred metres from Covent Garden, has provided a haven for exploration on any subject specific to London's geography since moving back here. On my first visit ten years ago, the premises' basement flooring consisted of a large scale map of most of the Metropolis, and I can remember standing in delight right on the spot where we lived until I was twelve. Subsequently book cases and shelves were to be moved around in such a way as to conceal this, but I was still able to dispose of a large amount of cash on a range of maps, including the James Wyld one of "The Vicinity of London 1847", which has since proved an inexhaustible source of wonderment, viewed through a powerful magnifying glass, printed on canvas, and well worth the £25 I paid for it.

On an item on yesterday's Inside Out (BBC1) we learned that to save on business rates and (sadly) a decline in footfall, Stanfords has now moved to presumably smaller premises not far away. Let's hope the range of what is on offer has not been reduced. They were showing the provision of outsized detailed street plans widely used by planners and developers. Below is the website, with details of the new location:

https://www.stanfords.co.uk

[vinteuil]

.

... thanks for the info, Serial.

And not just London maps, of course - each time I was being sent abroad, a quick scuttle to Long Acre, and many happy hours browsing for maps, town plans, charts etc.

And as for London - you do know (I hope) the marvellous series of Old Ordnance Survey Maps they held (hope they still have... ) - am currently poring over the sheets for Holland Park / Shepherd's Bush 1871 and 1894, tracing the route of the abandoned London and South West Railway track which used to trundle up north-north-west from Olympia to just south of Shepherd's Bush Green before curling south westwards back down to Hammersmith. It explains a lot about the odd shapes some of the roads around there have - I find it fascinating walking these streets with that historical background...

[Serial_Apologist]

.

... thanks for the info, Serial.

And not just London maps, of course - each time I was being sent abroad, a quick scuttle to Long Acre, and many happy hours browsing for maps, town plans, charts etc.

And as for London - you do know (I hope) the marvellous series of Old Ordnance Survey Maps they held (hope they still have... ) - am currently poring over the sheets for Holland Park / Shepherd's Bush 1871 and 1894, tracing the route of the abandoned London and South West Railway track which used to trundle up north-north-west from Olympia to just south of Shepherd's Bush Green before curling south westwards back down to Hammersmith. It explains a lot about the odd shapes some of the roads around there have - I find it fascinating walking these streets with that historical background...

Yes I have 12 of those, and intend getting a few more.

[Cockney Sparrow]

Doesn't seem to augur well.
I suppose the premises will be an upmarket fashion store to fit in with the spread of high rent retail units.

I only hope the downmarket setting of the Lamb and Flag around the corner at the back survives - IIRC its a Fullers pub, and they've just sold their brewery (bets on conversion to luxury living units anyone?) to a multinational brewer - retaining their retail trade outlets as more profitable.

Already, Covent Garden is just a vastly overpriced area I walk through on the way to the Opera House, navigating through the crowds snagged by the street acts. (Stanfords coffee shop was one reasonably priced stop before I got there....)

[Serial_Apologist]

Nest time I'm up there, I'll let people here know.

[ardcarp]

Stanfords provided maritime charts too, e.g. http://www.stanfords.co.uk/maritime-charts

It is always sad when one of the wonderful old specialist shop-premises closes. One thinks of the many music shops of my childhood where you'd wander in, and highly knowledgeable staff would reach down a folder with exactly what you wanted inside.

Rather against the spirit of this thread...but accepting that 'online' is here to stay...may I recommend Dash4it for anything in the map/chart department? They're quick, efficient and cheap!

https://dash4it.co.uk/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAheXiBRD-ARIsAODSpWPFbpFc5K9T1vjk4CYVwBCEeswO-v5Oiy1ZYKEEbw7nArIhApKrabMaAqPpEALw_wcB

[gradus]

I used to love browsing the shop.
Wasn't Stanfords where Kenneth Williams, of all people, was briefly employed as a trainee cartographer?

[ardcarp]

Cartwangler?

[vinteuil]

Cartwangler?

... all together now :

The Ballad of The Woggler's Mooly by Kenneth Williams

Joe, he was a young cordwangler,
Munging greebles he did go,
And he loved a bogler's daughter
By the name of Chiswick Flo.

Vain she was and like a grusset
Though her gander parts were fine,
But she sneered at his cordwangle
As it hung upon the line.

So he stole a woggler's mooly
For to make a wedding ring,
But the Bow Street Runners caught him
And the judge said "He will swing."

Oh, they hung him by the postern,
Nailed his mooly to the fence
For to warn all young cordwanglers
That it was a grave offence.

There's a moral to this story,
Though your cordwangle be poor,
Keep your hands off other's moolies,
For it is against the law.

[Old Grumpy]

Stanfords provided maritime charts too, e.g. http://www.stanfords.co.uk/maritime-charts

It is always sad when one of the wonderful old specialist shop-premises closes. One thinks of the many music shops of my childhood where you'd wander in, and highly knowledgeable staff would reach down a folder with exactly what you wanted inside.

Rather against the spirit of this thread...but accepting that 'online' is here to stay...may I recommend Dash4it for anything in the map/chart department? They're quick, efficient and cheap!

https://dash4it.co.uk/?gclid=Cj0KCQi...MaAqPpEALw_wcB

Can't say I often get down to the smoke, but I'm sure I must have been to Stanfords at some point in the past.

I would second Dash4it - I have used them several times. Good value and excellent service


OG

[gradus]

Cartwangler?

Bona maps duckie.