1884 British Isles Historic Counties Map by Stanfords
Before the county reforms of the twentieth century, the map of Britain looked like this. This historic counties map from Stanfords shows England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland divided into their old historic counties, with bright colour washes marking each boundary against a pale background that keeps every place name legible.
Stanfords packed its Victorian sheets with river detail, and this one names an unusually large number of small watercourses, including the Cuckmere in Sussex. London sits far tighter than it does today, falling mostly within Middlesex. The sheet also makes a quiet historical point: the administrative shuffling across Great Britain sits alongside Irish county borders that stayed put.
- Reproduced from the Edward Stanford Cartographic Collection archive, scanned at high resolution and reprinted
- Originally published in 1884 by Stanfords of London
- Finishing at Map Shop: paper, laminated, mounted to foam core, or rails and framing in black or walnut molding
A favourite with genealogists tracing parish and county records, history teachers, and decorators dressing a study or library wall.

