In 1950 the Automobile Association (A.A.) published a handbook for drivers which included maps and a gazetteer of the towns and villages of England and Wales (Scotland had its own association). As post-war paper shortages eased, a new expanded edition was published in 1958 which included illustrations of the sites a motorist might expect to see as they travelled sedately along the roads of Britain (as the maps make clear the motorway network was then at a very early stage of development). Alongside the churches, monuments, castles, historic pubs, chalk figures and gibbets there are more than thirty follies for the driver to spot along his way.

By the time the Flâneuse’s 1961 copy of The Illustrated Road Book to England and Wales (a battered family heirloom) was published, more than 450,000 copies had been supplied to A.A. members, along with the distinctive yellow badge to display on the car.

Whilst the atlas and guide contains everything the driver needs to know about motoring, mileages and market days, it doesn’t give any clues as to who compiled the comprehensive gazetteer, which ranges from Abberton to Zennor, so the Flâneuse is unable to give credit.

The illustrators too remain anonymous, although we do know how the images were sourced. For four years A.A. members of staff photographed anything of interest they saw, and these images were handed to the artists. As the introduction explains, using sketches allowed ‘some of the more obtrusive features of modern life’ to be omitted – so the reader wouldn’t be offended by a TV aerial or an ugly modern streetlight.

The author of the introduction struck a melancholy note when they mused that some of the landmarks illustrated might have disappeared by the time a new edition was published. Local improvements, they wrote, ‘seem so frequently to obliterate the picturesque.’

The Flâneuse is pleased to report that of the many follies featured in the guide almost all survive, including the small selection pictured above.

There have only been two major casualties – an eye-catching toll-house in Berkshire (above) and the Westwick Arch in Norfolk, described as ‘formerly the main entrance to the Westwick Estate’.

As this has been a rather monochrome post, here is an example of the A.A.’s very own contribution to landscape ornament – the black and vibrant yellow phone boxes that could once be found across Britain. All are now redundant, and only a handful survive in their original locations, brightening the roadside. This one is in Mere in Cheshire.

As ever, the Flâneuse found herself wandering off subject into the fascinating history of the A.A. As the 1961 edition of the Road Book was published, it was announced that members would soon miss out on the famous salute from a passing A.A. patrolman. In that year the practice was discontinued as dangerous, although pedestrian patrolmen were still permitted to greet members in this way. There’s a great potted history of the A.A. here.

The Flâneuse salutes her readers and wishes them a safe journey if they are travelling this weekend. Your thoughts are always welcome, please scroll down to the comments box to get in touch.