OLD ORDNANCE SURVEY MAPS

Index Maps & Other Information

We are often asked whether a map includes a particular village, even a street - sometimes even an individual house. With the best will in the world we cannot answer all these queries, or help with special research; indeed, looking for a tiny courtyard on a busy map can be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

However, we are now including some index maps on this web site which should help you all to understand just what area is covered by a particular map. That for London should be especially useful.

We are in the process of revising these index maps. Information pages will be added for counties over the next few months, and noted on the relevant pages.

Also available are two volumes, published by David Archer, which include complete index maps for the 25" and 6" maps published by the Ordnance Survey for Britain. These are:

• Ordnance Survey of England & Wales - Indexes to the 1:2500 and 6 inch maps, published by David Archer with an introduction by Richard Oliver. 118 pages. An invaluable volume giving full index maps for all counties. I'm afraid the price has recently gone up to £21.00.
• Ordnance Survey of Scotland - Indexes, introduction by Brian Adams. The companion volume for Scotland. 96 pages. £16.00

If you would like some more information about the development of the large scale Ordnance Survey Maps, the following book may be of interest:

• Ordnance Survey Maps - A concise Guide for Historians, by Richard Oliver, published 1993 by the Charles Close Society. 192 pages. A wealth of information about the OS and its development with special emphasis on the maps most useful for historians, with chapters on the depiction of detail, and Ordnance Survey abbreviations. £12.95.

We stock these books. Postage on them is £1.00 per volume in the UK. Postage overseas will be charged at cost.

Finally, if you are interested in the history of the Ordnance Survey and its maps, the Charles Close Society specialises in this.