England Maps

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England

Maps

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• GENUKI UK
• RootsWeb Genmaps

England Maps

Maps can help you find where your ancestors lived. There are many types of maps. Each can help you in a different way. Historical maps describe economic growth and development, boundaries, migration and settlement patterns, military campaigns, transportation development, effects of plagues, and other historical information. Road maps provide details on highways, rivers, and town size. Other types include parish maps, county maps, topographical maps, enclosure maps, civil district maps, and church diocesan maps.

Maps are published separately or in bound collections, called atlases. You may find maps in gazetteers, guidebooks, local histories, directories, or history texts.

Use FamilySearch's 1851 Jurisdiction Map, an interactive map revealing the various levels of jurisdictions in each county in England showing parishes, registration districts (post-1834), probate courts, and many other jurisdictions, as well as an Ordnance Survey map base map.

See maps downloaded from Research Guidance: England and Wales pre 1974, England and Wales 1974-1976, Map of The British Isles.

Since 1800 the Ordinance Survey has been the major source of topographical maps. English, Welsh, Scottish, and Irish maps are available in 1, 6, and 25 inches to the mile. The series has been revised and published at different dates. There are also Ordnance Survey maps of greater detail (up to 10 feet to the mile).

City and street maps are helpful for research in large cities. A partial list of such maps available at the FamilySearch Library is:

• Rural and City Maps.Typescript. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1985. (FS Library book 942 E73c.)

England Map Websites

Many Websites have maps. The following links are a few of the sites on the Internet.

Website	URL
Ordnance Survey maps	https://maps.nls.uk/
Ordnance Survey OpenData	http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/opendata/
Google Maps	http://maps.google.co.uk/
Pictures of England	http://www.picturesofengland.com/mapofengland/
Ordnance Survey Maps 1938-1945	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/3371016
Lonely Planet	http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/europe/england/
London Ancestor-England Map Site	http://www.londonancestor.com/maps/maps-england.htm
Old-Maps.co.uk	http://www.old-maps.co.uk/index.htm
MAPCO Map and Plan Collection	http://mapco.net/index.htm
Medieval Atlas, Maps of England	http://historymedren.about.com/library/atlas/blatengdex.htm
Old maps of Plymouth, England	http://www.cyber-heritage.co.uk/maps/mayflower.htm
Gardiner's School Atlas of English History	https://archive.org/details/schoolatlasofeng00gard/page/n7/mode/2up
GENUKI	http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/Gazetteer/
England Jurisdictions 1851	https://www.familysearch.org/mapp/
Domesday on a map 1086	http://labs.nationalarchives.gov.uk/domesday/
Geological Map of England	http://www.bl.uk/collection-items/geological-map-of-england-showing-coal-mining-districts
iTravelUK	http://www.itraveluk.co.uk/maps/england.html

Using Maps

Use maps carefully for the following reasons:

• Several places may have the same name. For example, 100 places are called Mount Pleasant in England.
• The place-name on the map may not be spelled as expected, because names were often spelled as they sounded.
• Parish boundaries are seldom indicated.

Finding a Specific Place on the Map

To do successful research in English records, you must identify where your ancestor lived. Because many localities have the same name, you may need some additional information before you can find the correct area on a map. Search gazetteers, histories, family records, and other sources to learn all you can about the area, including the following:

• The parish and county where the place is located
• The civil registration district that served your ancestor’s parish (after 1837)
• The names of the churches
• The size of the town and parish
• The names of other villages in the parish
• Your ancestor’s occupation
• Nearby localities, such as large cities
• Places where related ancestors lived
• Nearby features, such as rivers and mountains
• The area’s industries

This information will help you distinguish between places of the same name and help you locate the correct place on a map. See England Gazetteers for more information.

Finding Maps and Atlases

Collections of maps and atlases are available at historical societies, county record offices, and public and university libraries. Major collections for England are at the British Library (see England Archives and Libraries for address) and the Bodleian Library at Oxford:

Bodleian Library
Broad Street
Oxford OX1 3BG
England

The FamilySearch Library has a good collection of English maps and atlases. These are listed in the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under one of the following:

GREAT BRITAIN - MAPS

ENGLAND - MAPS

ENGLAND, [COUNTY] - MAPS

ENGLAND, [COUNTY], [PARISH] - MAPS

Some helpful maps at the FamilySearch Library are:

Humphery-Smith, Cecil R., The Phillimore Atlas and Index of Parish Registers. Second Edition. Chichester, Sussex, England: Phillimore & Company, 1995. (FS Library 313833 book 942 E7pa 1995. BYU FS Library book G 1816 .E42 P5x 2003.) This includes an indexed parish boundary map and general topographical maps for each county.

Mason, Oliver, comp. Bartholomew Gazetteer of Places in Britain. Scale 1:300,000. Edinburgh, Scotland: John Bartholomew & Son Limited, 1986. (FS Library 590204 book 942 E5bb, 1986.)

Landranger Series. Southampton, England: Ordnance Survey, 1987–89. (FS Library 608445 map 942 E7lan nos. 1–204.)

National Map Series. Scale 1:100,000. Various editions. Edinburgh, Scotland: John Bartholomew & Son, 1978–81. (FS Library 301353 book 942 E7bm.) These are detailed, modern sheet maps, roughly one inch to the mile.

The Old Series Ordnance Survey Maps of England and Wales, Scale 1:64,000. Lympne Castle, Kent, England: Harry Margary, 1986–. (FS Library /404141 book Q 942 E3os.) These original-release, one-inch-to-the-mile maps (published from 1805 to 1873) have been republished in ten volumes.

An Atlas Available online:

A Genealogical Atlas of England and Wales

Other useful publications on maps include:

Harley, J. B. Ordnance Survey Maps: A Descriptive Manual. Southampton, England: Ordnance Survey, 1975. (FS Library 280190 book 942 E3osa.) This explains the history of and detail on ordinance survey maps.

Hindle, Brian Paul. Maps for Local History. London, England: B. T. Batsford, Ltd., 1988. (FS Library 499849 book 942 E77h.) This explains types of maps and contains a bibliography.

Masters, Charles. Essential Maps for Family Historians. Newbury, Berkshire: Countryside Books, 2009. (FS Library 1888133 book 942 D27 mch). Discusses county maps, estate surveys, enclosure maps and awards, town maps, tithe maps and awards, Valuation Office Survey, National Farm Survey. Gives case studies for each.

Watt, Ian, comp. A Directory of United Kingdom Map Collections. London, England: McCarta, Limited, 1985. (FS Library 543906 book 942 E74w.) This is a brief description of map repositories (including county record offices) that describes the holdings, hours, and copying facilities.

Contact your local bookstore to order maps of England, or you may purchase maps by writing to either of the two following places:

John Bartholomew & Sons, Limited
12 Duncan Street
Edinburgh, EH9 1TA
Scotland

Ordnance Survey Office
Department LM
Romsey Road
Southampton, SO9 4DH
England
Internet: Ordnance Survey

Old Maps of the Great Britain

Providing access to Britain's most extensive digital historical map archive, jointly owned by the Ordnance Survey, Britain’s national mapping agency is this website:

• Old Maps of the United Kingdom
• Ordnance Maps of England

To locate a map, enter a place name, address or coordinate (OS Grid Reference) then click the Search button.

Cost is free, with an option to purchase decorative maps. All information contained on this site is subject to copyright and/or database right. Any reproduction, duplication, copying, sale or resale or exploitation for commercial purposes of any information held on or accessed via this site is expressly prohibited.

Cambridge University Digital Library has the outstanding early 1600 John Speed (66) maps of Great Britain which have been published online at no cost.

Village by Village Maps in the United Kingdom and Ireland

Village by village maps and message boards in the United Kingdom and Ireland available on the internet.

You can search this website either by village, surname, or browse all villages by county. Each village page includes links to historic maps as well as a message forum where people can post messages about things relating to that village, family history questions, tips, requests or look ups.

Each village webpage might include:

• Historic map of the village
• Street map of the village
• Maps of surrounding area
• Message board for each village

Internet: CuriousFox

Or search on www.google.com for villages United Kingdom genealogy.

Cost is free with added features if a membership is purchased.

• You must join as either a free or paid member to post messages.
• One person of each message correspondence must be a paid member, therefore if you are a free member you can only contact paid members, and only paid members can contact you.
• Cost for membership is an annual fee.
• To use the “Search Surname” feature, you must be signed in as a free or paid user.
• To search for villages you do not have to be signed in.

The FamilySearch Library at www.familysearch.org has a collection of maps for England. Use the Place Search in the FamilySearch Catalog for a locality and the topic of Maps.