Old maps of UK with easy access!

[Maiden Stone]

I am not familiar with a lot of geography in the UK and I have family from Durham

When following a trail it would be amazingly helpful to be able to check out which towns are nearby and therefore, be more likely to be the relative I'm after.

County Durham on GENUKI
https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DUR/
Menu of topics including maps, registration districts.
Click "County Durham Towns and Parishes" in centre of page for alphabetical list. Selecting a place shows it on a map e.g. Barnard Castle. Selecting "Nearby churches" brings up a map showing churches and chapels within a chosen radius, colour-coded according to denomination. Clicking on a coloured icon shows its' name. Selecting a church leads to another page with a detailed map.
GENUKI is a volunteer website and coverage of places varies.

[MonicaL]

Have you come across these maps? www.scotlandsfamily.com/

From this site you have the following maps:

Map of Scotland
County map www.scotlandsfamily.com/county-map.htm
Parish maps - individual counties with their parishes
Gazetteer

This guide here www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files//research/statutory-registers/parishes-and-registration-districts-by-name.pdf lists all parishes and districts in alphabetical order with the dates during which each was operative. See main page here www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/guides/statutory-registers/registration-districts

Monica

[MonicaL]

To help with Glasgow, you have these two parish maps which cover Glasgow Districts between 1855-74 and 1874-1900:

[thomo7]

Hi all,
Thanks so much everyone. My apologies if the quotes don't show up how they should (i'm still working it out)..

kGarrad,

Another thought!
GenUKI often, on it's county pages, has a "Where is it in xxx (County name)".
E.G. the page for Stirlingshire has a "Where is it in Stiringshire?" page.
See: https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/sct/STI
and scroll down to Stirlingshire Towns and Parishes.
Also a link to Kilsyth parish.

Thanks for these, I've had a look and they look like they'll be really helpful.
Thanks for the clarification on the change in county for Kilsyth, I've been finding that sometimes Im looking at the wrong county so the date will help and for the coat of arms info, makes it all a bit more familiar.

Arthurk, I've been using the nls maps but thanks for the heads up on that as I'm still juggling trying to find the maps that work for me. A shame the old place names link isn't working  but I'll follow up the nls link you've passed on.

maidenstone, thanks for the info for Ireland and Durham - I'll have a go at those maps too. Sounds like that one might be good for the broader picture.

MonicaL, I've seen reference to the scotlandsfamily website but haven't had a good look yet so that along with the other links will keep me busy for a while Thanks too for the link re parishes etc and the maps of Glasgow.

Slowly, slowly, it all becomes clearer.

Cheers, JT

[Maiden Stone]

 and also Donegal, Ireland.

Shane Wilson's website swilson.info has finding aids for places, civil and ecclesiastical parishes, links to registers of R.C. parishes, maps of registration districts.

https://www.swilson.info/index.php
Looked at contents of this again just now and saw a topic I hadn't noticed before - places in tithe applotment records.

Another source for understanding Irish places is Ireland Reaching Out (aka IrelandXO) website:

"What is a Parish?"
https://irelandxo.com/ireland-xo/news/what-parish

"IrelandXO Insight - What is a Townland?"
https://irelandxo.com/ireland-xo/news/irelandxo-insight-what-townland
This explains why a townland might have more than 1 name. Has a tip for researching placenames.

"Parish names in County Donegal" (IrelandXO Links)
https://irelandxo.com/ireland-xo/visiting/parish-names-county-donegal-irelandxo-links
List of civil parishes + names of main villages, towns or known features connected with each parish which it says will help orientate you. Includes map locations. It's a work in progress.

Ireland Reaching Out - County Donegal
https://irelandxo.com/ireland/donegal

Ireland Reaching Out is for the Irish diaspora. It aims to connect them with the origin parish (civil parish) of their ancestor. It also offers information and advice to descendants planning a visit and may be able to put them in touch with a local volunteer. As you intend to visit in the future, I suggest joining now, either your ancestor's parish, if known, or County Donegal if parish is yet unknown.

A guide to Irish family history is Irish Genealogy Toolkit which has many links to useful sources and frequent updates.
https://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com



 

[Maiden Stone]

More sources for Ireland.

Irish Geneaography website.
https://www.irish-geneaography.com
This is about connecting genealogy to places.
The guide to maps and map resources is under "Ingredients" tab.
Investigate other tabs too. The page on registration districts recommends Shane Wilson's site.
 
Irish Civil Registration Districts in county order on Irish Genealogy Toolkit.
https://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/ireland-civil-registration.html

"Registration Districts Ireland: An alphabetical list of Registration Districts of Ireland with details of Counties, Sub-Districts and adjacent Districts" by Michael J. Thompson. (pdf) Includes 2 maps, 1 counties; 2 registration districts 1880.

 

[thomo7]

Maidenstone,
Thanks again. I'll check into those shortly! I think I'll be busy with all these sites for a while. Fun, fun, fun!

[cuffie81]

As for pinning locations on a map, the easiest option is probably Google Maps, which allows users to create custom maps, adding points, shapes and routes.

How to Create a Custom Map in Google Maps
https://www.howtogeek.com/664890/how-to-create-a-custom-map-in-google-maps/

[Maiden Stone]

As for pinning locations on a map, the easiest option is probably Google Maps, which allows users to create custom maps, adding points, shapes and routes.

How to Create a Custom Map in Google Maps
https://www.howtogeek.com/664890/how-to-create-a-custom-map-in-google-maps/

More fun!