Maps

[Brie]

Apologies if this is already listed. The National Library of Scotland has a very useful maps section. Covers the UK, not just Scotland.

https://maps.nls.uk/

Brie

[martin hooper]

And an excellent site it is. The OS 25inch maps are superb.

Martin

[Kiltaglassan]

...and they've been busy adding, over the last few weeks, more material to its online collection of maps covering the island of Ireland.

See Claire Santry's IrishGenealogyNews-
https://www.irishgenealogynews.com/2023/12/nls-adds-historical-maps-of-ireland-to.html


KG

[MollyC]

NLS are also gradually increasing the coverage of "seamless layers" so you can move across the landscape without encountering the sheet margins.  The large scale plans of towns name almost every court and yard.

However, I encourage checking the margins of the single sheet versions as well.  They contain a great deal of information about the exact dates of revision of different types of feature, and the differences between revision date and publication date, sometimes 4 to 5 years, especially where a county boundary is involved.  They also give clear information about admin. areas: civil parish and poor law union boundaries etc.  Read the notes around the edge!

[KGarrad]

For the West of England, try "Know Your Place" (www.kypwest.org.uk).

Places covered:
Bath and North East Somerset
Bristol
Devon
Gloucestershire
North Somerset
Somerset
South Gloucestershire
Wiltshire

[BumbleB]

I agree that the NLS site is great for finding old maps - invariably one of my go-to sites. Thank you to NLS.   

[hanes teulu]

- invariably one of my go-to sites. Thank you to NLS.   

Agreed

[Top-of-the-hill]

  I am using a 6in, 1937/8, map on the NLS site, and hope someone can tell me what the numbers in red are? e.g. BM295.22. If they are boundary markers there are a lot of them, and some are just 3 digits.

[MollyC]

BM indicates Bench Mark, an accurately surveyed height above sea level, from which someone doing a local survey could take their datum.  Their location was carved on buildings or other structures with a broad arrow symbol.  Other heights indicated with only a dot are known as Spot Heights, often along roads or on hill summits.  Contours appear in red on county series 6-inch editions from the 1920s onwards.