Source of the Historical Mapping Maps 1900 Home page Documentation
Ordnance Survey (OS) Maps at 25 inches to the mile (1:2500) for England and Wales produced between 1873 and 1922 have proved invaluable for local historians and archaeologists.
This is particularly true for industrial archaeologists where these maps often include a wealth of detail regarding mills, canals, railways, roads, quarries and factories and such like. Where sites have not been built over it can be very instructive to visit the area with a large scale map from say circa 1900, although due to past clearance of the site it may not be easy to relate the map precisely to the location.
Happily, the National Library of Scotland (NLS) have recently permitted the reuse of selected georeferenced “25 inch” maps (for personal use} and this is the source of the maps in this project.
Using the Maps
Almost any “smartphone” or “tablet” computer. that is equipped with a Geographical Positioning System (GPS) can be set up to display the historic mapping offline (i.e. no need for for an Internet connection). The GPS system will display the user’s location on the map with a typical accuracy of 2 to 5 metres.
It will of course be necessary to install an “app” on the mobile device to display the map and obtain a map for the area of interest. Full details of the currently recommended “apps” for Android devices (Locus Map and Cartograph Maps 3) and iOS devices (Cartograph Maps 3) and how to obtain or create maps may be downloaded from the Documentation section. Unfortunately the free app previously recommended for both Android and was withdrawn in mid 2022 and it appears that iOS users may require a paid app as discussed in Tips and Updates.
Maps for a number of industrial archaeological sites in Gloucestershire are available to download from the Map Library section.
Feedback and Support
Feedback on your experience creating maps and using the app will be most welcome and used to improve the techniques and documentation for the benefit of other users. Please send bug reports, feedback and requests for support to maps@coaley.net.
Acknowledgement
The support and assistance provided by Chris Fleet, Map Curator, National Library of Scotland, is gratefully acknowledged..
Disclaimer
Please take suitable care if you use the app in the field for the purposes described in these notes, as clearly, no liability can be accepted for any loss or damage, that might occur
