About our Map images - National Library of Scotland

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en" xml:lang="en"> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"/> <title>About our Map images - National Library of Scotland</title> <meta name="Description" content="Summary description of our Map Images website and its content" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/assets/css/maps-text.css?v=202101" media="screen" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/assets/css/maps-text-print.css?v=202101" media="print" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/assets/css/mobile-general.css?v=2023-04" media="screen and (min-width : 320px) and (max-width : 850px) " /> <script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.4.1/jquery.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/assets/scripts/loadDigitalOrdersMenu.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> window.dataLayer = [{ 'gtm.blocklist': ['nonGooglePixels'] }]; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('consent', 'default', { 'ad_storage': 'denied', 'analytics_storage': 'denied', 'functionality_storage': 'denied', 'personalization_storage': 'denied', 'security_storage': 'denied', 'ad_personalization': 'denied', 'ad_user_data': 'denied' }); </script> <script type="text/javascript">(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start': new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src= 'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f); })(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-WN8LDXKJ');</script> </head> <body id="normal" onload="loadDigitalOrdersMenu();"> <div id="header" role="banner"> <a href="https://www.nls.uk/" aria-label="National Library of Scotland homepage"><img id="NLSLogo" src="/assets/graphics/nls_logo.png" width="342" height="58" alt="National Library of Scotland" /></a> <h1 id="siteTitle"><a href="/">Map images</a></h1>   <script type="text/javascript" src="/assets/scripts/searchText.js"></script> <form action="https://www.google.com/cse" method="get" class="headerSearchForm"> <input type="hidden" name="cx" value="004988112283334510717:dtvnxsp4ug8" /> <input type="hidden" name="ie" value="UTF-8" /> <label for="headerSearchFormSearchBox" style="position: relative;top:6px;">Search:</label> <input type="text" name="q" id="headerSearchFormSearchBox" autocomplete="off" /> <button type="submit" id="headerSearchFormSubmitButton" > <span class="visually-hidden">Submit Search</span> </button> </form> <div id="bar"> <p id="URHere"><a href="/">Maps home</a> > About our map images </p> </div> </div> <div id="mainContentOuter"> <div id="mainContent" role="main"> <h2 id="pageTitle">About our map images</h2> <p>In our 'Map images' resource you can access and view all the maps we have scanned as high-resolution, colour, zoomable images. The maps mostly date between the 1520s and 1970s and relate primarily to <a href="site-map.html#scotland">Scotland</a>, <a href="site-map.html#england">England and Wales</a>. We also have maps of areas beyond Great Britain, including maps of <a href="site-map.html#ireland">Ireland</a>, <a href="site-map.html#belgium">Belgium</a>, <a href="site-map.html#jamaica">Jamaica</a>, and various <a href="/atlas/#world">World Atlases</a>.</p> <p><strong><a href="/videos/?vid=Map-Images-Website-Help">Watch an introductory video</a> about the Map Images website</strong>.</p> <p>Read our <a href="/guide/">Guide to this website</a>.</p> <h3>Map Finder</h3> <div class="floatright"><a href="/geo/find/marker/"><img src="/design-assets/img/findbyplace-marker-1.jpg" alt="Map Finder - with Marker Pin graphic" title="Map Finder - with Marker Pin graphic" border="1" width="200" /></a></div> <p>The easiest way of finding material relating to any particular location is to use the <a href="/geo/find/marker/">Map Finder - with Marker Pin</a> viewer. Search using a map, or by place name, or by county and parish name. On our related <a href="/geo/find/">Map Finder - with Outlines </a> viewer, the outlines or extents of all the map images are shown as clear coloured overlays that you can select and view.</p> <p><a href="/videos/?vid=Map-Finder-Help">Watch a video on the Map Finder</a> viewer.</p> <h3>Browse by category</h3> <p>The easiest way of finding general groups of maps is to <a href="browse.html">browse by category</a>. The maps vary in the amount of detail they show:</p> <ul> <li>Least detailed maps – <a href="/countries/scotland/">early maps of the whole of Scotland</a></li> <li>More detailed – <a href="counties/">county/regional maps</a> and <a href="coasts/">coastal charts</a></li> <li>Very detailed – <a href="towns/">town plans</a>.</li> </ul> <p>You can also browse the maps by the names of <a href="mapmakers/">map-makers, surveyors and engravers</a>.</p> <h3>Sets of county maps</h3> <div class="floatright"><a href="counties/"><img src="img/browse_county.jpg" alt="County maps of Scotland graphic" title="County maps of Scotland graphic" border="1" width="200" /></a></div> <p>We have several Scottish atlases online with sets of <a href="counties/">county maps</a>, providing good coverage of regions and rural areas:</p> <ul> <li><a href="atlas/blaeu/">Blaeu Atlas of Scotland, 1654</a></li> <li><a href="mapmakers/moll.html">Herman Moll's Maps of Scotland, 1745</a></li> <li><a href="atlas/thomson/">John Thomson's Atlas of Scotland, 1832</a></li> <li><a href="atlas/bartholomew/">Bartholomew Survey Atlas of Scotland, 1912</a>.</li> </ul> <h3>Military maps</h3> <p>Another category is of <a href="military/">maps made for military purposes</a>, especially those from the 18th century. These include the famous <a href="roy/">Roy Military Survey of Scotland (1747-1755)</a>, and <a href="roy/antiquities/">Roy Military Antiquities of Scotland (1793)</a>. From the 19th century onwards, maps were often published as a set or <a href="series/">series</a>, especially by <a href="os/">Ordnance Survey</a>. You can also view <a href="/military/20th-century/">20th century military maps</a> of Scottish sites, or <a href="/ww1/trenches/">First World War trench maps</a>.</p> <h3>Ordnance Survey maps</h3> <div class="floatright"> <br /><img src="/os/25inch-england-and-wales/img/25inch_home.jpg" alt="decorative graphic illustrating this particular set of maps" border="1" height="200" width="200" /></div> <h4>Scotland</h4> <ul> <li><a href="os/oneinch_1st_list.html" aria-label="One Inch 1st edition - Scotland">One Inch to the Mile</a> - useful for an overview of wide areas</li> <li><a href="os/6inch/" aria-label="Six Inch 1st edition - Scotland">Six Inch to the Mile</a> - useful for rural detail, showing heights and contour lines, and covering all of Scotland</li> <li><a href="os/25inch/" aria-label="25 Inch 1st edition - Scotland">25 Inch to the Mile</a> - the most detailed maps for all the inhabited urban and rural regions of Scotland</li> <li><a href="townplans/" aria-label="Town Plans - Scotland">50 and 120 Inch to the Mile</a> - very detailed urban plans covering 62 towns in Scotland</li> </ul> <h4>England and Wales</h4> <ul> <li><a href="os/one-inch-rev-new-series/" aria-label="One Inch Revised New Series - England and Wales">One Inch to the Mile</a> - useful for an overview of wide areas</li> <li><a href="os/6inch-england-and-wales/" aria-label="Six Inch - England and Wales">Six Inch to the Mile</a> - useful for rural detail, showing heights and contour lines</li> <li><a href="os/25inch-england-and-wales/" aria-label="25 Inch - England and Wales">25 Inch to the Mile</a> - the most detailed maps for all inhabited urban and rural regions</li> <li><a href="os/townplans-england/" aria-label="Town Plans - England and Wales">50 and 120 Inch to the Mile</a> - very detailed urban plans covering 440 towns in England and Wales</li> </ul> <h4>Ireland</h4> <ul> <li><a href="os/one-inch-ireland/" aria-label="One Inch - Ireland">One Inch to the Mile</a> - useful for an overview of wide areas</li> <li><a href="os/6inch-ireland/" aria-label="Six Inch - Ireland">Six Inch to the Mile</a> - useful for rural detail, showing heights and contour lines</li> </ul> <p>Ordnance Survey mapping published in the last 50 years is in copyright and cannot be scanned and made available online. You can view which detailed Ordnance Survey maps were published from 1841-1991 through our <a href="/geo/records/" >Ordnance Survey map records</a> viewer.</p> <h3>Seamless and geo-referenced maps</h3> <div class="floatright"><a href="/geo/explore/"><img src="/design-assets/img/explore-new-1.jpg" alt="Georeferenced Maps viewer graphic" title="Georeferenced Maps viewer graphic" border="1" width="200" /></a></div> <p>We are geo-referencing a growing proportion of more recent maps. Geo-referencing aligns an historic map image with its real world location information. This lets us present a map series as a seamless layer, and compare the historic maps to other dates of mapping, including modern satellite imagery and maps. Explore our <a href="/geo/explore/">Georeferenced Maps</a>.</p> <p><a href="/videos/?vid=Georeferenced-Maps-Help-2023">Watch a video on the Georeferenced Maps</a> viewer.</p> <h3>More about early maps</h3> <p>We have further information about early maps in our <a href="info.html">early maps list</a>. Together these information pages also form a brief, descriptive history of mapmaking. Read our <a href="/guides/">Research guides</a> - using maps to explore particular subjects, such as climate change, houses, local history, or woodland.</p> <h3>Projects</h3> <p>We have several collaborative <a href="/projects/">project websites</a>:</p> <ul> <li>Our <a href="/projects/api/">Historical Maps API</a> allows you to embed a zoomable georeferenced historic map of Great Britain in your own website</li> <li>Our <a href="/projects/landuse/">Scotland - Land Use viewer</a> allows you to compare the 1930s landscape to the present day</li> <li>Our <a href="http://digital.nls.uk/bartholomew/">Bartholomew Archive website</a> presents maps and other information relating to the Bartholomew map-makers and printers</li> </ul> <h3>Images and printouts</h3> <p>You can order images, photocopies and printouts of all of these maps. When viewing any map as a zoomable image, select the <span class="btn orderThisMap">Order this map</span> button. For further details, including contact information, use the <a href="enquiries">enquires and copies</a> link on all map image pages. The page also has a list of frequently asked questions about our online maps.</p> </div> </div> <div id="footer"> <div class="footer-section"> <div class="main-footer-nav"> <div class="row"> <div class="xlarge-2 large-2 medium-4 small-12 columns footer-nav-block"> <h2 class="heading-style-6">About this site</h2> <ul> <li> <a href="/about.html">About this site</a> </li> <li> <a href="/site-map/">Site map</a> </li> <li> <a href="/guide/">Guide to this website</a> </li>  <li> <a href="/guides/">Research guides</a> </li> <li> <a href="/additions/">Recent Additions</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.nls.uk/website-accessibility-statement/">Site accessibility</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.nls.uk/privacy">Privacy</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.nls.uk/cookies">Use of cookies</a> </li> <li> <a href="/copyright.html">Copyright / Re-use of images</a> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="xlarge-2 large-2 medium-4 small-12 columns footer-nav-block"> <h2 class="heading-style-6">Quick search and browse</h2> <ul> <li> <a href="/geo/find/marker/">Map Finder - 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About our Map images - National Library of Scotland