How to look for records of... Maps and plans: an overview

The National Archives is not an official place of deposit for maps. This means that our collection of maps is not complete or consistent in its coverage. Local or county archives may be a better source for local UK maps. Some other major libraries that have a more comprehensive collection of maps are listed at the bottom of this guide.

Maps at The National Archives are not in a single geographical arrangement. This is because the maps were accumulated as part of other government records, such as surveys, and may be kept within series of records that were used for a specific purpose.

Some maps have been removed from the records they were originally in and kept separately and you may see reference to them as extracted maps. Maps are extracted from their original files usually so that they can be stored flat rather than having to be folded into a small file. There are links below to some of the main series of extracted maps and there is more information in the more detailed maps and plans guide. If a map has been extracted from another record, the reference for the extracted map will usually be in the catalogue description of the original record.

If you are looking for a map of a place start by simply searching our catalogue with a place name and the word map or plan. The difficulty may be in finding the correct place name. Village, parish, town, city, county or region names may be used. Place names and spelling in older maps may be archaic. Our research guides give more advice but are focussed on subjects and are about finding maps used for a specific purpose. Collections of maps used for a national survey may be more complete in geographical coverage but will provide a snapshot of the country at the time of the survey. The appropriate research guide will give more specific instructions on how to search for them.

We also have published guides to maps and a card index available on-site.

If you are simply looking for an historical map, digital versions of historical Ordnance Survey, and other maps, can be found online at the following sources

• The National Library of Scotland
• A vision of Britain through time
• British History Online

Maps held at The National Archives are not available online unless as part of a digitised collection of records through a third party partner.

Sections 5, 6 and 7 of the Maps and Plans guide have more detailed guidance and information but the main sources are covered in the guides listed below.

National Surveys

These provide the most complete coverage of the country. The maps were generally used as keys to other records. Click on the links for more detailed advice.

• Tithe surveys: maps prepared as a key to records of tithe commutations beginning in 1836.
• Enclosure maps: some maps from 1700 onward but mostly post 1845, recording reorganisation or redistribution of land.
• Valuation Office survey: maps used as keys to records of an Inland Revenue survey of the United Kingdom 1910-1915 (records at TNA are for England and Wales).
• National Farm Survey: maps used as a key to a survey of agricultural land in England and Wales between 1941 and 1943.
• Ordnance Survey: some maps, generally used as keys to other records, for example, Valuation Office and National Farm Surveys. Also records relating to the names of features on maps and administrative boundaries. See Other places of deposit below for libraries with more complete collections of OS maps.

Local Maps

Some records may contain local maps used for planning or reference to a particular area but not as part of a national collection.

• Railways and transport: various maps of Britain and overseas, including some Ordnance Survey maps, mainly concerned with railways, canals and transport. There may also be local plans of stations, junctions or bridges. See Section 7 Maps and plans guide.
• Estates: some plans of estates owned by the Crown can be found in many different series of records. See Section 5.3 of the Maps and plans guide lists some of the main government departments. See also Section 6: Manors and Manorial records.
• County maps and town plans: scattered among various series of records, the main guide lists some of the series in which they can be found. See Section 1: Maps and plans guide.

The main series of War Office maps is WO 78 and contains maps of the UK and overseas. Extracted maps can be found in MPH 1 and MPHH 1.We also have specific research guides for

• Military maps of the First World War
• Military maps of the Second World War

World War Two Bomb Census maps are in HO 193, there is full coverage of the London civil defence region but less for other towns and cities. For guidance on finding maps and other records, refer to our research guide, Bomb Census survey records.

For advice on finding maps used by the Foreign Office, Colonial Office and Dominions Office see our guide to Overseas maps and plans, also refer to Section 9 of the Maps and Plans guide. Specific advice on looking for maps of international borders, or boundaries, can be found in our guide to International boundaries.

Extracted maps can be found in the following main series but many more series are listed in our more detailed guides.

• FO 925 Foreign Office maps and plans
• CO 700 Colonial Office maps and plans Series I
• CO 1047 Colonial Office maps and plans Series II
• CO 1054 Colonial Office maps and plans post 1940’s

Our research guide to Sea charts offers advice on the kinds of charts held at The National Archives.

Refer to our guides for advice on searching many different series, including those of the Office of Works, who were responsible for many public buildings, palaces and parks.

• Architectural drawings
• Overseas maps and plans

Major libraries, including Legal Deposit Libraries, where published maps are held include:

• British Library
• Bodleian Library, Oxford
• Cambridge University Library
• National Library of Wales
• National Library of Scotland