Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies 

Maps 

Map of Boarstall, 15th cent, from the Boarstall Cartulary

 

The Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies holds a large and varied collection of maps of Buckinghamshire, providing a visual record of the County from the unique Boarstall map of the fifteenth century up to modern digital mapping from the Ordnance Survey. The Local Studies Library holds more modern printed material primarily from the Ordnance Survey whilst the Archives make historic maps available to researchers investigating the history of their house, family or community. This leaflet aims to list some of the types of map you might use in your research to help make the most of your visit to our office.

Maps of the County

Christopher Saxton was commissioned around 1573 to survey and map all the counties of England and Wales. His work produced the first set of such maps and the earliest map of the county of Buckinghamshire. Published in 1574, Saxton is believed to have worked with Leonard Tervoort, an exiled Flemish draughtsman. There followed a succession of maps of the county, most based partly on Saxton’s work. The best known of these is Speed’s map of the county of Buckinghamshire which was published in 1612. Still based on Saxton’s map it included inset town plans of Buckingham and (oddly) Reading. A number of small scale county maps were produced in the following 150 years, showing roads, rivers, towns, villages and some geographical features. Thomas Jeffreys had been geographer to George III and in 1770 he published the first large scale map of Buckinghamshire (1” to 1 mile) based on his own surveys. A further large scale map was published in 1825 by Andrew Bryant. By 1813 the Ordnance Survey was established and undertaking its surveys in Buckinghamshire and its subsequent publication of maps from the 1840’s became the bench mark for all other county maps.

Many of these maps showing the whole county can be works of art in themselves. (Colour facsimiles of several are available for sale). Copies of some are held in the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies (CBS). A useful list is contained in Maps of Buckinghamshire 1574-1800 by Ursula Price ( a copy of which is held in Archives). The list includes printed maps of the County held in the CBS and elsewhere and has helpful notes on early cartography. Similarly, Gordon Wyatt’s Maps of Bucks (Barracuda Books, 1978) is fully illustrated with examples of maps by most of the county’s cartographers.

Carys map of Buckinghamshire, 1787. John Carys maps were small in scale (this one is 2”;10miles) but much more accurate in what they depicted than previous cartographers. For example, a common mistake in early county maps was to have Tring in the wrong location.

Historic maps

A detailed local survey as a way of expressing who owned what lands on paper has been developing and changing ever since the Domesday Book of 1086. By contrast detailed local maps showing such information only began to be produced in any quantity from the mid/late 16th century. This is largely because the scientific techniques like triangulation which involved accurately measuring and representing an area on paper were only developed in the 16th century. Even then the cost of producing a map was something only the very rich could afford.

In Buckinghamshire we are very fortunate to have one of the earliest examples of a local map in the Boarstall cartulary (see front cover of this leaflet). Produced in the mid 15th century it is one of only 30 known local maps in the country produced between 1150 and 1500. It was produced as part of a list of Edmund Rede’s deeds of property and so showed where his property lay. Once it was realised how land could be accurately represented as a map and how common features could be included using a key, the development and proliferation of maps grew apace. Maps from the 16th—18th century are often heavily illustrated, suitable for display on a wall not tucking into your pocket. They were usually hand drawn and tinted with colour on parchment. By the end of the 18th century printed maps start to appear. Parchment began to be replaced with paper backed with linen.

Maps have been produced for a wide variety of purposes - taxation, enclosure, estate surveys - and they are just as varied in the information and detail they contain. Some, such as Tithe and Inclosure maps, are usually accompanied by explanatory text which lists the owners of particular property at a given date. Such information is invaluable for researching the history of a building or for filling in detail on your family tree.

Catalogues listing the majority of historic maps in the Centre are arranged alphabetically by parish, so it is important to establish which parish covers the area you are interested in. There is a separate catalogue for Ordnance Survey maps. Staff will be pleased to advise you and there are numerous reference works available to help if you are in any doubt. Not all types of map exist for every parish, but there is something for most places before the advent of the county-wide large scale Ordnance Survey maps in the late 19th century.

Highly decorated Cartouche from Richard Grenville’s parchment map of Ashendon dated 1641. He commissioned the map soon after purchasing the manor. (Ref: BAS maps 13)

Tithe maps (Ref: Tithe): Produced for most parishes following the Tithe Commutation Act of 1836 to establish how much money property owners should pay in lieu of tithes to the church. Maps are clearly marked to show buildings and may show names of fields. The text to accompany the map is usually referred to as an ‘Apportionment’ and gives details about the owners and occupiers, acreage and field names. There are 126 tithe maps for Buckinghamshire (out of a possible 250 parishes) made between the years of 1838 and 1860. The recommended scale used was 3 chains to the inch, which approximates to the current large scale of 1:2500 (or 25” to 1mile). Most cover the whole parish (although they do stop at the parish boundaries) , but a few show only those lands in a parish from which a tithe was still being taken. The tithe maps for Buckinghamshire have been digitised—please see below the section on obtaining copies of maps for more details.

Inclosure maps (Ref: IR): These were produced for those parishes which enclosed their open fields by Act of Parliament in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The maps are very carefully drawn to show the new allotments of land, which are also described in accompanying written Inclosure Awards. As in the Tithe Maps, numbered areas on each Inclosure map usually cross-reference to tables in the Award or on the map, which should tell you the names of the owner and the acreage and description of their property. Footpaths, bridleways and roads are also set out and described and in many places are still in force today. Some Inclosure maps for the south of the county have been digitised—please see below the section on obtaining copies of maps for more details.

Surveys of manors and estates: the Lord of a Manor or the owner of a particular estate may have commissioned a survey to be carried out to record the extent of his lands, or to show alterations to the estate. The format of estate maps varies considerably; one may be a large map covering lands in more than one parish; another may take the form of a book, with each farm and lands separately drawn and a separate list naming tenant and acreages of fields. Usually the map is confined to the property belonging to the landowner who has commissioned it and does not show the whole parish.

 

Detail from the large 1843 tithe map of Great Marlow (Ref: Tithe 259) and a page from a small book of surveys of Edward Watts’ estates at Hanslope made in 1818 (Ref: D/WA/156)

Deposited Plans (Ref: P/U): Certain documents were required by law to be deposited with the County Clerk of the Peace, and these include maps of canal, railways and turnpike roads. These are known as Deposited Plans and date from the late eighteenth century. Primarily concerned about the route of the road/railway/canal, they usually show the lands adjoining and often have some accompanying book of reference. They vary in detail, but often falling between the dates of Inclosure and Tithe maps, they are easily overlooked.

Rights of Way maps (Ref: AR 62/2011) : Under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 (NPACA 1949), all County Councils were given the duty of surveying, classifying and mapping all public rights of way in their area. In common with other counties, Buckinghamshire was surveyed on a parish by parish basis in the 1950s. Parish Councils were sent a copy of the 6 inch Ordnance Survey map for their area and asked to mark on the rights of way that were considered to be public. Parish meetings were then held to consider the information that was provided and the maps were submitted to the County Council. This collection of the Parish Survey maps comprises the original maps from which the County’s Definitive Map of Rights of Way was compiled. Accompanying record sheets detailing each right of way and noting any alterations made since remain with the Rights of Way department.

Maps of Buckinghamshire parishes held in other Record Offices or repositories are listed in the catalogue labelled ‘Bucks Maps’ and ‘Parishes General’ in the Archives search-room.

This is an extract from the 1830 map of George Stephenson’s planned London to Birmingham Railway. It was depos-ited with the Clerk of the Peace along with a reference book indicating owners and a description of the numbered properties (Ref: P/u/C 84)

Highway Diversions: Before the advent of District and County Councils at the end of the 19th century the Quarter Sessions court was responsible for the administration of roads and bridges within each county. These maps were made by order of the Quarter Sessions and show the diversion or stopping up of footpaths and highways spanning the years 1774-1856. A ‘Visual Map Index’ is available in Archives which shows these routes superimposed on modern maps. 

1910 Valuation maps (Ref: DVD): Under the 1910 Finance Act new taxation based on land holding necessitated a survey of all landed property in the country. This was carried out by local officials working for the Valuation Department of the Inland Revenue. Each property was valued after a personal inspection and its boundaries delineated on large scale Ordnance Survey maps. Information as to ownership, occupation, extent and value were written into accompanying reference books. The final copies of this survey are held at the National Archives but the working copy set of maps and reference books for Buckinghamshire are held at the Centre. The series of reference books is complete for the whole county, but a few of the maps are lacking, notably in the south of the county covering the old Eton Rural District Council.

Both archives and local studies sections at CBS hold sets for Buckinghamshire which can be summarised as follows:

1810-1818 Drawings in preparation for earliest maps, scale 2”:1mile (Photostats; originals held in the British Library (Archives, Ref: OSD)

c.1835 Maps 1”:1mile (incomplete series, Archives and Local Studies)

1878-1880 1st edition 6”:1mile (Archives and Local Studies) 1878-1880 1st edition 25”:1mile (incomplete series in Archives; whole series on microfilm in Local Studies) Field reference books were produced to accompany this series and a collection of these are to be found in D/X 809 in Archives. 1878-1880 Maps 10ft:1 mile for High Wycombe, Aylesbury, Buckingham, Marlow and Slough (Archives and Local Studies) c.1900 2nd edition maps 6”:1 mile and 25”:1 mile (Archives and Local Studies)

1910-1914 partial revision of maps 6”:1 mile and 25”:1 mile (Archives)

c.1925 maps 6”:1 mile and 25”:1 mile (Archives and Local Studies)

1930’s partial revision of maps 6”:1 mile and 25”:1 mile (Archives and Local Studies)

1955-1961 maps 2½”:1 mile and 6”:1 mile (Local Studies)

1970’s-1980’s maps (metric scale)1:10,000 [6”] and 1:2500 [25”] (Local Studies)

1960’s-1980’s Landranger series of maps 1:50,000 [1”] (Local Studies)

2013 maps 1:10,000 [6”] (Local Studies)

First edition Ordnance Survey map (scale 25”:1 mile) showing Bradwell c1878. The detail of the first edition was remarkable and features shown here might be left off or standardised in later editions (eg placing of trees).

Ordnance Survey (OS)

During the Napoleonic wars the need for accurate maps, particularly of the south of the country, resulted in the production of one inch to the mile maps using better techniques of triangulation developed in the1790s. After 1815 the usefulness of such maps for land transfer, civil engineering, urban development – drains, sanitation etc, - became obvious. The result was the development of the Ordnance Survey maps. Initially produced at the scale of 1 inch to 1 mile, several series of maps were produced over a period of time and at different scales. The history of the maps and surveys produced by the Ordnance Survey is described in numerous reference works. Particularly helpful is Richard Oliver’s, Ordnance Survey maps: a concise guide for historians (The Charles Close Society, London, 1993) which gives the dates, scales and scope of each survey.

Although OS maps do not give any information about the occupants of an area, the 6-inch maps include geographical features we would expect to find on modern maps, and 25-inch maps are detailed enough to show the existence of a building. Churches, pubs and important houses are often named, although roads usually are not.

Aerial photographs and other maps

The RAF produced a series of aerial photographs covering the county in 1947 and 1957/8. These have been enlarged to a scale of roughly 6”:1 mile but military sites like airfields and Prisoner of War camps have been airbrushed out. Later aerial photographs were produced by Aerofilms between the 1920’s and 1980’s but the majority cover the period 1960’s to 1980’s. Place-name indexes and lists of reference numbers to the aerial photographs are available .

Local Studies holds a number of other maps which include the following:

Goad Plans from 1972 onwards covering the town centres of main towns

Geological Surveys: various dates between 1896-2002

Soil Map of South East England 1983

Land Utilisation Surveys: 1930’s & 1960’s

Green Belt: including additions to in 1958, Green Belt boundaries in Local plan 1983 & Green Belt in Bucks 2005

Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty 1988

Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Bucks 1992

Buckinghamshire County Council Development Plans (Town & Country Planning Act, 1947)

Buckinghamshire Administration Areas: 1964-96

Buckinghamshire Boundaries: 1917-74

Buckinghamshire Parliamentary Constituencies/Boundaries 1964/74 & 1983

New Electoral arrangements for Buckinghamshire County Council 2012

Buckinghamshire Enumeration Districts: 1961-1991

Definitive Map (Rights of Way) correct as at 2008

Aerial photograph of Milton Keynes in 1947, twenty years before its modern development.

Obtaining copies of maps

Photocopies of Ordnance Survey maps out of copyright (over 50 years old) can be obtained from the Centre, as can the small number of historic maps which would not be damaged by the copying process. The staff on duty will be pleased to advise you on the suitability and legality of making copies. Members of the public are permitted to take photographs of maps held at the Centre (no flash please) subject to copyright and a daily charge of £5. The tithe maps have been digitised and can be viewed in the Archives search-room. Colour A4 printouts of parts of the maps can be made and cost £1. There is an ongoing project to transcribe the tithe apportionments on to spreadsheets. The Inclosure maps and awards for Colnbrook, Datchet, Langley Marish, Horton, Farnham Royal, Stoke Poges and Wexham, Upton cum Chalvey and Wraysbury have been digitised by Berkshire Record Office and are available online at http://www.berkshireenclosure.org.uk/.

Facsimile maps for sale

Buckinghamshire by John Speed, 1610 (1666 edition) £2.50

Buckinghamshire by J Blaeu, 1645 £0.30

Buckinghamshire by Jan Jansson, 1646 (1659 edition) £2.50

Buckinghamshire by R Blome, 1672 £0.30

Buckinghamshire by Thomas Dix, 1816 £2.50

Buckinghamshire in the 1760s and 1820s: £15.00 The County Maps of Jefferys and Bryant. (Pub: Bucks Archaeological Society, 2000)

A sketch or eye draught of Aylesbury by William Rutt,1809 £10 (A1 colour print)

Detail from Rutt’s eye-draught of Aylesbury, for sale at the Centre priced £10. The price includes a copy of a short article by Guy Crouch who discovered the map in a drawer at County Hall c1940.

REFERENCE BOOKS AND PUBLISHED GUIDES TO BUCKS MAPS

All the following books are particularly useful sources of reference for the history and location of maps and are available for reference in the Archive Search-room or Local Studies:

E M Elvey, A Hand-List of Buckinghamshire Estate Maps (1963) Buckinghamshire Record Society

Gordon Wyatt Maps of Bucks (1978) Barracuda Books

William Foot, Maps for Family History: A Guide to the records of the Tithe, Valuation Of-fice, and National Farm Surveys of England and Wales, 1836-1943 Public Record Office Readers’ Guide No. 9 (1994) Public Record Office.*

JB Harley et al., Ordnance Survey maps: a descriptive guide (1976)

Paul Harvey and BA Skelton Introduction to Local maps and plans from medieval England (1986)

Brian Paul Hindle Maps for Local History (1988) Roger Kain and Hugh Prince Tithe surveys of England and Wales (1985) Richard Oliver, Ordnance Survey maps: a concise guide for historians (1993) The Charles Close Society, London.

Ursula Price, The maps of Buckinghamshire 1574-1800, I – III. (List of all published maps of the County, with a bibliography on early cartography.)

W E Tate, A Hand-list of Buckinghamshire Enclosure Acts and Awards (1946) Bucks County Council

*The originals of Tithe and 1910 Valuation maps are kept at the Public Record Office, Kew, together with detailed ‘Field Books’ (PRO Ref: IR 58). Local Record Offices keep working drafts or copies of the maps, so in some cases there may be slight differences between them.