UK Maps Collection

S&N British Data Archive Ltd
www.genealogysupplies.com
Tel. 01722 716121
£17.45

Once a family historian progresses beyond the civil registration period into Old Parish Registers, tracing the origins of particular branches of the family tree can become quite complicated as more recent ancestors will, in the majority of cases, have migrated to the major cities from all over the country in search of work. Until now, maps of the counties of mainland Britain, which are invaluable to this type of research, were not widely available.

In order to assist family historians in tracking down their widespread ancestors, S&N British Data Archive has released a collection of high-resolution digital copies of over 100 maps of the counties and regions of mainland Britain.

The discs were very easy to use and the full content of both is clearly laid out in the menu, which loads after clicking on 'start'. Disc 1 of the publication holds copies of mostly 19th and 20th century maps of the counties of England and Wales from Anglesey to Lincolnshire. The remaining counties as well as several maps of London, Scotland and the UK are continued on Disc 2. Some maps date back as far as c1660. Have a look at the www.genealogysupplies.com website for a full breakdown of the years and counties covered.

The quality of the images means that you can zoom in on particular parts of the map to consult them in more detail - the map of London has buildings such as St James's Palace and the map of Oxfordshire has Blenheim Park on it. Also some of the county maps show the general layout of towns and villages, though it varies greatly from map to map. It is also possible to print clear copies of the maps for your records.