Resources for Maps and Property Records for Family History at the Society of Genealogists on 21 July 2018
GIS = Geographical Information System
Jurisdiction Maps
A Vision of Britain http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/
England & Wales Jurisdictions 1851 http://maps.familysearch.org/. FamilySearch recently considered dis-continuing this resource, so tell them how useful it is!
Reference Maps
National Library of Scotland https://maps.nls.uk/
GB1900 Gazeteer http://geo.nls.uk/maps/gb1900/#zoom=6&lat=55.0000&lon=-2.5000&layer=0 is the product of the GB1900 project http://www.gb1900.org/
Old-Maps https://www.old-maps.co.uk/#/
Tithe & enclosure maps
There were 3 copies of tithe maps, parish (or tithe owner), diocese and commissioners. The original commissioners copies for England are at The National Archives, for Wales are at National Library of Wales. Parish and diocese copies are usually in parish and diocesan collections in County Archives.
GIS maps
Welsh Tithe Maps – Place of Wales https://places.library.wales/ is the product of the Cynefin project http://cynefin.archiveswales.org.uk/en/
Norfolk Historic Map Explorer http://historic-maps.norfolk.gov.uk/mapexplorer/
Worcestershire Tithe Mapping http://gis.worcestershire.gov.uk/website/tithesmapping/
Nottinghamshire Insight Mapping http://maps.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/insightmapping/#
Cheshire Tithe Maps http://maps.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/insightmapping/#
Tracks in Time – The Leeds Tithe Map Project http://tithemaps.leeds.gov.uk/
Warwickshire Historical & Current Maps http://maps.warwickshire.gov.uk/historical/
Know Your Place – West of England (Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol, Devon, Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Somerset, South Gloucestershire and Wiltshire) http://www.kypwest.org.uk/. Be patient, it can take a long while to load.
Devon Tithe Maps and Apportionments https://new.devon.gov.uk/historicenvironment/tithe-map/
Non-GIS maps
County archives that have not presented GIS versions of historic maps online may have scanned or photographed the maps and/or transcribed the accompanying data. These are preliminary processes in creating an online GIS.
Hampshire Archives sell 2 CD’s containing Tithe maps & apportionments https://www.hants.gov.uk/shop/home.php?cat=260
Denbighshire Archives has scanned enclosure awards and maps in the Quarter Session collection (QSD/DE). The images may be accessed through the archive catalogue http://archives.denbighshire.gov.uk/collections/getrecord/GB209_QSD_D_1
The Genealogist has the commissioner’s copy (TNA) of Tithe maps (see https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2015/what-land-did-my-ancestors-own-or-occupy-225/ ). Although interactive pins link to apportionment data, it is not geographically connected in a GIS. Rotation of map images does not preserve the pin location.
Land Valuation 1910-1915
| Process | Records | Information | Archive |
| Landowners identified from poor rate, property identified | Land Valuation Books (1909 Domesday) | Owner, occupier, description, rate, value | RO |
| Landowners provide info, identity confirmed | Form 4 – Land | Tenure (freehold or copyhold) | Few survive |
| Info collated & verified by surveyors, property valued | Field books | Owner, occupier, acreage, description, valuation, deductions | TNA |
| Compiled info sent to owner & returned | Form 37 – Land | Summary filed book info | RO if survive |
| Boundaries drawn on OS maps (1:2500) | Map | Land parcels with ref no | TNA |
The Genealogist announced it’s ‘Lloyd George Domesday Survey’ in late 2017, and will provide access the Land Valuation records held by TNA (IR 91 index, IR 58 Field Books, IR 121 maps). The project is limited to parts of London at present. https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/press-release/2017/the-1910-lloyd-george-domesday-records-with-annotated-maps/
Oxfordshire District valuation maps and books https://www2.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/content/district-valuation-maps-and-books present digital images of the Land Valuation books and precursor maps to the final versions lodged with TNA.
Findmypast’s online GIS – 1939 Register & Find My House
Findmypast has used unspecified gazetteers (map indexes) to locate addresses on the 1939 Register and has recently launched a ‘Find my house’ feature https://www.findmypast.co.uk/maps that appears to use the same data. See http://worldwidegenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/04/lost-in-1939-misleading-map.html for a discussion on the problem posed by the location of 30 Manor Road, Birmingham.
Books on surveying & mapping
William Leybourn. (1722) The Compleat Surveyor. 5th ed. London: Samuel Ballard. (An influential manual of surveying first published in 1653) https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Compleat_Surveyor_Or_The_Whole_Art_o.html?id=aHzmAAAAMAAJ
Roger J P Kain, John Chapman, Richard Oliver. (2004). The Enclosure Maps of England and Wales 1595–1918. A Cartographic Analysis and Electronic Catalogue. Cambridge University Press. The catalogue is searchable online at http://enclosuremaps.data-archive.ac.uk/ .
Roger J P Kain, Richard Oliver. (1995). The Tithe Maps of England and Wales. A Cartographic Analysis and County-by-County Catalogue. Cambridge University Press. The catalogue is incorporated into TNA Discovery for commissioner’s copies (IR 30).
Mapping Software
When making your own maps, there are lots of design choices to make. Good design helps the maps get across your story. Start with something simple. The simpler online mapping software like Google My Maps or ESRI Storymaps may be sufficient. Use these to learn GIS concepts.
Google MyMaps https://www.google.com/mymaps allows you to add vector layers (points, lines and polygons) to a pre-existing base map.
New Google My Maps Tutorial 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rADwyz_ZBjQ gives an overview of features. ‘ Visualize your data on a custom map using Google My Maps’ https://www.google.com/earth/outreach/learn/visualize-your-data-on-a-custom-map-using-google-my-maps/ demonstrate how to import data.
‘ Linking the Jeweller’s chain through Trade Directories’ is contains an example of an Google MyMap embedded in a blog post. https://familyfolklore.wordpress.com/2013/05/27/linking-the-jewellers-chain-through-trade-directories/
ESRI offers a range of GIS platforms, including ARCGIS online. There is a free non-commercial account option. Try the ‘ Getting Started with GIS’ https://www.esri.com/training/catalog/57630434851d31e02a43ef28/getting-started-with-gis/ free course and create some maps of your own. Then use Story Maps https://storymaps.arcgis.com/en/ to present an attractive story. ‘Where was Thomas Paine born?’ is an example https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapTour/index.html?appid=46ce20b32c6e4990a12ba13e33579a16#
Full-blown desktop GIS software has many analytical features. Check the system requirements and expect a steep learning curve. There is an enormous amount of documentation.
QGIS https://www.qgis.org/en/site/ is free to download and use.
Map data sources
OS Opendata https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/opendatadownload/products.html
OpenStreetMap https://www.openstreetmap.org
A Vision of Britain http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data/
National Library of Scotland API https://maps.nls.uk/projects/subscription-api/ free access to boundary data and GB1900 Gazetteer
UK Data Archive http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/
Land Registry INSPIRE Index Polygons spatial data https://www.gov.uk/guidance/inspire-index-polygons-spatial-data
Property Resources
Land Registry property search https://eservices.landregistry.gov.uk/eservices/FindAProperty/view/QuickEnquiryInit.do
Manorial Documents Register http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/manor-search
To identify which manor understand what family, estate or other collection may include relevant information, check the coverage in the Victoria County History series index https://www.victoriacountyhistory.ac.uk/counties/parish-index and find the entry at at British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/ . Parish accounts typically give a detailed review of the manors and other estates within the parish, Pay particular attention to the descent of the manor, i.e. who were the Lords of the Manor, during and after the period of interest.
Historical directories, published from the late 1700s onwards, include accounts of parishes and list prominent residents and businesses. The University of Leicester Historical Directories collection http://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/cdm/landingpage/collection/p16445coll4/hd/ is now also available on Ancestry as the UK, City and County Directories, 1766 – 1946 collection, which is easier to use. Names of principal landowners, who are potential candidates for lords of the manor, are often included in parish or town accounts and lords of the manor are sometimes named.
Local histories, especially those by antiquarian authors, may discuss the manor, its lords and descent of the manor. Finally, monographs on the manors of a county, such as Copinger’s Manors of Suffolk may substitute for the VCH accounts.
Deed flowchart. University of Nottingham https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/manuscriptsandspecialcollections/documents/researchguidance/deedsindepth/deedflowchart.pdf
Deeds in Depth. University of Nottingham https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/manuscriptsandspecialcollections/researchguidance/deedsindepth/introduction.aspx
Books
P D A Harvey. (1999). Manorial Records. British Records Association: London.
Denis Stuart. (2010). Manorial Records. Phillimore.
