Who Owns Scotland Mapping
January 2009

All former Ordnance Survey mapping has now been removed from this website (for the full story, visit the Ordnance Survey page). We are in the process of preparing and uploading new map images derived from alternative sources of mapping which are explained below.

PREVIOUS MAPPING

First of all, however, you can see examples of the images that were previously published using the Ordnance Survey mapping that we are now no longer allowed to use.

Click the thumbnail below for an example of the small image mapping we were using derived from OS 250,000 scale mapping (36kb jpeg).

Next, click thumbnail below for an example of the large maps that were created with OS 1:50,000 scale mapping (216kb jpeg)

NEW MAPPING

We are now using two sources of mapping and, as of 16 January 2009, we have ten counties published using the new maps (see Search page for details).

The first source of mapping is the OS One Inch Popular series 1921-1930 mapping which was been digitised and georeferenced to the National Grid by XYZ Digital Mapping Company who have supplied the mapping in association with the National Library of Scotland.

The maps are obviously out of date by 80 years or so but in most cases this makes little difference to the essential understanding of where the boundaries of landholdings are located. The main features that are likely to miselad the viewer are the absence of modern roads (such as the new A9) and motorways, the very different urban settlment boundaries (particularly in the large cities), and the presence of numerous railway lines that are no longer there.

In addition, due to the different map projections used for these maps (based on Cassini's projection), landholding boundaries can appear out of alignment with rivers, coastliens and other linear features which they are supposed to follow. In many cases, it is a good idea to have a copy of the 1:50,000 OS Landranger (or better still, the 25,000 scale Explorer maps) map beside you if the identification of boundaries is critical.

The second source of mapping is the Quarter Inch OS maps 1921-1930. These are used to construct the small maps of larger landholdings (5000 acres and above). They are a rather fine set of maps but suffer from the same limitations as the One Inch series. Thye have been kindly supplied by the National Library of Scotland.