County Series Maps of the UK
County Series Maps are available to buy as follows:
Your chosen historic local map printed to order. Framed, Mounted, Print Only or on Canvas.
Add a personal dedication within a framed print to commemorate a special day or event.
Explore the County Series Maps
Surveyed 1791-1874, published 1805-1874. Scale is 1:10,000.
The origins of the six-inch to the mile maps (1:10,560) date back to 1824 when this scale was adopted for a survey of Ireland. By 1840 it had been decided to extend the project to Great Britain. To conduct a survey at such a scale, every corner of the country, including private property, would need to be visited. The following year, the Survey Act was passed which gave surveyors the right to enter any land for the purposes of carrying out their duties. It also specified the types of boundaries that the new maps were to display (down to parish level).
Work began in Lancashire and Yorkshire in 1841 and in Scotland in 1843 with the first sheet appearing in 1846. It was not until 1890 that maps covering the whole country had been published, the first generation of what later became known as the County Series.
By that time revisions to the earlier sheets were already underway, a rolling process that continued until the last County Series sheets were superseded by the 1:10,000 National Grid Edition in the 1980s. Each sheet appeared in up to six editions, displaying various evolutions of detail, format and reproduction technology. For over a century, the Ordnance Survey’s County Series maps have revealed the changing face of Britain in compelling and painstaking detail and now provide immaculate records for 21st-century researchers and historians.
The County Series maps most areas of England and Wales. This involves combining more than one original sheet to give an appropriate area of coverage. In the process, the maps have been digitally enhanced and enlarged slightly to 1:10,000 to bring them into line with more recent maps at this metric scale.
What people say:
Added 29th April 2013
“We have just heard from our friend, who has received his map, and is over the moon. He is retracing all the steps of his youth, looking up the streets where family and freinds lived - just what we hoped! Thank you so much”
Added 2nd April 2019
“Order received today. Beautiful!!
Thank you for the swift and excellent service ”
Added 29th August 2020
“ I wanted an old map of Stoke Gifford, near Bristol for my husband's birthday. So l ordered an 1880 map from Francis Firth. I did pay for express delivery but I didn't expect it to arrive the next day! We are really pleased with the map which clearly shows our house. The framing is really good. The ordering process on the website was slick allowing you to see the various options for the mount and fram”
Added 19th April 2018
“Hi Andrea. I have spoken to my son and his wife. They have received the picture. They are both delighted with it. Thankyou very much for your efforts”
Added 16th March 2011
“I have been out and just returned to find my map in my office. Thanks for a great service at Christmas, best wishes for the festive season and a happy new year
I have been out and just returned to find my map in my office. Thanks for a great service at Christmas, best wishes for the festive season and a happy new year.
I have been out and just returned to find my map in my office. Thanks for a great service at Christmas, best wishes for the festive season and a happy new year.
regards, Richar”
Added 4th November 2021
“Many thanks for this order - a fascinating set of four OS maps for our area going back 200 years. Lots of interesting comparisons to be made!
Kind regards,
John”
Added 20th March 2012
“I just wanted to say a big thank you for the map I ordered from you. It is a present and I am so pleased with it, it will make a wonderful gift. I am so please I found your website and will definately be using you again. Wonderful maps and great quality”
Added 29th March 2019
“Delighted with map. Many thank”
Added 25th January 2018
“Please accept my thanks for your prompt delivery of my order for the framed Victorian map of Shropshire. This is intended as a present to my brother on a forthcoming significant birthday. I am delighted with the map and the framing: the standard of workmanship is immaculate.
I am so pleased with it that I will order one for myself in the near future. I will be in touch again when I am ready to do so.”
Added 16th March 2011
“Just a quick thank you for the lovely framed maps - even better than I imagined they would be. One for my son and daughter in law for their new home in Wales, and one for us in Northamptonshire. They are fascinating and show how much places have changed over the years. Again thank you so much - excellent service and prompt delivery”
Added 19th October 2016
“Just a brief note to say the map has arrived safely and is all that we had hoped, and more!
Thank you for all your help and your team for completing the commission with time to spare.
”
Added 19th December 2016
“Excellent map with which we are absolutely delighted. Unbeatable service. Helpful customer service from Claire and Andrea. I have no hesitation in highly recommending Francis Frith. It is our second purchase and we will definitely be buying more :”
Added 16th May 2017
“We received the package yesterday and we LOVE it. Thank you to you and your team on working with me on this and being so easy to work with to make sure I got what I wanted. The canvas was perfect, the writing clear and the map with the buildings marked is great. Turned into the perfect birthday gift which I had hoped for.”
Added 16th March 2011
“I am writing to let you know how delighted and impressed I am with my historic map of the above address. It has provided me with a fascinating insight into my local area and looks particularly delightful in its frame. Thank you very much”
Added 28th November 2017
“Hi Andrea,
Success! All maps have just arrived and they are perfect!
Thank you so much for sorting this for me. Dad will be so pleased.
Many thanks,
Sara”
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