Heritage Search mapping

Welcome to the Heritage Search mapping platform.

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What does the mapping platform offer?

You can use the Heritage Search mapping platform to view multiple layers of historic and modern mapping of Oxfordshire, and to plot many of our heritage assets, like photographs and archaeological finds, all presented within a single website.

You can also use the site to select and view map-related ‘feature’ layers, such as the Oxfordshire tithe maps (1838-1884) and district valuation survey records (1910-1915).

Historic map layers

The foundation of the historic mapping is the six-inch to one mile (1:10,560) and 25-inch scale (1:2500) Ordnance Survey plans from the County Series, with a range of editions dating from 1876 to 1939.

Later post-war maps, in the Ordnance Survey National Grid plans series, extend 1:10,560 / 1:10,000 scale coverage up to 1996, and 1:2500 scale coverage up to 1992. For the larger urban areas (Abingdon, Banbury, Oxford, Reading fringe) even more detailed 1:1250 scale plans are available, with some revisions as late as 1991.

Modern map layers

A modern Ordnance Survey base map layer, plus a companion aerial photography layer (2019-2022), allow you to compare the older maps against the modern landscape. As an alternative to the modern OS base map, OpenStreetMap (a free, open geographic database maintained by a community of volunteers via open collaboration) is also available.

Feature layers

Linked to these Ordnance Survey base map layers are graphical indexes to:

Layers of geo-referenced data, including historic parish boundaries for 1881, 1911 and 1921, point references linking to selected images in Picture Oxon, and point or line references linking to assets in the Historic Environment Record database, can also be displayed.