A national mapping agency ( NMA ) is an organisation, usually publicly owned, that produces topographic maps and geographic information of a country. Some national mapping agencies also deal with cadastral matters.
94-611: The Ordnance Survey ( OS ) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying ), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745 . There was also a more general and nationwide need in light of the potential threat of invasion during the Napoleonic Wars . Since 1 April 2015, the Ordnance Survey has operated as Ordnance Survey Ltd,
188-586: A government-owned company , 100% in public ownership. The Ordnance Survey Board remains accountable to the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology . It was also a member of the Public Data Group . Paper maps represent only 5% of the company's annual revenue. It produces digital map data, online route planning and sharing services and mobile apps, plus many other location-based products for business, government and consumers. Ordnance Survey mapping
282-570: A close, arranging mountain-top parties with enormous plum puddings . The British Geological Survey was founded in 1835 as the Ordnance Geological Survey under Henry De la Beche , and remained a branch of the Ordnance Survey until 1965. At the same time, the uneven quality of the English and Scottish maps was being improved by engravers under Benjamin Baker . By the time Colby retired in 1846,
376-513: A combined civilian National Office of Cadastre, Geodesy and Cartography (Oficiul National de Cadastru, Geodezie si Cartografie (ONCGC). Maps continued to be published under the imprint of the previous organizations into the late 1990s. From 1958, a number of town maps at scales of 1:5,000 or 1:10,000 were also made, initially on the Gauss-Krϋger projection, but after 1970 on a stereographic projection. More than 100 such sheets have been produced. There
470-516: A fire in the Tower of London , the headquarters of the survey was moved to Southampton taking over buildings previously occupied by a military orphanage (the Royal Military Asylum ) in 1841, and Yolland was put in charge, but Hall sent him off to Ireland so that when Hall left in 1854 Yolland was again passed over in favour of Major Henry James . Hall was enthusiastic about extending the survey of
564-474: A large range of paper maps and digital mapping products. The Ordnance Survey's flagship digital product, launched in November 2001, is OS MasterMap , a database that records, in one continuous digital map, every fixed feature of Great Britain larger than a few metres. Every feature is given a unique TOID (TOpographical IDentifier), a simple identifier that includes no semantic information. Typically, each TOID
658-540: A mapping database from which they can print specialist maps at virtually any scale. The Ordnance Survey National Grid divides Great Britain into cells 500 km, 100 km, 10 km and 1 km square on a Transverse Mercator grid aligned true north–south along the 2°W meridian . OS map products are based on this grid. The United States Geological Survey (USGS), a scientific federal agency, produces several national series of topographic maps which vary in scale and extent, with some wide gaps in coverage, notably
752-700: A military priority. They are currently produced by the Military-topographic service of armed forces of the Russian Federation ( Russian : Военно-топографическая служба Вооружённых сил Российской Федерации or ВТС ВС ). Military topographic mapping departments held other titles in the Russian Empire since 1793 and in the Soviet Union where these maps also came to be used for internal control and economic development . The Soviet Union conducted
846-582: A new survey based on Airy 's spheroid in 1858, completing the Principal Triangulation . The following year, he completed an initial levelling of the country. After the Ordnance Survey published its first large-scale maps of Ireland in the mid-1830s, the Tithe Act 1836 led to calls for a similar six-inch to the mile survey in England and Wales . Official procrastination followed, but the development of
940-567: A partial selection. Several commercial vendors supply international topographic map series. The NMIG (National Mapping Information Group) of Geoscience Australia is the Australian Government's national mapping agency. It provides topographic maps and data to meet the needs of the sustainable development of the nation. The Office of Spatial Data Management provides an online free map service MapConnect. These topographic maps of scales 1:250,000 and 1:100,000 are available in printed form from
1034-492: A proportion of its profits to the Treasury. In 2010, OS announced that printing and warehouse operations were to be outsourced, ending over 200 years of in-house printing. The Frome-based firm Butler, Tanner and Dennis (BT&D) secured its printing contract. As already stated, large-scale maps had not been printed at the Ordnance Survey since the common availability of geographical information systems (GISs), but, until late 2010,
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#17328372293241128-604: A repair depot. On the south side of Staines Road, to the north of the Heath, is a monument, now in a state of neglect, commemorating the first flight to Australia , a modified Vickers Vimy bomber G-EAOU, flown by Australian brothers Keith and Ross Smith, which took off from Hounslow Heath Aerodrome on 12 November 1919 and arrived in Darwin on 10 December. A plaque marks the entrance to London's first civil airport, stating: "London Terminal Aerodrome Hounslow Heath August 1919 - 1920. From here
1222-527: A round house. There are various remains of former mills and other industrial archaeological features adjoining the River Crane near the heath. This part of the river is classified as an Archaeological Priority Area . Hounslow Heath is a designated local nature reserve and Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation , and is made up of lowland heath, dry acid grassland, woodland, scrub, neutral grasslands, wetlands, wildflower meadows, providing
1316-469: A second edition of the town plans: by 1909 only fourteen places had paid for updates. The review determined that revision of 1:2500 mapping should proceed apace. The most detailed mapping of London was the OS's 1:1056 survey between 1862 and 1872, which took 326 sheets to cover the capital; a second edition (which needed 759 sheets because of urban expansion) was completed and brought out between 1891 and 1895. London
1410-403: A third of England and Wales was mapped (see Principal Triangulation of Great Britain ), as other military matters took precedence. Although virtually the entire terrestrial surface of Earth has been mapped at scale 1:1,000,000, medium and large-scale mapping has been accomplished intensively in some countries and much less in others. Nevertheless, national mapping programs listed below are only
1504-450: A traditional 1:1250 scale paper map. National mapping agency According to 2007/2/EC European directive , national mapping agencies of European Union countries must have publicly available services for searching, viewing and downloading their spatial data. Maps produced by some of them are available under a free license that allows re-use, such as a Creative Commons license. For an overview of national mapping agencies, see
1598-493: Is responsible for all topographic control, surveys and mapping of India . The Survey of Israel is responsible for the civilian mapping of Israel. Standard map scales are 1:50,000 and 1:100,000. The 1:50,000 map is available online. The Military Intelligence Directorate of the Israel Defense Forces has its own mapping unit, which is a sub-unit of Unit 9900 . The Geographical Survey Institute of Japan
1692-571: Is associated with a polygon that represents the area on the ground that the feature covers, in National Grid coordinates. OS MasterMap is offered in themed layers, each linked to a number of TOIDs. In September 2010, the layers were: Topography: Integrated transport network: Imagery Address: Address 2: ITN was withdrawn in April 2019 and replaced by OS MasterMap Highways Network The Address layers were withdrawn in about 2016 with
1786-884: Is a local nature reserve in the London Borough of Hounslow and at a point borders Richmond upon Thames . The public open space, which covers 200 acres (80 ha), is all that remains of the historic Hounslow Heath which covered more than 4,000 acres (1,600 ha). The present day area is bounded by A315 Staines Road, A3063 Wellington Road South, A314 Hanworth Road, and the River Crane . The heathland of Hounslow Heath originally covered an area underlain by Taplow gravel that now includes parts of Bedfont , Brentford , Cranford , Feltham , Hampton , Fulwell , Hanworth , Harlington , Harmondsworth , Heston , Hounslow , Isleworth , Stanwell , Teddington , Twickenham , and Heathrow . Hounslow Heath has had major historical importance, originally crossed by main routes from London to
1880-571: Is a civil organization which, for security reasons, is headed by a Surveyor General and works under the strict control of Army General Headquarters (GHQ). Colonel C.A.K. Innes-Wilson, a Royal Engineers officer who joined the Survey of India which mapped the subcontinent, was the first Surveyor General of Pakistan. All departments which require topographic maps make their request to SGP and many are permanently registered with it for mapping and aerial photographs procurement. The SOP performs these functions under
1974-542: Is also a street map of Bucharest in four sheets at 1:15,000 derived from larger-scale surveys, which is revised annually. The 1:50,000 series in 737 sheets is now regarded as the base map. It was revised in the period 1965–72 using aerial photographs, and is currently being updated again with the intention of establishing a revision cycle of five to six years. The 1:25,000 will be retained, but revision only at 15-20-year intervals, except for sheets covering areas of rapid change. Detailed, accurate topographic maps have long been
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#17328372293242068-601: Is known as the National Topographic System (NTS). A government proposal to discontinue publishing of all hardcopy or paper topographic maps in favor of digital-only mapping data was shelved in 2005 after intense public opposition. The State Bureau of Surveying and Cartography compiles topographic maps at 1:25,000 and 1:50,000 scales. It is reported that these maps are accurate and attractively printed in seven colors, and that successive editions show progressive improvement in accuracy. These large-scale maps are
2162-441: Is mapped on a single sheet, at scales ranging from 1:1,584,000 to 1:12,000,000. Recent USGS digital National Map omits several important geographic details that were featured in the original USGS topographic map series (1945–1992). Examples of omitted details and features include power transmission lines, telephone lines, railroads, recreational trails, pipelines, survey marks, and buildings. For many of these feature classes,
2256-653: Is responsible for base mapping of Japan. Standard map scales are 1:25,000, 1:50,000, 1:200,000 and 1:500,000. From 1992 to 2000 a definitive series of large scale topographic maps were surveyed and published through a joint project by Government of Nepal Survey Department and Finland's Ministry for Foreign Affairs contracting through the FinnMap consulting firm. Japan International Cooperation Agency substituted for FinnMap in Lumbini Zone . Topographic sheets at 1:25,000 scale covering 7.5 minutes latitude and longitude map
2350-542: Is the government entity responsible for producing and distributing topographic maps of Colombia in 1:500,000 and 1:100,000 scales. These and several other Geographic information services can be accessed using the Instituto Geográfico Agustin Codazzi website in Spanish. The National Survey and Cadastre of Denmark is responsible for producing topographic and nautical geodata of Denmark , Greenland and
2444-481: Is usually classified as either " large-scale " (in other words, more detailed) or "small-scale". The Survey's large-scale mapping comprises 1:2,500 maps for urban areas and 1:10,000 more generally. (The latter superseded the 1:10,560 "six inches to the mile " scale in the 1950s.) These large scale maps are typically used in professional land-use contexts and were available as sheets until the 1980s, when they were digitised . Small-scale mapping for leisure use includes
2538-540: The Hellenic Military Geographical Service (HMGS) . They use a national projection system called EGSA'87, which is a Transverse Mercatorial Projection mapping Greece in one zone. A few areas are also available at 1:25,000. Some private firms sell topographic maps of national parks based on HMGS topography. The Department of Lands is the government agency responsible for surveying and publishing topographic maps of Hong Kong. Commonly used maps such as
2632-607: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) appointed Steve Blair as the Chief Executive of the Ordnance Survey. The Ordnance Survey supported the launch of the Slow Ways initiative, which encourages users to walk on lesser used paths between UK towns. On 7 February 2023, ownership of Ordnance Survey Ltd passed to the newly formed Department for Science, Innovation and Technology . The Ordnance Survey produces
2726-569: The Faroe Islands . The National Land Survey of Finland produces the Topographic Database (accuracy 1:5000-1:10 000) and publishes topographic maps of Finland at 1:25,000 and 1:50,000. In addition topographics maps can be viewed by using a free map service MapSite. The Institut Géographique National (IGN) produces topographic maps of France at 1:25,000 and 1:50,000. In addition, topographic maps are freely accessible online, through
2820-553: The Federal agency for geodesy and cartography ( Russian : Федеральное агентство геодезии и картографии or Роскартография ). Soviet military maps were state secrets. After the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union, many maps leaked into the public domain. Map scales 1:100.000–1:500.000 can be viewed online. The Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN) is responsible for the official topographic maps. It does use six scales that cover all
2914-635: The Géoportail website. In principle, each federal state (Bundesland) is in charge of producing the official topographic maps. In fact, the maps between 1:5,000 and 1:100,000 are produced and published by the land surveying offices of each federal state, the maps between 1:200,000 and 1:1,000,000 by a federal house – the Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie (BKG) in Frankfurt am Main . Topographic maps for general use are available at 1:50,000 and 1:100,000 from
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3008-627: The List of national mapping agencies . Many of these agencies developed themselves through time into an national mapping and cadastral authority (NMCA) and nowadays into an national mapping and geospatial information agency (NMGA). The first national mapping agency was the Ordnance Survey in the United Kingdom; its roots go back to 1747, when the compilation of a map of the Scottish Highlands
3102-600: The OS Explorer and OS Landranger series were printed in Maybush. In April 2009 building began of a new head office in Adanac Park on the outskirts of Southampton. By 10 February 2011 virtually all staff had relocated to the new "Explorer House" building and the old site had been sold off and redeveloped. Prince Philip officially opened the new headquarters building on 4 October 2011. On 22 January 2015 plans were announced for
3196-532: The Ordnance Survey National Grid 1:1250s, 1:2500s and 1:10,560s after the Second World War. During World War I, the Ordnance Survey was involved in preparing maps of France and Belgium . During World War II, many more maps were created, including: After the war, Colonel Charles Close , then Director General, developed a strategy using covers designed by Ellis Martin to increase sales in
3290-620: The Pilgrims' Way in the North Downs labelled the wrong route, but the name stuck. Similarly, the spelling of Scafell and Scafell Pike copied an error on an earlier map, and was retained as this was the name of a corner of one of the Principal Triangles , despite "Scawfell" being the almost universal form at the time. Colby believed in leading from the front, travelling with his men, helping to build camps and, as each survey session drew to
3384-641: The Topografische Dienst as national mapping agency of the Netherlands, since January 2004 housed within the Land Registry Kadaster . Land Information New Zealand is the government agency responsible for providing up-to-date topographic mapping. LINZ topographic maps cover all of New Zealand, offshore islands, some Pacific Islands and the Ross Sea Region. The standard issue NZTopo map series
3478-420: The "Pathfinder" series, which was less colourful and covered a smaller area on each map. The 1:50,000 scale is known as the "Landranger" and carries a distinctive pink cover. More detailed mapping as fine as 1:10,000 covers some parts of the country. The 1:25,000 and 1:50,000 scales are easily coordinated with standard romer scales on currently available compasses and plotting tools. The Ordnance Survey maintains
3572-589: The 17th and 18th centuries, the heath was notorious as the haunt of highwaymen and footpads , being crossed by the Great West Road and the Bath Road . The eventual mapping of the whole of the United Kingdom by the Ordnance Survey began with the measuring of an accurate base-line on Hounslow Heath, chosen for its flatness and its relative proximity to the Royal Greenwich Observatory . A sighting
3666-538: The 1:25,000 "Explorer" series, the 1:50,000 "Landranger" series and the 1:250,000 road maps. These are still available in traditional sheet form. Ordnance Survey maps remain in copyright for 50 years after their publication. Some of the Copyright Libraries hold complete or near-complete collections of pre-digital OS mapping. The origins of the Ordnance Survey lie in the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1745 . Prince William, Duke of Cumberland realised that
3760-508: The British Army did not have a good map of the Scottish Highlands to locate Jacobite dissenters such as Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat so that they could be put on trial. In 1747, Lieutenant-Colonel David Watson proposed the compilation of a map of the Highlands to help in pacifying the region. In response, King George II charged Watson with making a military survey of the Highlands under
3854-573: The HM20C series (1:20,000) are reviewed and updated every year or two. Very large scale (1:600 in Urban area and the 1:1,000 HM1C series for all of HK) topographic maps are also available to public for various uses. The National Science Institute of Iceland , is the government agency responsible for mapping, geodesy and producing topographic data for Iceland . They maintain the local ISN2016 EPSG:8088 and EPSG:8086 map projection for Iceland. The Survey of India
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3948-562: The National Land Surveying and Mapping Center, the government agency responsible for surveying and publishing various maps. Topographic maps of up to 1:25,000 is now available in digital and printed format. The Ordnance Survey (OS) produces topographic map series covering Great Britain at 1:25,000 and 1:50,000 scales. The 1:25,000 scale is known as the "Explorer" series, and include an "OL" (Outdoor Leisure) sub-series for areas of special interest to hikers and walkers. It replaced
4042-832: The Northern region centred in Peshawar, Eastern region (Lahore), Western region (Quetta) and finally, the Southern region in Karachi. Responsibility for fields surveys and the maintenance/update of topographic maps are sub-divided according to these geographic areas. The National Geographic Institute is in charge of the elaboration of the official maps of the country and to support activities related to its development and defense. The Army's Geographical Institute – Instituto Geográfico do Exército [2] – produces 1.25,000, 1:500,000 maps for public sale, as well as many geographical services. Until recently,
4136-660: The Sales Centre. 1:50,000 and 1:25,000 maps are produced in conjunction with the Department of Defence . Austrian Maps ( German : Österreichische Karte (ÖK) ) is the government agency producing maps of Austria, which are distributed by Bundesamt für Eich- und Vermessungswesen (BEV) in Vienna. The maps are published at scales 1:25,000 1:50,000 1:200,000 and 1:500,000. Maps can also be viewed online. The Centre for Topographic Information produces topographic maps of Canada at scales of 1:50,000 and 1:250,000. The full map catalogue
4230-799: The Spanish territory: 1:25,000 (map series called MTN25), 1:50,000 (map series called MTN50), 1:200,000, 1:500,000, 1:1,000,000 and 1:2,000,000. The most common scale is the first one, which utilizes the UTM system. The Chief Directorate: National Geo-spatial Information (CD:NGI) produces three topographic map series, each covering the whole country, at scales 1:50 000, 1:250 000, and 1:500 000. Swisstopo (the Federal Office of Topography) produces topographic maps of Switzerland at seven different scales. Topographic maps for Taiwan had long been kept as confidential information due to security concerns. It has only been recently made available to public from
4324-567: The USGS is working with other agencies to develop data or adapt existing data on missing details that will be included in The National Map. In other areas USGS digital map revisions may omit geographic features such as ruins, mine locations, springs, wells, and even trails in an effort to protect natural resources and the public at large, or because such features are not present in any public domain database. Hounslow Heath Hounslow Heath
4418-706: The auspices of the Ministry of Defence (MOD). Organisationally, the SOP is overseen by the Surveyor General (SG) who is a direct military appointee and a senior uniformed officer. The SG reports directly to the Secretary of Defence. Under the SG are two Deputy SG's (I and II) who manage the operational departments of the agency and a Senior Technical Advisor. These departments are divided into Regional Directorates for Topographic Mapping including
4512-464: The basis for maps at smaller scales. Maps at scales 1:4,000,000 or smaller are exported by Cartographic Publishing House, Beijing while larger-scale maps are restricted as state secrets, and prohibited from publishing by legislation, all except Hong Kong and Macau. China's topographic maps follow the international system of subdivision with 1:100,000 maps spanning 30 minutes longitude by 20 minutes latitude. The Geographic Institute Agustín Codazzi
4606-508: The centre of Southampton (made worse by the bomb damage of the Second World War). The bombing during the Blitz devastated Southampton in November 1940 and destroyed most of the Ordnance Survey's city centre offices . Staff were dispersed to other buildings and to temporary accommodation at Chessington and Esher, Surrey, where they produced 1:25000 scale maps of France, Italy, Germany and most of
4700-475: The city's court complex. The new head office building was designed by the Ministry of Public Building and Works for 4000 staff, including many new recruits who were taken on in the late 1960s and early 1970s as draughtsmen and surveyors. The buildings originally contained factory-floor space for photographic processes such as heliozincography and map printing, as well as large buildings for storing flat maps. Above
4794-571: The command of the Duke of Cumberland. Among Watson's assistants were William Roy , Paul Sandby and John Manson. The survey was produced at a scale of 1 inch to 1,000 yards (1:36,000) and included " the Duke of Cumberland's Map " (primarily by Watson and Roy), now held in the British Library . Roy later had an illustrious career in the Royal Engineers (RE), rising to the rank of General, and he
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#17328372293244888-669: The complete absence of 1:50,000 scale topographic maps or their equivalent. The largest (both in terms of scale and quantity) and best-known topographic series is the 7.5-minute or 1:24,000 quadrangle . This scale is unique to the United States, where nearly every other developed nation has introduced a metric 1:25,000 or 1:50,000 large scale topo map. The USGS also publishes 1:100,000 maps covering 30 minutes latitude by one degree longitude, 1:250,000 covering one by two degrees, and state maps at 1:500,000 with California , Michigan and Montana needing two sheets while Texas has four. Alaska
4982-431: The densely populated Terai and Middle Mountain regions. Less populated high mountain regions are on 15-minute sheets at 1:50,000. JPG scans can be downloaded. Currently, Survey Department is updating it's topographical base map using ZY-3 imagery. The first update phase completed 208 sheets The Land Registry Kadaster (formerly Topografische Dienst ) collects, processes and provides topographical information of
5076-453: The direction of William Mudge , as other military matters took precedence. It took until 1823 to re-establish the relationship with the French survey made by Roy in 1787. By 1810, one-inch-to-the-mile maps of most of the south of England were completed, but they were withdrawn from sale between 1811 and 1816 because of security fears. By 1840, the one-inch survey had covered all of Wales and all but
5170-515: The early 1940s, the OS produced many "restricted" versions of the County Series maps and other War Department sheets for War Office purposes, in a variety of large scales that included details of military significance such as dockyards, naval installations, fortifications and military camps. Apart from a brief period during the disarmament talks of the 1930s, these areas were left blank or incomplete on standard maps. The War Department 1:2500s, unlike
5264-495: The entire Dutch territory. The history of the Land Registry goes back to the year 1815, that year was commissioned to create a large map, known as Map of Krayenhoff . Around 1836 they began printing the topographic map on a scale of 1: 50,000, followed in 1865 by the topographic map on a scale of 1: 25,000. In 1951 began the start of production of the topographic map on a scale of 1: 10,000. From various reorganizations arose in 1932
5358-973: The entire Soviet Union was mapped at scales down to 1:25,000—even 1:10,000 for the agriculturally productive fraction. The rest of the world except Antarctica is believed to have been mapped at scales down to 1:200,000, with regions of special interest down to 1:50,000 and many urban areas to 1:10,000. In all there may have been over one million map sheets of high quality and detail. Soviet maps were also notable for their consistent global indexing system. These advantages held for Soviet military maps of other countries, although there were some errors due to faulty intelligence. Soviet maps for domestic civilian purposes were often of lower quality. From 1919 to 1967 they were produced by Head geodesic administration ( Russian : Высшее геодезическое управление or ВГУ ), then by Chief administration of geodesy and cartography ( Russian : Главное управление геодезии и картографии or ГУГК ). Now (June 2011) civilian maps are produced by
5452-684: The first British international airline operation and the first flight from Europe to Australia was made. Erected by the Heston and Isleworth Borough Council". On 10 April 2016, another memorial to the aerodrome was unveiled and dedicated by the Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust immediately south of the car park beside the Staines Road. An area to the west of the present heath was used for gravel extraction after World War II . Used for landfill until
5546-429: The heath due to its proximity to London, Windsor and Hampton Court . Oliver Cromwell stationed an army there at the end of the English Civil War in 1647. James II camped his army there, and conducted military exercises and mock battles to try to intimidate the population in London. In 1793, Hounslow Barracks was built to the north of Staines Road as part of the preparations to meet a possible French invasion. In
5640-417: The industrial areas were extensive office areas. The complex was notable for its concrete mural. Celestial , by sculptor Keith McCarter and the concrete elliptical paraboloid shell roof over the staff restaurant building. In 1995, the Ordnance Survey digitised the last of about 230,000 maps, making the United Kingdom the first country in the world to complete a programme of large-scale electronic mapping. By
5734-455: The information now being available in the AddressBase products – so as of 2020, MasterMap consists of Topography and Imagery. Pricing of licenses to OS MasterMap data depends on the total area requested, the layers licensed, the number of TOIDs in the layers, and the period in years of the data usage. OS MasterMap can be used to generate maps for a vast array of purposes and maps can be printed from OS MasterMap data with detail equivalent to
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#17328372293245828-429: The late 1960s, the land was reclaimed to form Hounslow Heath Golf Centre which opened in 1979. Bronze Age spearheads, axes, and sword and knife fragments from Hounslow, are held at the British Museum, also Celtic badges and amulets discovered in a field at Hounslow in 1864. In 1999, excavations on the former Feltham Marshalling Yards to the south of the heath unearthed remains of an Iron Age furnace and post holes from
5922-438: The late 1990s technological developments had eliminated the need for vast areas for storing maps and for making printing plates by hand. Although there was a small computer section at the Ordnance Survey in the 1960s, the digitising programme had replaced the need for printing large-scale maps, while computer-to-plate technology (in the form of a single machine) had also rendered the photographic platemaking areas obsolete. Part of
6016-399: The latter was converted into a new conference centre in 2000, which was used for internal events and also made available for external organisations to hire. The Ordnance Survey became an Executive Agency in 1990, making the organisation independent of ministerial control. In 1999 the agency was designated a trading fund , required to cover its costs by charging for its products and to remit
6110-414: The leisure market. In 1920 O. G. S. Crawford was appointed Archaeology Officer and played a prominent role in developing the use of aerial photography to deepen understanding of archaeology. In 1922, devolution in Northern Ireland led to the creation of the Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland (OSNI) and the independence of the Irish Free State led to the creation of the Ordnance Survey of Ireland , so
6204-408: The mile) for Land Valuation and Inland Revenue purposes: the increased scale was to provide space for annotations. About a quarter of these 1:1250s were marked "Partially revised 1912/13". In areas where there were no further 1:2500s, these partially revised "fifty inch" sheets represent the last large-scale revision (larger than six-inch) of the County Series. The County Series mapping was superseded by
6298-451: The north of England to a scale of 1:2,500. In 1855, the Board of Ordnance was abolished and the Ordnance Survey was placed under the War Office together with the Topographical Survey and the Depot of Military Knowledge. Eventually in 1870 it was transferred to the Office of Works . The primary triangulation of the United Kingdom of Roy, Mudge and Yolland was completed by 1841, but was greatly improved by Alexander Ross Clarke who completed
6392-425: The one that Roy had used in 1784), and work began on mapping southern Great Britain using a 5 mi (8 km) baseline on Hounslow Heath that Roy himself had previously measured; it crosses the present Heathrow Airport . In 1991, Royal Mail marked the bicentenary by issuing a set of postage stamps featuring maps of the Kentish village of Hamstreet . In 1801, the first one-inch-to-the-mile (1:63,360 scale) map
6486-425: The organisation to move from a trading fund model to a government-owned limited company , with the move completed in April 2015. The organisation remains fully owned by the UK government and retains many of the features of a public organisation. In September 2015 the history of the Ordnance Survey was the subject of a BBC Four TV documentary entitled A Very British Map: The Ordnance Survey Story . On 10 June 2019
6580-467: The original Ordnance Survey pulled its coverage back to Great Britain. In 1935, the Davidson Committee was established to review the Ordnance Survey's future. The new Director General, Major-General Malcolm MacLeod , started the retriangulation of Great Britain , an immense task involving the erection of concrete triangulation pillars ("trig points") on prominent hilltops as infallible positions for theodolites. Each measurement made by theodolite during
6674-418: The outbreak of World War I in 1914, Hounslow Heath Aerodrome was established, that developed to become a fighter aircraft defence and training base. In 1919, the aerodrome became the sole London Terminal Aerodrome , and hosted the first scheduled daily international commercial air services. In 1920, it surrendered its role to Croydon Airport , and closed. The heath was then again used for military training and
6768-415: The production of six-inch maps of Ireland was complete. This had led to a demand for similar treatment in England, and work was proceeding on extending the six-inch map to northern England, but only a three-inch scale for most of Scotland. When Colby retired, he recommended William Yolland as his successor, but he was considered too young and the less experienced Lewis Alexander Hall was appointed. After
6862-527: The railways added to pressure that resulted in the Ordnance Survey Act 1841 ( 4 & 5 Vict. c. 30). This granted a right to enter property for the purpose of the survey. Following a fire at its headquarters at the Tower of London in 1841 the Ordnance Survey relocated to a site in Southampton and was in disarray for several years, with arguments about which scales to use. Major-General Sir Henry James
6956-410: The rest of Europe in preparation for its invasion . Until 1969, the Ordnance Survey largely remained at its Southampton city centre HQ and at temporary buildings in the suburb of Maybush nearby, when a new purpose-built headquarters was opened in Maybush adjacent to the wartime temporary buildings there. Some of the remaining buildings of the original Southampton city-centre site are now used as part of
7050-498: The retriangulation was repeated no fewer than 32 times. The Davidson Committee's final report set the Ordnance Survey on course for the 20th century. The metric national grid reference system was launched and a 1:25000-scale series of maps was introduced. The one-inch maps continued to be produced until the 1970s, when they were superseded by the 1:50000-scale series – as proposed by William Roy more than two centuries earlier. The Ordnance Survey had outgrown its site in
7144-480: The six northernmost counties of England. Surveying was hard work. For instance, Major Thomas Colby , the longest-serving Director General of the Ordnance Survey, walked 586 mi (943 km) in 22 days on a reconnaissance in 1819. In 1824, Colby and most of his staff moved to Ireland to work on a six-inches-to-the-mile (1:10,560) valuation survey. The survey of Ireland, county by county, was completed in 1846. The suspicions and tensions it caused in rural Ireland are
7238-511: The six-inch standard was adopted in Great Britain for the un-surveyed northern counties and the 1:1056 scale also began to be adopted for urban surveys. Between 1842 and 1895, some 400 towns were mapped at 1:500 (126 inches), 1:528 (120 inches, "10 foot scale") or 1:1056 (60 inches), with the remaining towns mapped at 1:2500 (~25 inches). In 1855, the Treasury authorised funding for 1:2500 for rural areas and 1:500 for urban areas. The 1:500 scale
7332-467: The standard issue, were contoured . The de-classified sheets have now been deposited in some of the Copyright Libraries, helping to complete the map-picture of pre-Second World War Britain. From 1824, the OS began a 6-inch (1:10,560) survey of Ireland for taxation purposes but found this to be inadequate for urban areas and adopted the five-foot scale (1:1056) for Irish cities and towns. From 1840,
7426-453: The subject of Brian Friel 's play Translations . Colby was not only involved in the design of specialist measuring equipment. He also established a systematic collection of place names, and reorganised the map-making process to produce clear, accurate plans. Place names were recorded in "Name Books", a system first used in Ireland. The instructions for their use were: The persons employed on
7520-524: The survey are to endeavour to obtain the correct orthography of the names of places by diligently consulting the best authorities within their reach. The name of each place is to be inserted as it is commonly spelt, in the first column of the name book and the various modes of spelling it used in books, writings &c. are to be inserted in the second column, with the authority placed in the third column opposite to each. Whilst these procedures generally produced excellent results, mistakes were made: for instance,
7614-656: The two major government mapping authorities in Romania have been the Military Topographic Department (Directia Topografica Militara (DTM)), and the Institute for Geodesy, Photogrammetry, Cartography and Land Management (Institutul de Geodezie, Fotogrammetrie, Cartografie, si Organizarea Teritoriului (IGFCOT)). This situation has recently changed, following a decision in 1996 by the Romanian Government to establish
7708-420: The two scales was completed by the 1890s, with a second edition completed in the 1890s and 1900s. From 1907 till the early 1940s, a third edition (or "second revision") was begun but never completed: only areas with significant changes on the ground were revised, many two or three times. Meanwhile, publication of the one-inch to the mile series for Great Britain was completed in 1891. From the late 19th century to
7802-452: The west and southwest of Britain. Staines Road, the northern boundary of the present heath, was the Roman Road , Via Trinobantes. There are several historic references to Roman camps on or close to the heath. Continuous recorded history dates back to Norman times . In 1546, Hounslow Heath was surveyed with a recorded area of 4,293 acres (1,737 ha) (6.71 square miles). Various armies used
7896-617: The world's most comprehensive cartographic project of the twentieth century. Soviet map sheets adopted the global sheet nomenclature of the International Map of the World system and already covered foreign territories by 1938. When Germany invaded in 1941 , detailed maps from the USSR's western borders to the Volga River became an urgent task, accomplished in less than one year. After the war years
7990-583: Was begun in earnest in 1790 under Roy's supervision, when the Board of Ordnance (a predecessor of part of the modern Ministry of Defence ) began a national military survey starting with the south coast of England. Roy's birthplace near Carluke in South Lanarkshire is today marked by a memorial in the form of a large OS trig point . By 1791, the Board received the newer Ramsden theodolite (an improved successor to
8084-515: Was by then Director General, and he saw how photography could be used to make maps of various scales cheaply and easily. He developed and exploited photozincography , not only to reduce the costs of map production but also to publish facsimiles of nationally important manuscripts. Between 1861 and 1864, a facsimile of the Domesday Book was issued, county by county; and a facsimile of the Gough Map
8178-455: Was considered more 'rational' than 1:528 and became known as the "sanitary scale" since its primary purpose was to support establishment of mains sewerage and water supply. However, a review of the Ordnance Survey in 1892 found that sales of the 1:500 series maps were very poor and the Treasury declined to fund their continuing maintenance, declaring that any revision or new mapping at this scale must be self-financing. Very few towns and cities saw
8272-449: Was issued in 1870. From the 1840s, the Ordnance Survey concentrated on the Great Britain " County Series ", modelled on the earlier Ireland survey. A start was made on mapping the whole country, county by county, at six inches to the mile (1:10,560). In 1854, "twenty-five inch" maps were introduced with a scale of 1:2500 (25.344 inches to the mile) and the six inch maps were then based on these twenty-five inch maps. The first edition of
8366-452: Was largely responsible for the British share of the work in determining the relative positions of the French and British royal observatories. This work was the starting point of the Principal Triangulation of Great Britain (1783–1853), and led to the creation of the Ordnance Survey itself. Roy's technical skills and leadership set the high standard for which the Ordnance Survey became known. Work
8460-602: Was made of the spire of All Saints' church in Banstead , and along that line a length of 27,400 feet was very precisely measured. This work by General William Roy was the start of the Anglo-French Survey (1784–1790) , which led to the Principal Triangulation of Great Britain . By 1900, the heath was still in use as a training ground for horse-mounted cavalry based at Hounslow Barracks , a gun shooting range, and adjacent army medical units including an isolation hospital. After
8554-402: Was proposed. This survey at a scale of 1 inch to 1000 yards (1:36,000) was the starting point of the Principal Triangulation of Great Britain (1783–1853), and led to the creation of the Ordnance Survey itself; work was begun in earnest in 1790, when the Board of Ordnance began a national military survey at one- inch -to-the- mile (1:63,360 scale). During the next thirty years, roughly
8648-569: Was published September 2009 at 1:50,000 (NZTopo50), and 1:250,000 (NZTopo250). Vector data from the New Zealand Topographic Database (NZTopo) is also available. The responsibility for topographic mapping and aerial photography lies with the Surveyor General of Pakistan [SGP]. Established in 1947, the Survey of Pakistan (SOP) is based in Rawalpindi with a number of regional offices distributed at urban centers throughout Pakistan. SGP
8742-496: Was published, detailing the county of Kent , with Essex following shortly afterwards. The Kent map was published privately and stopped at the county border, while the Essex maps were published by the Ordnance Survey and ignored the county border, setting the trend for future Ordnance Survey maps. During the next 20 years, about a third of England and Wales was mapped at the same scale (see Principal Triangulation of Great Britain ) under
8836-663: Was unusual in that land registration on transfer of title was made compulsory there in 1900. The 1:1056 sheets were partially revised to provide a basis for HM Land Registry index maps and the OS mapped the whole London County Council area (at 1:1056) at national expense. Placenames from the second edition were used in 2016 by the GB1900 project to crowd-source an open-licensed gazetteer of Great Britain. From 1911 onwards – and mainly between 1911 and 1913 – the Ordnance Survey photo-enlarged many 1:2500 sheets covering built-up areas to 1:1250 (50.688 inches to
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