Our maps cover most of Dorset, but our main series generally do not cover Bournemouth and Christchurch, which were part of Hampshire up until 1974. For maps of these areas, please contact  Hampshire Archives and Local Studies (opens in a new window) or Bournemouth Library (opens in a new window) .

Different types of maps within our collections include:

Street plans

Mostly these will be 20th century maps of particular towns, many of which are part of tourist guides which can be found in our Local Studies collection on open access.

Ordnance Survey maps

Our main sets of Ordnance Survey maps are either 25 inch to the mile (large scale, which will allow you to identify individual buildings) or 6 inch to the mile (a smaller scale, generally less useful for property history, but helpful in giving more an overview of where a town or village is, how it has developed etc).

Our most comprehensive 25-inch set is the 2nd Edition, dating from around 1902-1903, for which we have almost complete coverage of the county (excluding Bournemouth and Christchurch). We have moderate coverage for the later editions in the 1920s and 1930s, and partial coverage for the 1st Edition (the 1880s).

We have other printed Ordnance Survey maps, at various scales and for various dates, within our Local Studies collection.

Most of our Ordnance Survey maps are available on open access. The 1st Edition maps would need to be requested in the searchroom.

Tithe maps

Tithe maps were designed to show who was paying what for the upkeep of the parish church (a tax called the 'tithe'). They mostly date from the 1830s and 1840s. Each map is divided up into numbered plots, and is accompanied by a document called an apportionment, which lists the plots giving details or owners, occupiers, type of land or property and the amount of tithe due.

Enclosure maps

Enclosure (or inclosure) maps were produced to show how land was being 'enclosed' - broken up from large open fields into smaller, private plots. They date from the later part of the eighteenth century or first half of the nineteenth century. They are accompanied by a document called an 'award', which gives a verbal description of how the land was being enclosed (originally, the award was the part that had legal force, the map was just an illustrative accompaniment).

Estate maps

These maps were tools for estate management, produced at various dates, and now scattered throughout our family and estate collections. Such maps are best found by either looking in our maps indexes in the searchroom, or using our online catalogue.

Illustrative or decorative maps

Early maps were primarily decorative or illustrative, rather than being accurate records of topography. These will be of limited practical use, but can often be visually impressive. Again, these maps will be listed in our searchroom indexes or on our online catalogue. Some examples can also be purchased from our online shop.