Maps

Maps are a quick way of confirming the existence of a building or a feature, and getting evidence about its age.  They are easy to use.  Even if they are very old, they are usually drawn with reasonable accuracy.  Old maps are often drawn on very large scales, and north is not always at the top.

Berkshire Record Office's map collections spans the whole of the historic county, from Faringdon and Hungerford in the west, through to Windsor in the east.  We hold the following types of historic maps:

• Ordnance Survey maps at 6 inch and 25 inch to the mile scales from the 1870s-1960s.
• Tithe maps, often drawn at very large scales, for most Berkshire parishes.  These all date from the 1840s, after the requirements of the Tithe Commutation Act 1836.
• Enclosure maps for many places, sometimes entire parishes, sometimes only the common fields being enclosed by hedging, as ordered by Act of Parliament.  These date from the late 18th to the late 19th century. 
• Maps commissioned by estate owners of their own lands.  Generally maps were a luxury rather than an essential, so most of these date from the 18th century onwards, with a few earlier.
• The Finance Act 1910 'domesday' maps and schedules for Berkshire made by the Inland Revenue.