Ordnance Survey large scale town plans, 1840s-1890s

Symbols

These are just a selection of the more common graphic features shown on these maps. For more information, please consult Richard Oliver's book Ordnance Survey maps: a concise guide for historians (London : Charles Close, 1993).

Buildings

Carmine colour = brick or stone
Grey colour = iron or wood
Blue and/or cross-hatched = glass
Roofed archway/alleyway/passageway/vennel/wynd
Interior layout and seating for public buildings
Brick or stone wall

Woodland

Single tree - various styles
Mixed woodland
Mixed woodland - different style
Mixed woodland - different style
Fir trees
Oak trees
Birch trees
Brushwood and Bushes
Furze
Osiers

Land

Shingle/pebbles
Sand
Moor
Cliff/escarpment/quarry
Flat rocks
Sloping masonry
Cutting - sloping downwards to water
Embankment - sloping upwards to central path

Heights

(in feet, above mean sea level, Liverpool)

Spot height/surface level of ground
Benchmark (OS mark on building, wall, etc.)
Arrow to show direction of flowing water

Antiquities and Trigonometrical points

Boundaries