NLS Historic Maps API: Historical Maps of Great Britain for use in mashups
This seamless historic map can be:
- embedded in your own website
- used for research purposes
- used as a backdrop for your own markers or geographic data
The mapping is based on out-of-copyright Ordnance Survey maps, dating from the 1920s to the 1940s.
View our Historic Maps Subscription API for details of other map layers available.
From March 2022, this layer has moved to the MapTiler Cloud API. There is a 'free' tier for all non-commercial subscribers using 100,000 tile requests per month or less, but commercial or higher usage levels are charged for according to the volume of requests.
To use the NLS Historic Maps API, you need to create an account in MapTiler Cloud and select the appropriate plan, based on whether your usage is commercial/non-commercial and the monthly traffic you expect.
View more information on:
- how to embed the historic map in your website
- How to use the map in Javascript viewers
- licence and terms of use
- which map series are used
- how the historic map was prepared
How to embed the historic map in your website
- The easiest way of embedding the historical map in your website is to use an iFrame. It is a simple tool to use and you can make some modifications to it as well. You will need a MapTiler Cloud API key, which is accessible in the MapTiler Cloud administration. The iframe code below can be copied and put into your web page to create a zoomable map iframe as shown at the top right of this page.
<iframe src ="https://maps.nls.uk/projects/api/maptiler-cloud-api.html" width="500" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe>
- You can automatically position the historic map to open at particular latitude and longitude coordinates, for example, centred on Edinburgh with lat=53.433 & lng=-8.015 & zoom=10.
https://api.maptiler.com/tiles/uk-baire250k1940/?key=_YOUR_KEY_HERE_#10/53.433/-8.015maptiler-cloud-coordinates.html shows a customised zoom to specific coordinates
- To use raster tiles with TileJSON:
https://api.maptiler.com/tiles/uk-baire250k1940/tiles.json?key=_YOUR_KEY_HERE
- To use raster tiles with XYZ:
https://api.maptiler.com/tiles/uk-osgb1919/{z}/{x}/{y}.jpg?key=_YOUR_KEY_HERE
- It is also possible with an iframe to centre a map at a specific location using a placename. The example below centres the map on Penicuik using this iframe code:
<iframe src = "https://labs.maptiler.com/samples/cloud/placename/index.html?q=penicuik&type=tiles&id=uk-osgb1888&key=_YOUR_KEY_HERE" width="500" height="300" frameborder="1"></iframe>
For further details, see the article How to center an iframe map on a placename.
How to use the map in Javascript viewers
The historic map can be used as a background map for your own data. You can place markers on top of it, or implement any other functionality with customised Javascript viewers.
- maptiler-cloud-openlayers.html shows how to use the layer using OpenLayers.
You can also view an OpenLayers map page with source code. - maptiler-cloud-leaflet.html shows how to use the layer using Leaflet.
You can also view a Leaflet map page with source code. - maptiler-cloud-cesium.html shows how to use the layer using Cesium JS.
You can also view a Cesium map page with source code.
Licence and terms of use
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can also read the full legal code of the licence.
The map is provided as an online service under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can embed the map in your own website, display your own markers or mapping data on top of it, use it for research purposes, or create derivative work from it.
The only condition is that you must display an attribution to the National Library of Scotland, together with a link to our website, whenever our map is used. If you create derivative work, the documentation of your work must contain this attribution.
View MapTiler Cloud Terms and Conditions.
Which map series are used
We have chosen recent out-of-copyright Ordnance Survey map series that we have complete coverage of.
At present the seamless historical map is composed of map sheets from these Ordnance Survey map series:
- 1:1 million, Great Britain, 1933
- Quarter-inch to the mile, Scotland, 1921-1923
- Quarter-inch to the mile, England and Wales, 1919-1921
- One-inch to the mile, Popular edition, Scotland, 1920-1930
- One-inch to the mile, New Popular edition, England and Wales, 1945-1947
How the seamless map layers were prepared
We have scanned paper map sheets of out-of-copyright Ordnance Survey maps. All the individual map sheets were cropped to remove their margins and then georeferenced in the British National Grid coordinate system. They were then combined together to create one zoomable seamless map for Scotland, England and Wales. The tiles were prepared using the MapTiler Desktop application.
Please email geo@nls.uk for further assistance, or to provide general comments / feedback.