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Part of an Ordnance Survey map at 1 inch to the mile scale from 1946
Part of an Ordnance Survey map at 1 inch to the mile scale from 1946

Ordnance Survey (OS) is an executive agency of the United Kingdom government. An executive agency, also known as a next-step agency, is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate in order to carry out some The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located It is the national mapping agency for Great Britain,[1] and one of the world's largest producers of maps. See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, Regions, and Themes The name reflects the original military purpose of the organisation (see ordnance and surveying) in mapping Britain during the Napoleonic Wars when there was a threat of invasion from France. Surveying is the technique and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional space Position of points and the distances and angles between The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815 involved Napoleon's French Empire and a shifting set of European allies and opposing coalitions OS is widely regarded as the most systematic and thorough mapping institution in the world, detailing every corner of Britain long before satellite technology made quality maps of the same standard available elsewhere in the world.

Contents

Origins

The roots of Ordnance Survey go back to 1747, when King George II commissioned a military survey of the Scottish highlands following the Jacobite revolt of 1745. George II (George Augustus 10 November 1683 &ndash 25 October 1760 was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg ( The Scottish Highlands ( Scottish Gaelic: A' Ghàidhealtachd, Scots: Hielans) include the rugged and Mountainous Jacobitism was (and to a limited extent remains the political movement dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland William Roy was the engineer responsible for this pioneering work; one of the staff involved was noted artist Paul Sandby. General William Roy (1726 &ndash 1790 was a Scottish Military engineer, surveyor, and Antiquarian. Paul Sandby (1731 (baptised - 9 November 1809) was an English Map -maker turned landscape painter in Watercolours who The survey was produced at a scale of 1 inch to 1000 yards. [2] It was not until 1790 that 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 in anticipation of a French invasion. The Board of Ordnance was a British government body responsible for the supply of armaments and munitions to the British Army. The Ministry of Defence ( MoD) is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics.

By 1791, the Board had purchased the new Ramsden theodolite, and work began on mapping southern Great Britain using a baseline that Roy himself had previously measured and that crosses the present Heathrow Airport. The Ramsden theodolite is a large Theodolite that was specially constructed for use in the first Ordnance Survey of Southern Britain. A set of postage stamps, featuring maps of the Kentish village of Hamstreet, was issued in 1991 to mark the bicentenary. Hamstreet is a village in Kent, in south-east England. The village is located some six miles south of Ashford on the A2070, the main

In 1801 the first one-inch-to-the-mile (1:63,360) map was published, detailing the county of Kent, with Essex following shortly after. Inches redirects here To see the Les Savy Fav album see Inches. A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States A county is a Land area of Regional Government within a larger State. KENT (1400 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Adult Standards/MOR format Essex is a county in the East of England. The County town is Chelmsford, and the highest point of the county is Chrishall Common The Kent map was published privately and stopped at the county border while the Essex maps were published by Ordnance Survey and ignore the county border setting the trend for future Ordnance Survey maps. [3]

During the next twenty years roughly a third of England and Wales was mapped at the same scale (see Principal Triangulation of Great Britain). The Principal Triangulation of Britain was a Triangulation project carried out between 1783 and about 1853 at the instigation of the Director of the It was gruelling work: Major Thomas Colby, later the longest serving Director General of Ordnance Survey, walked 586 miles in 22 days on a reconnaissance in 1819. Thomas Frederick Colby ( 1 September 1784 &ndash 9 October 1852) a British major-general and director of the Ordnance Survey 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. Year 1824 ( MDCCCXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world The survey of Ireland was completed in 1846. For the game see 1846 (board game. Year 1846 ( MDCCCXLVI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display [2]

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. He believed in leading from the front, travelling with his men, helping to build camps and, as each survey session drew to a close, arranging mountain-top parties with enormous plum puddings. Christmas pudding is the dessert traditionally served on Christmas day although still available and popular throughout the year in Britain

After the first Irish maps came out in the mid-1830s, the Tithe Commutation Act 1836 led to calls for similar six-inch surveys in England and Wales. The Tithe Commutation Act of 1836 (6&7 Will IV c71 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom with the Long title "An Act for the Commutation After official prevarication, the development of the railways added to pressure that resulted in the 1841 Ordnance Survey Act. "Railroad" and "Railway" both redirect here For other uses see Railroad (disambiguation. 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, OS was in disarray for several years with arguments about which scales to use. Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London (and historically as The Tower) is a historic monument in central London Major-General Sir Henry James was by then Director General, and he saw how photography could be used to make maps of various scales cheaply and easily. Major General Sir Henry James FRS MRIA RE (1803 &ndash 1877 was the director-general of the Ordnance Survey, the British He developed and exploited photozincography not only to reduce the costs of map production but also to publish 'facsimiles' of National Manuscripts. Photozincography, known commercially as Zinco is the photographic process developed by Sir Henry James (Ordnance Survey FRS (1803-1877 in the mid-nineteenth Between 1861 and 1864 a 'facsimile' of the Domesday Book was issued, county by county. The Domesday Book (ˈduːmzdeɪ bʊk also known as Domesday, or Book of Winchester) was the record of the great survey

After the fire, OS relocated to a site in Southampton, and the twenty-five inch to the mile survey was completed by 1895. Southampton ( IPA /ˌsaʊθˈhæmptən/ is the largest city in the county of Hampshire, on the south coast of England Year 1895 ( MDCCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year

Just under 400 towns with a population of over 4000 were surveyed at a scale of 1:500. Funding was agreed in 1855 and publication completed by 1895. [3]

The 20th century

Front cover of New Popular Edition 1 inch to the mile from 1945
Front cover of New Popular Edition 1 inch to the mile from 1945
The old site of OS in Southampton City Centre, as seen today.
The old site of OS in Southampton City Centre, as seen today. Southampton City Centre is the commercial and organisational centre of the City of Southampton, and the transport hub of the city
The current headquarters building of Ordnance Survey in Maybush, Southampton
The current headquarters building of Ordnance Survey in Maybush, Southampton

During the First World War, OS was involved in preparing maps of France and Belgium for its own use, and many more maps were created during World War II, including:

After the war Colonel Charles Close, then Director General, developed a marketing strategy using covers designed by Ellis Martin to increase sales in the leisure market. Colonel Sir Charles Frederick Arden-Close FRS (10 August 1865 &ndash 19 December 1952 was a British Geographer and surveyor, he was Director General 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. Osbert Guy Stanhope Crawford ( 28 October, 1886 &ndash November 28, 1957) was an English Archaeologist and a pioneer in the

In 1935 the Davidson Committee was established to review Ordnance Survey's future. The new Director General, Major-General Malcolm MacLeod, started the retriangulation of Great Britain, an immense task involving erecting concrete triangulation pillars (trig points) on prominent (often inaccessible) hilltops throughout Great Britain. Major-General Malcolm Neynoe MacLeod ( 23 May, 1882 &ndash 1 August, 1969) was Director General of the Ordnance Survey from 1935 to A trigonometrical station, triangulation pillar or trig point is a fixed Surveying station for the Geodetic These were intended to be infallibly constant positions for the theodolites during the many angle measurements, which were each repeated no less than 32 times.

The Davidson Committee's final report set OS on course for the twentieth century. The national grid reference system was launched, with the metre as its unit of measurement. The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using Latitude and Longitude The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International An experimental 1:25000 scale map was introduced. The one-inch maps remained for almost forty years before being superseded by the 1:50000 scale series, as proposed by William Roy more than two centuries earlier.

OS had outgrown its site in the centre of Southampton (made worse by the bomb damage of the Second World War), and in 1969 moved to the suburb of Maybush, towards the edge of the city, where it remains today. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Some of the remaining buildings of the original city-centre site are now used as part of the court complex. A court is a forum used by a power base to adjudicate disputes and dispense civil, labour administrative and criminal Justice under its

In 1995 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. OS is now a civilian organisation with executive agency status. An executive agency, also known as a next-step agency, is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate in order to carry out some

UK map range

Ordnance Survey maps are available in most bookshops, in a variety of scales:

One series of historic maps[4] is a reprint of the OS first series from the mid 19th century, but re-scaled to 1:50000, re-projected to the Landranger projection, and given 1 km gridlines. This means that features from over 150 years ago fit exactly over their modern equivalents, and modern grid references can be given to old features.

Ordnance Survey also produces more detailed mapping at 1:10,000 and 1:1,250 scales, which is available from some of the more specialist outlets. This is produced to order from digital data, so the customer can choose exactly which area the map should cover.

The digitisation of the data has allowed OS to experiment with selling maps electronically. Several companies are now licensed to produce the popular scales (1:50000 and 1:25000) of map on CD/DVD or to make them available online for download. The buyer typically has the right to view the maps on a PC, a Laptop and a pocket PC/smartphone, and to print off any number of copies. The accompanying software is GPS-aware, and the maps are ready-calibrated. Thus, the user can quickly transfer a desired area from their PC to their laptop or smartphone, and go for a drive or walk with their position continually pinpointed on the screen. The price for an individual map is much dearer than the equivalent paper version, but the price per square km falls rapidly with the size of coverage bought. For instance, it is possible to buy a CD of 1:50000 (Landranger) mapping for all the national parks for less than £20, or a DVD of the whole of Britain (ie excluding Northern Ireland) for a little above £100. Explorer-scale maps are much more expensive.

Cartography

The Ordnance Survey maps of Great Britain use the British national grid reference system
The Ordnance Survey maps of Great Britain use the British national grid reference system
Main article: British national grid reference system

The original maps were made by triangulation. The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using Latitude and Longitude The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using Latitude and Longitude In Trigonometry and Geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by measuring angles to it from known points at either For the second survey, in 1934, this process was used again, and resulted in the building of many triangulation pillars (trig points): short (approx 4 feet/1. A trigonometrical station, triangulation pillar or trig point is a fixed Surveying station for the Geodetic 2 m high), usually square, concrete or stone pillars at prominent locations such as hill tops. Their precise locations were determined by triangulation, and the details in between were then filled in with less precise methods. Modern Ordnance Survey maps are based on aerial photographs, but large numbers of the pillars remain. Aerial photography is the taking of Photographs of the ground from an elevated position

OS still maintains a set of master geodetic reference points to tie the OS geographic datums to modern measurement systems including GPS. Basic concept of GPS operation A GPS receiver calculates its position by carefully timing the signals sent by the constellation of GPS Satellites high above the Earth Ordnance Survey maps of Great Britain do not use latitude and longitude to indicate position but a special grid. The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using Latitude and Longitude The grid is technically known as OSGB36 (Ordnance Survey Great Britain 1936), and was introduced after the retriangulation of 1936–53. The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using Latitude and Longitude

OS MasterMap

Ordnance Survey's flagship digital product, launched in November 2001, is OS MasterMap. OS MasterMap is Ordnance Survey 's flagship digital product launched in November 2001 This is a database that records every fixed feature of Great Britain larger than a few metres in one continuous digital map. A Computer Database is a structured collection of records or data that is stored in a computer system Every feature is given a unique TOID (topographical identifier), a simple identifier that includes no semantic information. A TOID ( '''TO'''pographic '''ID'''entifier, pronounced toyed) is a unique reference identifier assigned by the Ordnance Survey to identify every Typically each TOID is associated with a polygon that represents the area on the ground that the feature covers, in National Grid coordinates. The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using Latitude and Longitude MasterMap is offered in themed "layers", for example, a road layer and a building layer, each linked to a number of TOIDs. Pricing of licenses to 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. Area is a Quantity expressing the two- Dimensional size of a defined part of a Surface, typically a region bounded by a closed Curve.

MasterMap can be used to generate maps for a vast array of purposes, and maps can be printed from MasterMap data with detail equivalent to a traditional 1:1250 paper map.

OS claims that MasterMap data is never more than 6 months out of date, thanks to continuous review. The scale and detail of this mapping project is unique. Around 440 million TOIDs have so far been assigned, and the database stands at 600 gigabytes in size. MasterMap is currently (August 2005) at version 6.

OS is encouraging users of its old OS Landline data to migrate to MasterMap and in June 2007 announced a notice of withdrawal for this product as of 30 September 2008. Events 1399 - Henry IV is proclaimed King of England. 1744 - France and Spain defeat the 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common [5]

Geographical information science research

Since about 2001 Ordnance Survey has had a Research department that is very active in several areas of geographical information science, including:

Ordnance Survey actively supports the academic research community through its External Research and University Liaison team. The Research department actively supports MSc and PhD students as well as engaging in collaborative research. Most Ordnance Survey products are available to UK Universities that have signed up to the Digimap agreement and data is also made available for research purposes that advances Ordnance Survey's own research agenda.

More information can be found at Ordnance Survey Research

Access to data and criticisms

Ordnance Survey has been subject to criticisms. Most criticism centres on the point that OS possesses a virtual government monopoly on geographic data in the UK,[6] while, although a government agency, since 1999 it has been required to act as a Trading Fund or commercial entity. A Trading Fund is a UK government department or an executive agency or part of the department which has been established as such by means of a Trading Fund Order made under This means that it is supposed to be totally self-funding from the commercial sale of its data and derived products - whilst at the same time it is supposed to be the public supplier of geographical information. In 1985 the "Committee of Enquiry into the Handling of Geographic Information" was set up in to “advise the Secretary of State for the Environment within two years on the future handling of geographic information in the UK, taking account of modern developments in information technology and market needs”. The Committee's final report was published under the name of its chairman, Roger Chorley, in 1987. Roger Richard Edward Chorley 2nd Baron Chorley (born 14 August 1930) is a British chartered accountant and Peer. [7] The report stressed the importance of widely available geographic information to the UK and recommended a loosening of government policies on distribution and cost recovery.

The Guardian newspaper has a long-running "Free Our Data" campaign, calling for the raw data gathered by OS (not to mention data gathered on its behalf by local authorities at public expense) to be made freely available for reuse by individuals and companies, as happens, for example, with such data in the USA,[8] although the campaign rarely makes any comparison between the quality of the OS data and the quality of the data available from these free sources. The Guardian (until 1959 The Manchester Guardian) is a British Newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. [1]

On the 7 April 2006 the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) received a complaint from the data management company Intelligent Addressing. Events 529 - First draft of Corpus Juris Civilis (a fundamental work in Jurisprudence) is issued by Eastern Roman Emperor Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The Office of Public Sector Information ( OPSI) is the body responsible for the operation of Her Majesty's Stationery Office (usually abbreviated as HMSO [9] Many, although not all, complaints were upheld by the OPSI, one of the conclusions being that OS "is offering licence terms which unnecessarily restrict competition". Negotiations between OS and interested parties are ongoing with regard to the issues raised by the OPSI report, OS being under no obligation to comply with the report's recommendations.

Historical material

OS historical works are generally available, as the agency is covered by Crown Copyright, Works more than fifty years old, including historic surveys of Britain and Ireland and much of the New Popular Edition, are in the public domain. Crown copyright is a form of Copyright claim used by the governments of a number of Commonwealth realms It provides special copyright rules for The Crown

However, finding suitable originals remains an issue as Ordnance Survey does not currently provide historical mapping on 'free' terms, instead marketing commerically 'enhanced' reproductions in partnership with Landmark.

This can be contrasted with, for example, the approach in the Republic of Ireland in more recent times, where Ordnance Survey Ireland claims regular copyright over its mapping (and over digital copies of the public domain historical mapping). Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSi Irish: Suirbhéireacht Ordanáis Éireann) is the mapping agency in the Republic of Ireland and together with the Ordnance

See also

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ Note that Ordnance Survey currently deals only with maps of Great Britain (and to an extent, the Isle of Man). See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands The Isle of Man (Ellan Vannin ˈɛlʲən ˈvanɪn or Mann (Mannin) is a self-governing Crown dependency, located in the Irish Sea at the geographical Northern Ireland, although part of the United Kingdom, is mapped by a separate government agency, the Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland (OSNI was the official Mapping agency of Northern Ireland.
  2. ^ a b Hindle, Paul (1998). Maps for Historians. Phillimore & Co, pp. 114-115. ISBN 0850339340.  
  3. ^ a b Hindle, Paul (1998). Maps for Historians. Phillimore & Co, pp. 117. ISBN 0850339340.  
  4. ^ Published by Cassini Publishing Ltd. (OS Licensed Partner)
  5. ^ Land-Line: detailed large-scale digital map of Great Britain in 229,000 tiles from Ordnance Survey
  6. ^ Guardian
  7. ^ Chorley, R. R. E. (1987) Handling Geographic Information. Report of the Committee of Enquiry chaired by Lord Chorley, London: HMSO.
  8. ^ Free Our Data website
  9. ^ OPSI

External links

Events 1618 - Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again "

Dictionary

Ordnance Survey

-proper noun

  1. (UK) originally the branch of government that produced maps for the military, now a civilian organisation that produces maps worldwide
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