Maps
Last updated
2 September 2025
Estimated reading time
1 minute
Local maps can help you get to know the area of Scotland that your ancestors came from. They can also confirm specific information about your ancestors like land tenure or ownership, for example. See our maps research guides for more information.
Our high resolution, zoomable maps images have tools to find, compare and annotate. These digitised maps mostly cover Scotland, England and Wales from the 1500s to 1970s. We also have First World War trench maps and maps of Ireland.
You can also find thousands more maps in our main catalogue. If you want to see a physical copy of a map, you can make a request to view it in our Maps Reading Room in Edinburgh. We can also arrange for you to view maps remotely with our Virtual Reading Room service.
Related resources
Gazetteers of Scotland, 1803-1901
This digitised collection of Gazetteers list towns, glens, counties, castles and more, with rich historical and geographical descriptions.
Map images
Over 400,000 historic maps of the UK and Ireland and beyond, in zoomable high resolution, with tools to find, compare and annotate.
