Deposit of Historical Maps

I simply cannot believe that Ordnance Survey would have distributed the majority of Historical maps to various sites around the country when your Historical Mapping enquiry Services closed down on the 31^st July 2008 without making a proper record of where all these items were sent to.

Please therefore let me know where your Deposit records are and how they can be consulted.  Are they held in a physical file in Southampton? or are they online? And does the P.R.O. have them in duplicate?

Thank you for your letter dated 31^st January 2011I confirm the information you have requested from Ordnance Survey is held, and I am pleased to provide this as follows.

Ordnance Survey does hold a deposit record detailing the distribution of archive material to various places of deposit, following the closure of our Historic Map Archive in July 2008. However, it is important to note that our deposit records do not make reference to each individual sheet or item, but in some instances details archive materials purely by county and/or scale.  This is because some of the items were duplicate copies of an original, and not considered a ‘unique’ item and because of the vast quantities.

During the closure of our Historic Map Archive, a small team at Ordnance Survey worked closely with The National Archives, and to their guidelines, to successfully complete the transition of archive materials to places of deposit. This team recorded the details of those items which were archived in the deposit record, in a format which was clear to them and possibly those experienced with historic mapping, but which may be difficult for some to interpret.

Although items from our Historic Map Archive have been deposited to various locations, they may not have been catalogued by the receiving organisation at this time, as there were literally thousands of items and we were advised it could take some years to catalogue in full.

Our deposit record file is in electronic format, and held within our electronic records management system. The PRO does not retain a copy of our deposit records.

To consult our deposit records, you would need to apply to Ordnance Survey, and we would need to consider the release of this information to you in either electronic or hard copy format.

Please note that your enquiry has been processed according to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000. As all requested information has been provided, we have determined that in all the circumstances of this case the Public interest consideration (section 17 FOIA) is not applicable in this instance.

If you are unhappy with our response, you may raise an appeal to our Appeals Officer at:

FOI Appeals Officer
Customer Service Centre
Ordnance Survey
Adanac Drive
SOUTHAMPTON
SO16 0AS

Please include the reference number below. The Appeals Officer will ensure that the process has been followed correctly, questioning any decisions taken regarding the original response and recommending disclosure of additional information if appropriate.

Thank you for your enquiry.

Reference number: FOI11139/February 2011