Who might find them useful?
In keeping with their widely differing formats, maps and plans will be relevant to a wide variety of users in their research. The most obvious amongst these are, of course, geographers, cartographers, topographers and place name researchers. Others, however, will also discover a wealth of relevant information, such as:
- Genealogists and family historians, who may find the names of their ancestors on maps, sometimes accompanied by details of the property they held or the rent they paid.
- Buildings historians may discover all sorts of information about the original purpose for which a building was constructed, and about how and when it has been changed. Like family history, house history is an increasingly popular pastime.
- Local historians, who may discover all sorts of snippets of information about life and events in the history of their local area.
- Social historians, who may be able to use the information in maps and plans to build up a fuller picture of day-to-day life in the past - whether in terms of changing housing, industrial and agricultural developments, population growth and other demographic changes, and so on.
- Military and naval historians, who may discover a rich vein of information about particular battles and campaigns, the development of certain fortifications or the introduction of new strategies and equipment.
In addition, there may be resources relevant to:
- Agricultural historians
- Architectural historians
- Industrial historians
- Transport historians
- Landscape and garden historians
- Political historians
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