Maps and plans, especially when used in conjunction with other documents, are one of the most valuable sources of information for the local historian and geographer.

In this continuing series of regular posts, the author of our ‘Map of the Week’ feature, local historian Derek Barker, explores the hidden history within a selection of the maps and plans from the collection at Bradford Local Studies Library, focusing in particular on the 19^th Century.

These posts demonstrate how a wealth of detail can be extracted from these invaluable historical sources.

Maps show geographical and topographical information such as the development of settlements, roads and buildings, the position of antiquities, the course of boundaries and the existence of old place names.

Plans closely resemble maps but usually cover a smaller area and are drawn with a specific purpose, such as the identification of resources or explaining some changes to the built environment.

Here, the author explores the details extracted from the documents as well as the purposes for which they were created.

The author draws on a wealth of sources for local history in the Local Studies Library, West Yorkshire Archives Bradford and beyond.

Historical newspapers such as The Bradford Observer, Electoral Registers, Local Directories and Census are some of the sources of information used to give details that shed light on the stories contained within the maps.

In these posts we learn about the lives of ordinary people as well as the landed classes. We find out how the local environment has developed and about the surveyors and the architects who shaped our city and district.

All the maps can be enlarged by clicking on the images.