
Ordnance Survey on your Operating System
16th December 2021 | Community
The Journey is the quarterly magazine of the Youth Hostel Association. Recently there was a short, potted history of Ordnance Survey (OS) mapping through the centuries. Readers might be interested to know that Ordnance Survey has been mapping Britain since 1791. Governments, businesses, the military and of course, outdoor pursuit enthusiasts, rely on the maps and data that is available from this august provider. Ordnance Survey’s origins lie in military strategy, with the Scottish Highlands first being mapped area after a rebellion in 1745. Later, as the French Revolution rumbled across the channel the government decided it should survey England’s exposed coasts. For this task, the Board of Ordnance was founded on 21st June 1791. However, it took a further decade for the first map to appear.
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