Maps are literally a window into the past for both family and local historians. However, older maps are often seen as difficult to use, coming in all shapes and sizes, and using unfamiliar forms of measurement.

In this original new book, map expert Charles Masters writes with authority, covering all the principle types. These include Estate and Manorial maps, Enclosure and Tithe maps, Town maps, Valuation Office survey maps and the National Farm Survey 1941-3. There are also case studies within each chapter.

Maps are an essential tool in the search for places connected with the lives of our ancestors, helping us to make sense of how and where they lived. Houses, farms, businesses, factories, towns, streets, villages and parishes, many of which have been destroyed by urban and industrial development, can be located in time and space. They are also of crucial interest to anyone undertaking research into the history of a particular town or village.