Mapmakers: The Story of an Island through the Ordnance Survey Archives

Ordnance Survey is the home of British mapmaking. Its history dates to 1745, when a twenty-one-year-old engineer was tasked with a small-scale military survey of Scotland.

Mapmakers brings to life this illustrious archive in a beautiful book that tells the story of the changing shape of Britain. These are stories of religion, stories of changing industry, stories of politics and infrastructure, and stories of ourselves - where and why we move around this island, and how we do it. We find disappearing footpaths, mutilated maps, secretive smuggling paths and even a a collection of commemorative maps and images for Queen Victoria on her Golden Jubilee, made public here for the first time.

The lavish, full-colour volume contains maps from throughout OS's lifetime as well as specially commissioned graphics showcasing the cutting edge in cartographical technology. Written by award-winning writer, broadcaster and expedition leader Will Millard, this is an unmissable record of how our landscape has changed - and how it might do so in the future.

• Publication date: 1 October 2026
• Page count: 256
• Dimensions: Height 251 mm; Width 203 mm; Thickness 27 mm
• Publisher: Orion Publishing Co
• Format: Hardback
• ISBN-13: 9781399625845