Maps

As you build your family tree, sooner or later you’ll be tempted to venture out of the archives to visit some of the places where your ancestors lived.

Over generations, Wales’s landscape has changed a great deal, so you’ll need to turn to older maps for a true taste of the landscape in which your ancestors lived.

The National Library houses one of the best collections of maps in Britain, illustrating the transformation in the country’s landscape over the past 300 years.

If your family were farmers, one of the most valuable collections for your research will be the collection of Tithe Maps.

Drawn from 1836, they show the landscape of Wales before the Industrial Revolution. Although they vary in scale, size and accuracy they are an extremely useful resource.

If you know where your family liked, use the Tithe Maps to discover more about the farm, from individual fields’ names to what crop what was grown where.

Were your family tenants on one of the great estates of Wales? If so, you can search for more information amongst the maps and records of large estates like Tredegar, Nanteos or Gogerddan.

If you want to visit the places in the maps, you may need a little imagination! Few places have remained unchanged over the centuries. But by using landmarks such as churches or streams and bridges, who knows, you might find your ancestor’s home!