1872 OS Map





Features
In 1872, Chester still just about retained its roots as a walled town set in a defensive crook of the River Dee. Apart from a large lead works, and changing the course of the River Dee, the industrial revolution had little impact on the city. The town was a strategic railway junction and distribution centre, as well as a rolling stock maintenance depot. At either end of the city lie two large buildings, both workhouses.

History
The roots of Ordnance Survey go back to 1747, when Lieutenant-Colonel David Watson proposed the compilation of a map of the Scottish Highlands to facilitate the subjugation of the clans following the Jacobite rebellion in 1745. From 1850–53, twenty-nine towns were mapped at 1:528 (10 feet to the mile). From 1855 1:500 (10.56 feet to the mile) became the preferred scale. London and some seventy other towns (mainly in the north) were already being mapped at 1:1056 (5 feet to the mile). Just under 400 towns with a population of over 4000 were surveyed at one of these three scales, most at 1:500. Publication of the town plans was completed by 1895.

Sources and Links

 * High Res Version (link may not work)