This dataset contains a sample of 10,000 (3.5%) out of a total of 285,846 text sequences extracted from the 1891–1896 Map of London by the Ordnance Survey (OS).

The methodology used for the automated recognition, linking, and sequencing of the text is detailed in the article Recognizing and Sequencing Multi-word Texts in Maps Using an Attentive Pointer by M. Zou et al., 2025.

Description of the content

The map is drawn at a scale of five-feet to the mile (c.a. 1:1,056). The text on the map is an invaluable source of information about the Greater London in the late Victorian period. It includes the names of streets, squares, parks, watercourses and even some estates ('Poplars', 'The Grange', 'Arbutus Lodge'). In addition, the map contains many details of the function of buildings and economic activity, such as factories ('Sweet Factory', 'Crown Linoleum Works', 'Imperial Flour Mills', 'Lion Brewery'), warehouses or commercial infrastructure ('Warehouse', 'Jamaica Wharf', 'Rag Store'), offices ('Offices'), etc. The map also mentions public buildings such as schools ('School Boys, Girls & Infants', 'Sunday School'), hospitals or clinics ('St. Saviour's Union Infirmary', 'Beulah Spa Hydropathic Establishment', 'South Western Fever Hospital'), railway stations ('Clapham Station'), post offices, banks, police stations, etc. Other social venues are also mentioned, such as public houses, i.e. pubs ('P.H.'), clubs, casinos, and recreational areas (e.g. 'Cricket Ground'). Special attention is given to churches, with a regular count of the number of seats (e.g. 'Baptist Chapel Seats for 600').

In addition, the map provides details that can be of great interest in the study of everyday life in London at the end of the 19th century. For example, there are numerous mentions of 'Stables', 'Drinking Fountain's or 'Urinal'[s]. Fire protection infrastructure is highlighted, e.g. fire plugs ('F.P.') and fire alarms ('F.A.'). The map also includes information on elevation (e.g. '11·6') and flood levels (e.g. 'High Water Mark of Ordinary Tides').

A list of abbreviations used in the Ordnance Survey maps, created by Richard Oliver [1], is made available by the National Library of Scotland (link).

Organization of the data

The data in 10k_text_london_OS_1890s.geojson is organized as a regular geojson file.

Example structure

{ "type": "FeatureCollection", "features": [ { "type": "Feature", "geometry": { "type": "MultiPolygon", "coordinates": [[[ [x1, y1], [x2, y2], ...]]] }, "properties": { "label": "Oxford Circus", } },

... # Further text sequences            

] }

Image documents

The original map document consists of 729 separate sheets, digitized, georeferenced, and served as geographic tiles by the National Library of Scotland [2].

Descriptive statistics

Total Number of text sequences: 285,846Sample size: 10,000Total Area covered: 450 square km

Use and Citation

For any mention of this dataset, please cite :

@misc{text_london_OS_1890s, author = {Zou, Mengjie and Petitpierre, R{\'{e}}mi and di Lenardo, Isabella}, title = {{London 1890s Ordnance Survey Text Layer}}, year = {2025}, publisher = {Zenodo}, url = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14982946}}@article{recognizing_sequencing_2025, author = {Zou, Mengjie and Dai, Tianhao and Petitpierre, R{\'{e}}mi and Vaienti, Beatrice and di Lenardo, Isabella}, title = {{Recognizing and Sequencing Multi-word Texts in Maps Using an Attentive Pointer}}, year = {2025}}

Corresponding author

Rémi PETITPIERRE - remi.petitpierre@epfl.ch - ORCID - Github - Scholar - ResearchGate

License

This project is licensed under the CC BY 4.0 License.

Liability

We do not assume any liability for the use of this dataset.

References

Oliver R. (2013). Ordnance Survey maps: A concise guide for historians. The Charles Close Society. London, UK. 3rd Ed. 320 pages

Ordnance Survey, London, five feet to the mile, 1893-1896 (1896), https://maps.nls.uk/os/townplans-england/london-1056-1890s.html, digitized by the National Library of Scotland (NLS)

London Heat Map --------------- The London Heat Map is a tool designed to help you identify areas of high heat demand, explore opportunities for new and expanding district heat networks and to draw potential heat networks and assess their financial feasibility. The new version of the London Heat Map was created for the Greater London Authority by the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) in July 2019. The London Heat Map is regularly updated with new network data and other datasets. Background datasets such as building heat demand was last updated on 26/06/2023. The London Heatmap is a map-based web application you can use to find and appraise opportunities for decentralised energy (DE) projects in London. The map covers the whole of Greater London, and provides very local information to help you identify and develop DE opportunities, including data such as: * Heat demand values for each building * Locations of potential heat supply sites * Locations of existing and proposed district heating networks * A spatial heat demand density map layer The map also includes a user-friendly visual tool for heat network design. This is intended to support preliminary techno-economic appraisal of potential district heat networks. The London Heat Map is used by a wide variety of people in numerous ways: * London Boroughs can use the new map to help develop their energy master plans. * Property developers can use the map to help them meet the decentralised energy policies in the London Plan. * Energy consultants can use the map to gather initial data to inform feasibility studies. More information is available here, and an interactive map is available here. Building-level estimated annual and peak heat demand data from the London Heat Map has been made available through the data extracts below. The data was last updated on 26/06/2023. The data contains Ordnance Survey mapping and the data is published under Ordnance Survey's 'presumption to publish'. © Crown copyright and database rights 2023. The Decentralised Energy Master planning programme (DEMaP) ---------------------------------------------------------- The Decentralised Energy Master planning programme (DEMaP), was completed in October 2010. It included a heat mapping support package for the London boroughs to enable them to carry out high resolution heat mapping for their area. To date, heat maps have been produced for 29 London boroughs with the remaining four boroughs carrying out their own data collection. All of the data collected through this process is provided below. ### Carbon Calculator Tool Arup have produced a Carbon Calculator Tool to assist projects in their early estimation of the carbon dioxide (CO2) savings which could be realised by a district heating scheme with different sources of heating. The calculator's estimates include the impact of a decarbonising the electrical grid over time, based on projections by the Department for Energy and Climate Change, as well as the Government's Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP). The Excel-based tool can be downloaded below. ### Borough Heat Maps Data and Reports (2012) In March 2012, all London boroughs did a heat mapping exercise. The data from this includes the following and can be downloaded below: * Heat Load for all boroughs * Heat Supplies for all boroughs * Heat Network * LDD 2010 database * Complete GIS London Heat Map Data The heat maps contain real heat consumption data for priority buildings such as hospitals, leisure centres and local authority buildings. As part of this work, each of the boroughs developed implementation plans to help them take the DE opportunities identified to the next stages. The implementation plans include barriers and opportunities, actions to be taken by the council, key dates, personnel responsible. These can be downloaded below. Other Useful Documents ---------------------- Other useful documents can be downloaded from the links below: Energy Masterplanning Manual Opportunities for Decentralised Energy in London - Vision Map London Heat Network Manual London Heat Network Manual II

The dataset contains polygons for conservation areas within the London Borough of Barnet. Conservation areas are those areas identified by the Local Planning Authority as having special architectural or historic interest which merits designation. Conservation area character appraisals, boundary maps and guidance notes can be downloaded from the Council’s website. This data is an active and changing record of conservation area boundaries in the London Borough of Barnet. Conservation Areas were introduced through the Civic Amenities Act 1967. They are ‘areas of special architectural or historic interest, the character and appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance’ (Section 69(1)(a) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990). Conservation Area status acknowledges the importance of an area, highlighting its real and potential attractiveness. It also means that the council’s efforts in the area are geared to preserving and enhancing its special character. **Footnote - Barnet is one of the Local Planning Authorities that received Government funding to improve their planning services through the Local Digital Fund. This aims to digitise Planning to make land and housing data easier to find, understand, use and trust. This data is also available on View planning and housing datasets with geographic location data on an interactive map here. Map of planning data for England | Planning Data (Conservation Areas) The maps also show statutory listed buildings (the data being provided by Barnet) Licence This dataset has been published by the London Borough of Barnet under the Open Government Licence (OGL) (v3). The licence has been applied following the Public Sector Geospatial Agreement 'presumption to publish' process in December 2022. Acknowledgements Please acknowledge the Information Provider through the following attribution statement: © London Borough of Barnet, 2025, OGL v3.0 Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right, 2025

The City of London digital mapping vector data contains very detailed topographic and planning information clipped to the City of London municipal boundary based on a scale of 1:2,000.

This data set contains the geographic location of buildings in the City of London, Ontario.