We hold around 3,000 maps and plans of Perth & Kinross, dating from the eighteenth to twenty-first centuries. These include Ordnance Survey maps of various dates and scale, historic county maps, road, railway and estate maps, town plans, and archaeological, geological and soil survey maps.
You will find further information below and staff will help you find material of interest when you visit.

We have a range of county plans in our collection. James Stobie’s Map of Perthshire and Clackmannan of 1783 is particularly detailed, and shows individual parish boundaries, farm names, roads etc. As a record of old place names, it is very useful to family historians.

We have a huge collection of Ordnance Survey maps, dating from the middle of the nineteenth century. These are sorted by series and come in a variety of scales. All the maps that pre-date 1973 are available to view on the National Library of Scotland’s maps website, and we advise looking at these before planning a visit.

Town plans exist for Perth city from 1715 to the present day, though the earliest map of reasonable detail is Archibald Rutherford’s of 1774. Also particularly useful is William MacFarlane’s map of 1792, which extends to the immediate hinterland, Robert Reid’s large-scale map of 1809, and John Wood’s plan of 1823. These are augmented with a good run of Perth Directory maps dating, with gaps, from 1837-1935. Early town plans also exist for Crieff, Dunkeld and Kinross.

We hold a range of maps that cover various aspects of Perthshire and Kinross-shire. These include: Political boundary maps 1891-2009, Route maps 1828-1981, Manuscript maps and plans 1715-1792, Geological maps 1986-1996, Perth Flood Prevention Scheme 1995, Soil Survey 1968-1986 and Goad Plans 1969-2008.