National Libraries of Scotland Maps

This is the second video post in my Shackleton’s Fold One Place Study series.

A One Place Study brings together aspects of family history, local history and even house history. They are often carried out by family historians looking to learn more about their ancestors. A One Place Study might add new records, broaden out the focus or just bring a new perspective to our research.

Shackleton’s Fold was a small ‘street’ of just nineteen houses that stood in the New Wortley area of Leeds for more than ninety years. It was demolished by the end of the 1930s. In the video linked below I use maps and old photos to try to explore the area where it once stood.

I found this process so useful in helping me to imagine what Shackleton’s Fold was like. Poring over old maps and finding photographs of buildings all around the Fold – alas none of Shackleton’s Fold itself – really helped me to focus.

I hope this video will be of interest to family historians, local historians and people doing or thinking of doing a One Place Study. In addition, people with a general interest in Leeds history, specifically the history of New Wortley may find it interesting.

I’m particularly keen to attract other family historians whose research has taken them back to Shackleton’s Fold between the mid 1840s and 1938. Alongside this visual exploration, I’m in the process of creating a database of every person on the censuses and every voter listed on the electoral registers. I’m looking for stories and photographs and would be very grateful if anyone could help out in that regard. I’ve already found some interesting stories.

If you fall into any of these categories, or know someone who does, please do share a link to this post and/or the YouTube link – and please ‘Like’ the video if you have a YouTube account. I hope you’ll find it useful.

Information and Links for photos and maps used

All photographs from Leodis: https://Leodis.net
Go to Advanced search and key in the ID given.

JR Holmes and Star Maltings on Wortley Road, 1965. ID: 2003729_72382754
Star Maltings and Shackleton’s Fold on Wortley Road, 1965. ID: 2003729_99482364
View from St John’s Street to side view of Star Maltings and former Shackleton’s Fold, 1965. ID: 2003729_88186282
107-109 Whitehall Road, with view of St John’s Street, 1965. ID: 2003729_31147402
Whitehall Road School and Kildare Terrace, 1948. ID: 5624
Whitehall Road School, 1948. ID: 2818
Whitehall Road at the junction with Gelderd Road, Trolley and Tram Junction, undated but possibly 1911. ID: 2011127_173010
St John’s Sunday School (bombed 24th/25th August 1940). ID: 200828_166072
St John’s Street, from L to R: 11 to 15, 1965. ID: 2003729_52465457

Tithe apportionment of Wortley (township in the parish of Leeds)
1846. The National Archives, Kew. Reference: IR 29/43/444

Ordnance Survey Maps located at National Library of Scotland Maps: https://maps.nls.uk
Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland

OS: Leeds Sheet 17: Surveyed: 1847, Published: 1850. (Railway revision to c. 1854)
https://maps.nls.uk/view/229947015

OS 25-inch England and Wales: Leeds – Yorkshire CCXVIII.5.13: Surveyed: 1888, Revised: 1910, Published: 1911
https://maps.nls.uk/view/229947306

OS 25-inch England and Wales: Yorkshire CCXVIII.5: Revised: 1906, Published: 1908
https://maps.nls.uk/view/125642449

O.S: Yorkshire CCXVIII.5: Revised: 1932 to 1933, Published: 1934
https://maps.nls.uk/view/125642455

When I’m working on a person’s life I like to plot out their movements from one part of the city to another, and to see where they were in relation to other family members or to the locations of significant events. Used in combination with records and photos of old buildings, or even occasionally old paintings, I find this really helps me to get inside their story.

So I wanted to share with you a brilliant online resource I was introduced to recently.

The National Libraries of Scotland website has a wonderful collection of maps, and although some of the resources are just for Scotland, others are not.

The two resources I’m finding most useful are Find by Place and the Side by Side Viewer, both accessed via that link to the main page. It’s worth spending some time playing around with the settings to see the different kinds of maps that are available.

In Side by Side you can view an old map in split screen whilst simultaneously viewing the same location in modern-day satellite view. Whatever you do with one side (zoom, point to a specific building with the cursor, move the map, etc) happens to the other.

You can find the exact map of part of Oxford I’ve screen-grabbed above here. Try playing about with the zoom and cursor, and moving the map around, to see how easy it is to use this. You can also use the drop-down menus above each side to change the style of map you see. This is a great resource for helping make sense of street layouts that have changed over the years.