Tuesday 26 October 2021

Dublin City Surveyors Maps, 1695-1827: 130+ maps now at DRI

Dublin City Libraries (DCL) has announced that its City Surveyors' Maps Collection, 1695-1827, is now available to the public via the Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI).

Click to view the City Surveyors' Maps Collection on the DRI

Each map would have been created by the City Surveyor of the time.

The role of City Surveyor was created in 1679, when there was no overall planning authority for the city. The task was to record rather than to plan development and his involvement in planning began and ended with dividing ground in lots for setting.

The collection documents the development of the ancient Dublin City Estate within its original walled city, with land being leased to Dublin’s merchant class who built houses, stables, warehouses and out-buildings on their holdings.

A small proportion of these maps was previously online on the Dublin City Libraries digital platform but by moving to the DRI website, an additional 100 maps have been added to the online collection. Archivists have also enhanced map descriptions to make them easier to search and identify.

You can find out more about the collection and this recent development on the DCL's blog.