The first known 'map' of Brighton is the sketch of an attack by the French in 1514. Like all maps of the period, it is more impressionistic than accurate.
The first reliable map was made in 1779 by Yeakell and Gardner.
The most consequential event in map-making was the formal establishment of the Ordnance Survey (OS) in 1791, with which Gardner was associated; Yeakell had been chief draughtsman prior to that. The first map, covering the south-east corner of the country, was published in 1801. It was not until 1870 that the final sheet of the First Series one-inch maps was publsihed. Mapping at greater scales was already under way, producing the most minutely detailed maps ever available and an indispensible asset in historical research. The story of this endeavour is expertly told in Rachel Hewitt's lively and comprehensive Map of a Nation: A biography of the Ordnance Survey (Granta Books, 2010) and the largest online collection of OS maps can be found on the National Library of Scotland's website.
1779 Yeakell & Gardner
1779 Sickelmore
1792 Laines New
1799 Cobby
1809 Marchant
1822 Baxter
1822 Wetton & Jarvis
1830 Sickelmore
1833 Bruce
1836 Brighton
1850 Bibby
1852 Rapkin
1839 Rottingdean tithe map
1853 Roundhill Park Estate
1884 Aldrington Estate
c1890 Withdean Estate
1920 Moulsecoomb Estate New
1925 Hollingbury Copse
1935 Coldean Lane
1938 Whitehawk Estate
1946 Coldean Estate
including detailed historical maps
1803 Promenade Grove, creating New Road
c1824 Old Town (East)
1849 Circus Street: the area between Carlton Hill and Sussex Street
1819 Cary: roads in Sussex, including Environs of Brighton
1885 Boundary Commission: the new parliamentary constituencies
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Page updated 29 August 2026