Ordnance Survey OS Maps

Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain and one of the world's most renowned cartographic institutions. The origins of OS date back to 1791, during the Board of Ordnance's efforts to map the southern coast of England against potential invasion during the French Revolutionary Wars. Over the centuries, it evolved from military mapping into producing highly detailed topographic and recreation maps for the public, including the iconic OS Explorer and OS Landranger series, as well as the modern OS Maps digital application and web subscription.

Physical OS paper maps are printed and finished in the United Kingdom, maintaining a long-standing domestic production heritage. The digital navigation platform, web mapping data, and geospatial services are maintained, developed, and hosted in the UK by Ordnance Survey teams headquartered at Explorer House in Southampton, Hampshire.

Ordnance Survey operates as Ordnance Survey Limited, a government-owned company wholly owned by the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology on behalf of the Government of the United Kingdom. As an executive agency and government business, it operates commercially while fulfilling a public-interest remit to provide official geospatial data for Great Britain.