Introduction

The restrictions imposed by lack of space on maps, coupled with the requirement for them to appear uncluttered and visually appealing, has resulted in many abbreviations being used on maps. Some are only applicable to large or small scale maps whereas others remain constant across the scales. Others have disappeared from use or been introduced as map specifications have changed.

A	Alley, Approach, Arcade, Avenue
A	Area
A	AA Telephone Box (small scales)
A/D	Asphalt Disc
AA	AA Telephone Box
AAT	Analytical Aerial Triangulation
ABUT	Abutment
Acad	Academy
Ad Co	Administrative County
Adj	Adjacent
Admin Co	Administrative County
AGL	Above Ground Level
AL	Alley
ALB	Air Light Beacon
Allot Gdns	Allotment Gardens
Alt	Altitude
Alts	Alterations
Amb Sta	Ambulance Station
ANG	Angle
Angle	Anglesey
AOD	Above Ordnance Datum
AP	Air Point
AP, APP	Approach
AR, ARC	Arcade
AUX	Auxiliary
Av or Ave	Avenue
B	Baulk, Bank, Base, Basin, Bridge, Broad
B	Boiler
B	Boulevard, Broadway, Brow
B	Break in house numbers on SUSI/SIM Products
B Md	Boundary Mound
B Mk	Boundary Mark
B Rod	Brass Rod
B-P	By-pass
Bapt	Baptist
BATT	Battlement
Battery	Bty
BB	Base of Bank
BB	Buried Block
BC	Borough Constituency, Burgh Constituency
BD	Boulevard
Bdy	Boundary
BDY	Broadway
Bdy M	Boundary Mark or Mound
BG	Burial Ground
BH	Beer House
Bk	Bank
BK	Bank (building)
BK H	Bake House
Bks	Barracks
BLDG(S)	Building(s)
Bldgs	Buildings
Blg	Building
BM	Bench Mark
BN	Barn
Bn	Broken (hedge or bank) on SUSI®/SIM®/SuperplanTM Products
Bo	Boulders
BOH	Boiler House
Bol	Bollard
Boro	Borough
Boro Const	Borough Constituency
BP	Boundary Post or Plate
BR	Brass Rivet
Br	Bridge
BR	Bridge
BR	Bridle Road
BR	Brow
BR H	Brew House
Br P	Braced Post
Brac/RG	Bracken and Rough grassland on SUSI/SIM/Superplan Products
BS	Boundary Stone
Bucks	Buckinghamshire
Burgh Const	Burgh Constituency
Burial Gd	Burial Ground
Bus	Omnibus
BUTT	Buttress
BS	Bus Stop
BL	Basement Light
BVD	Boulevard
BY	Broadway
BY-PS	By-pass
C	Cam, Canal, Causeway, Centre of, Channel, Cut
C	Carriage, Creek, Cross
C	Causeway, Chase, Circle, Circus, Close
C	Cliff, Conduit, Cop, Course of, Covered, Culvert
C	Cock
C	Community (Wales)
C	Coniferous (SUSI/SIM/Superplan Products)
C	Court, Crescent, Croft, Cross, Cut, Corner
C	Crane
C in W	Church in Wales
C of E	Church of England
C of S	Church of Scotland
(C)	Close (SUSI/SIM/Superplan Products)
Calv	Calvinist
Car Pk	Car Park (SUSI/SIM/Superplan Products)
Cas	Castle
Cas	Castle
CATH	Cathederal
Cath	Cathedral
Cathl	Cathedral
CB	Call Box
CB	Centre of Bank, Basin, Baulk, Broad
CB	Coal Bin, Bunker
CB	County Borough
CC	Centre of Canal
CC	Chisel Cut (Mark)
CC	Coal Cover
CC	County Constituency
CC	County Council
CCLW	Centre of Channel at Low Water
CCS	Centre of Covered Stream
CD	Centre Drain
CD	Centre of Drain
CDK	Centre Drain at Kerb
CDS	Cul de sac (Station)
Cemy	Cemetery
Cen	Centre (Social, etc)
CF, CFT	Croft
CG	Cattle Grid (SUSI/SIM/Superplan Products)
CG Lookout	Coastguard Lookout
CG Sta	Coastguard Station
CH, CHA	Chase
Ch	Church
CH	Club House
CH	Coach House
CH	Coal House
Ch Yd	Church Yard
Chap	Chapel
Chr Sc Ch	Christian Science Church; Church of Christ Scientist
Chy	Chimney
Cin	Cinema
CIR, CIRC	Circle, Circus
Cis	Cistern
CL	Close
CL	Close [density] (SUSI/SIM/Superplan Products)
Cl	Close [place]
Cl H	Coal House
CLB	Coal Bin
CLUB HO	Club House
CM	Chalk/Crayon Mark
Cn	Capstan
CN	Cistern
Cnl	Council (not in conjunction with county)
CNR	Corner
Cnr	Corner (SUSI/SIM Products)
Co Cnl	County Council
Co Const	County Constituency
Co of City	County of City
Co-ed	Co-educational
Co-ord(s)	Co-ordinate(s)
COCS	Centre of old course of stream
CoH	Cow House
Col	Collects (SUSI/SIM Products)
Coll	College
Colly	Colliery
Comm Centre	Community Centre
Comps	Computations
Conc	Concrete
Congl	Congregational
Conv Home	Convalescent Home
Cop	Coppice/Osiers (SUSI/SIM Products)
Corpn	Corporation
Corpn Yd	Corporation Yard
Cott	Cottage
CP	Centre Punched (Mark)
CP	Cess Pool
CP	Civil Parish
CPA	Comparator Point (Air)
CPG	Comparator Point (Ground)
Cr	Centre [of stone marking trig pt]
CR	Centre of Railway, River, Road
CR	Continuous Revison
Cr, Cres	Crescent
CR, Cres	Crescent
cr	Crosses (SUSI/SIM Products)
Crem	Crematorium
CS	Centre of Stream
CS	Cess Pool
CS	Cross
Cse	Course
CSWY	Causeway
CT	Cart Track
Ct	Court
CT	Court
CT H	Cart House
CT S	Cart Shed
CU	Cut
Cul	Culvert (SUSI/SIM Products)
Cvt	Convent
CW	Causeway
CW	Centre of Wall
D	Dale, Drive, Drove
D	Dam, Ditch, Dock, Double, Down, Drain
D Fn	Drinking Fountain
D Slip	Double slip (SUSI/SIM Products)
D Well	Draw Well
DB	Dust Bin
DD	Double Ditch or Drain (SUSI/SIM Products)
Def	Defaced
Dept	Department
Det	Detached
Det Ring	Detector Ring
DF	Double Fence (SUSI/SIM Products)
DF	Drain Frame
DF	Drinking Fountain
DG	Double Gate (level crossing) (SUSI/SIM Products)
DG	Drying Ground
Dial	Sun Dial
DIS	Disused
Dismtd Rly	Dismantled Railway
Dist	District
Div	Division
Dk	Dock
DL	Dale
DOR	Date of Revision
DOS	Date of Survey
DP	Dung Pit
Dr	Drive
DR	Drive
DRO	Drove
DS	Double Stream (SUSI/SIM Products)
DV	Drove
DW	Double Wall [LS drafting guide only]
DW	Draw Well
E	Edge of, Eyot
E	Embankment, Esplanade
E	End (SUSI/SIM Products)
ED	Electoral Division
ED	European Datum
EK	Edge of Kerb
El	Electric or Electricity
El Gen Sta	Electricity Generating Station
El P	Electricity Pillar or Electricity Pole
El Sub Sta	Electricity Sub Station
El Tfmr	Electricity Transformer
El Tfmr Sta	Electricity Transformer Station
El Wks	Electricity Works
ELB	Electric Light Bracket
ELS	Electric Light Standard
EM	Embankment
EM	End of Motorway (SUSI/SIM Products)
EMB	Embankment
Emp	Employment
Emp Ex	Employment Exchange
Eng Wks	Engineering Works
ENT	Entrance
EP	Electricity Pole, Pylon
ES	End of Straight (railway) (SUSI/SIM Products)
ESP, ESPL	Esplanade
ETB	?
ETL	Electricity Transmission Line
Euro Const	European Assemby Constituency
Ex	Exchange
F	Face of, Fence, Fleet, Foot, Freeboard
F	Flyover, Folly
F	Furrow
F Br	Foot Bridge
F Ch	Free Church
F Sta	Fire Station
FA	Fire Alarm
Fall	Waterfall
FAP	Fire Alarm Pillar
FB	Filter Bed
FB	Foot Bridge
FBM	Fundamental Bench Mark
FC	Forestry Commission
FC, FCh	Free Church
FD	Foundations (SUSI/SIM Products)
FE Sta	Fire Engine Station
Ferry V or F	Ferries - Vehicular, Foot
FF	Face of Fence
FH	Fire Hydrant
FL	Face Left
FL BR	Flush bracket
Fl Sk	Flare Stack
FL-O	Fly-over
Fm	Farm
Fn	Fountain
FN/W	Felt Nail and Washer
FO	Folly
FP	Face of Paling
FP	Fire Plug
FP	Foot Path
FR	Face Right
FR	Flat Rock (SUSI/SIM Products)
FS	Flagstaff
Ft	Feet
FW	Face of Wall
G	Gap, Gardens, Gate, Green, Grove
G	Gate, Grass [mereings]
G	Gully or Kerb Outlet
G Yd	Grave Yard
Gas Gov	Gas Governor
GC	Gas Column
GD	Gardens
Gd	Ground
Gdns	Gardens
Gen Sta	Generating Station
Geo	Geodetic
GH	Green House
Gl	Glass (SUSI/SIM Products)
GN	Green
Govt	Government
GP	Gas Plug
GP	Guide Post (signpost)
GPO	General Post Office
Gr	Grove
GS	Gantry Support (SUSI/SIM Products)
GSL	Ground Surface Level (SUSI/SIM Products)
GT, Gt	Gate
GT P	Gate post
GV	Gas Valve
GVC	Gas Valve Compound
H	Harbour, Hedge
H	Heights, Hill, Hollow
H	High, Hole, House, Hydrant, Hydraulic
H	Hydrant
H	Hydraulic
ha	Hectares
Hd	Head
HL	Hill
HNT	House Number Trace
Ho	House
HOL	Hollow
Hospl	Hospital
HP to which MTs flow	Highest Point to which Medium Tides flow
HP to which OSTs flow}	Spring Tides flow
HP to which OTs flow	Highest Point to which Ordinary Tides flow
HPO	Head Post Office
HQ	Headquarters
HR	Hedge Row
HT, HTS	Heights
HW	Hollow
HW	Hollow Way; High Water
HWM	High Water Mark
HWM(S)	High Water Mark (Springs)
HWMMT	High Water Mark of Medium Tides
HWMOST	High Water Mark of Ordinary Spring Tides
HWMOT	High Water Mark of Ordinary Tides
H Ram	Hydraulic Ram
H	Heliports
Hyd	Hydrant
I	Information Centre (tourist symbol)
I	Island, Isle
IH	Inspection Hole
Indpt	Independent
Indt	Independent
Infmy	Infirmary
Inft	Infant
ins	Inches
Inst	Institute
Instn	Institution
Int	Intersection/Intersected
IP	Iron Pipe
IR	Iron Rod
IRB Sta	Inshore Rescue Boat Station
Isoln Hospl	Isolation Hospital
Iss	Issues [MSD only]
J, JN	Junction
JMI	Junior Mixed and Infants
Junc	Junction
K	Kerb
km	Kilometres
Km P	Kilometre Post
KN	Kiln
KS	Kitchin Sink
L	Lade, Lake, Lead, Loch, Lockspit, Tides
L	Lake
L	Lane, Lawn, Lea
L	Lane, Leat, Lock, Lamp
L	Loch
L	Lochan
L	Lock
L Ho	Lighthouse
L Twr	Lighting Tower
La	Lane
Lat	Latitude
Lav	Lavatory
LB	Letter Box
LB	London Borough
LB Ho	Lifeboat House
LB Sta	Lifeboat Station
LC	Level Crossing
LDP	Long Distance Path
LE	Lea
LG	Loading Gauge
LH	Lamp House
Liby	Library
LK	Lime Kiln
LKN	Lime Kiln
LN	Lawn
Lo	Lodge
Loco Shed	Locomotive Shed
Long	Longitude
LP	Lamp Post
LPTB	London Passenger Transport Board
LPTA	London Passenger Transport Area
Lr	Lower
LRO	Local Reference Object
LT	London Transport
LTA	London Traffic Area
LWL	Low Water Level
LWM	Low Water Mark
LWM(S)	Low Water Mark (Springs)
LWMMT	Low Water Mark of Medium Tides
LWMOST	Low Water Mark of Ordinary Spring Tides
LWMOT	Low Water Mark of Ordinary Tides
LWN	Lawn
LWR	Last Walk Round
M	Mark, Mile, Mooring, Mound
M	Marsh, Mere, Moat
M	Masonry
M	Mead, Mews, Mound, Mount
m	Metres
M	Metres
M	Miles
m	Medium (SUSI/SIM Products)
Mag Var	Magnetic Variation
MB	Municipl Borough
MC	Minor Control
MCPA	Minor Control Point Album
MCTS	Minor Control Traverse Station
MD	Mound
Me	Mead
Meml	Memorial
met	Metalled (SUSI/SIM Products)
Met	Metropolitan
Met Sta	Meteorological Station
Meth	Methodist
Mg P	Mooring Post
MH	Malt House
MH	Man Hole
MH & MLW	Mean High and Mean Low Water
MH & MLWS	Mean High and Mean Low Water Springs
MHW	Mean High Water
MHWS	Mean High Water Springs
Min Tech	Ministry of Technology
Misn	Mission
Misn Ch	Mission Church
Mix	Mixed, Mixture(woods class.)
Mkt	Market
Mkt Ho	Market House
MLW	Mean Low Water
MLWS	Mean Low Water Springs
MO	Matter of opinion (SUSI/SIM Products)
Mod	Module
Mon	Monument
Mortuary	Mort
MP	Mile Post Mooring Post
MPU	Mail Pick-up
Mr	Manor
MR	Mooring Ring
MS	Mews
MS	Mile Stone
MSD	Master Survey Drawing
MSL	Mean Sea Level
MT	Mount
Mt	Mountain
MT, MTs	Medium Tide(s)
Mtl Hospl	Mental Hospital
Multi Car Park	Multistory Car Park
Munl	Municipal
Mus	Museum
N	No name or number (SUSI/SIM Products)
N Bd	Notice Board (SUSI/SIM Products)
N Sq	Not Square (SUSI/SIM Products)
NBM	New Bench Mark
NC	Non-coniferous (SUSI/SIM Products)
NCB	National Coal Board
ND	No division (SUSI/SIM Products)
NG	National Grid
No	Number
Noncon	Nonconformist
Notts	Nottinghamshire
NS	Not square (SUSI/SIM Products)
NT	National Trust
NTL	Normal Tidal Limit
NTS	National Trust for Scotland
O	Office
O	Old
O	Orchard
o	Open (SUSI/SIM Products)
Obsy	Observatory
Oct	Octagonal (SUSI/SIM Products)
OE	Orignal Error
OG	Ornamental Ground
ON	Oven
OPP	Opposite
OR	Orchard
OR	Outcropping Rock (SUSI/SIM Products)
Orch	Orchard (SUSI/SIM/Superplan Products)
OS	Out Stipple (SUSI/SIM Products)
OSBM	Ordnance Survey Bench Mark
OSGB	Ordnance Survey Great Britain
OST, OSTs	Ordinary Spring Tide(s)
OT, OTs	Ordinary Tide(s)
P	Paling, Passage, Pavement, Pillar
P	Parade, Pass, Passage, Path, Place, Passenger
P	Parking (tourist symbol)
P	Passage, Path, Plate, Pond, Post
P	Pillar
P	Plug, Pool, Pump
P	Pole
P	Post
P	Post Office (small scales)
P	Promenade, Precinct
P	Pump
P	Pylon
PA	Path
PAB	Published Abstract Bolt
Paint M	Paint Mark
Pal	Palace
PAR	Parade
PARA	Parapet
Parly	Parliamentary
PASS	Passage
Pav	Pavilion
PC	Pedestrian Crossing
PC	Public Convenience
PCB	Police Call Box
PD	Detail Point (Point of Detail)
Pd	Pond (SUSI/SIM Products)
PE	Photogrammically enlarged
Per Cur	Perpetual Curacy
PG	Passage
Ph	Parish
PH	Public House
Pillar (OS)	Triangulation pillar
Pks	Pecks (SUSI/SIM Products)
Pkt	Picket
PL	Pipe Line [MSD only-pub. in full]
Pl	Place
Plantn	Plantation
PLB	Pillar Letter Box
PN	Pipe Nail
PN/W	Pipe Nail and Washer
PO	Post Office (large scales)
POD	Detail Point (Point of Detail)
Pol ho	Police House
Pol Sta	Police Station
PP	Primary Point
Pp	Pump
Pp Ho	Pump House
Ppg Sta	Pumping Station
PR	Periodic Revision
PR	Promenade
PRE	Precinct
Presb	Presbyterian
Presby	Presbytery
Prim Meth	Primitive Methodist
PRODN	Production
PROM	Promenade
PS	Pass
PSH	Parish
Pt	Point
PT	Precinct
Pte	Private
PTP	Police Telephone Pillar or Post
PTS	Permanent Traverse Station
Pub	Public
PW	Place of Worship
PY	Piggery
Py	Privy
Q	Quay
R	Race, Railway, Ride, River, Road, Root of
R	Ridge, Rise, Road, Row
R	River
R	Rocks [mereing]
R	RAC Telephone Box (small scales)
RAC	RAC Telephone Box
RAC	Royal Automobile Club
Range	Rifle Range
RB	Rural Borough
RC	Roman Catholic
Rd	Road
RD	Rural District
RDG	Ridge
Rec	Rectory
Recn	Recreation
Recn Gd	Recreation Ground
Rems of	Remains of
Resr	Reservoir
RG	Bracken/rough grassland (SUSI/SIM Products)
RG	Ridge
RH	Road House
RH	Root of Hedge
RL	Roof Line
Rly	Railway
Rly Sta	Railway Station
RO	Reference/Referring Object
RO	Retain Original
rp	Revision Point
RS	Rain Spout
RW	Row
Ry	Railway
S	Scar, Sewer, Side of, Slope, Sluice, Stone, Stream
S	Side, Spur, Square, Stairs, Steps, Strand
S	Sink; Sink Stones
S	Service Area on Motorways (Small Scale Products)
S	Stile
S	Stone
S	Street
S	Street (mereing)
S Br	Signal Bridge
S Gantry	Signal Gantry
S Sta	Signal Station
SA	Salvation Army
Sanatm	Sanatorium
SAND	Sub-Areas Name Diagram
SB	Signal Box
Sc	Scrub (SUSI/SIM/Superplan Products)
SC	Stop Cock
Scat	Scattered (density) (SUSI/SIM /Superplan Products)
Sch	School
SD	Side
SD	Single Drain or Ditch (SUSI/SIM Products)
Sd	Sound
SD	Strand
SD	Sun Dial
Sec	Secondary
SF	Side of Fence, Furrow, etc
SG	Sewer Grate
SH	Summer House
Sh Fd	Sheep Fold (SUSI/SIM Products)
Sk	Sketched (SUSI/SIM Products)
Sks	Sinks (SUSI/SIM Products)
SL	Signal Lamp
SL	Signal Light
Sl	Sluice
SM	Sloping Masonry (SUSI/SIM Products)
Smy	Smithy
SN	Scientific Network
SP	Sewer Pipe
SP	Signal Post
Sp	Spire
Sp	Spreads (SUSI/SIM Products)
SP	Spur
Spr	Spring
Sq	Square
SQ	Square
SR	Side of River
SRS	Stairs
SS	Saints
SS	Single Stream (SUSI/SIM Products)
SSlip	Single Slip (SUSI/SIM Products)
St	Saint
ST	Spring Tides
ST	Stable
St	Stone
St	Street
Staffs	Staffordshire [post-1974]
Std	Standard
Stn	Station
STPS	Steps
STRS	Stairs
STS	Steps
Sts	Steps (SUSI/SIM Products)
Suff	Suffolk
Sun Sch	Sunday School
Sur	Surface
Sur B	Surface Block
SV	Sewer Vent?
SV	Spirit Vaults
SW	Sloping Wall (SUSI/SIM Products)
Sw	Switch
T	Tank, Tap, Tides
T	Telephone Box (small scales)
T	Terrace, Track
T	Top of
T	Trough
TA Centre	Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve Centre
TA Centre	Territorial Army Reserve Centre
Tachy	Tacheometer/Tacheometry
TAD	Trig Availability Diagram
TB	Top of Bank
TC	Travelling Crane
TCB	Telephone Call Box
TCP	Telephone Call Post or Pillar
TCP	Temporary Control Point
TE	Terrace
Tech Coll	Technical College
Tel Ex	Telephone Exchange
Tel Line	Telephone Line
Tel P	Telephone Pole
Ter	Terminus
Ter	Terrace
Terr	Terrace
Tert	Tertiary
TG	Toll Gate
TH	Tool House
TH	Town Hall
Tk	Tank
Tk	Track
Tk F	Track of Fence
Tk H	Track of Hedge
Tk S	Track of Stream
TLH	Tool House ?
Toll	Toll Bridge or Gate
TP	Telegraph Pole
TP	Turnpike
Tr	Trough
TR	Trough
Trav	Traverse
Trav C	Travelling Crane
Trig Sta	Trigonometrical Station
ts	Permanent Traverse Station, Traverse Station
TS	Traffic Signal
TV Sta	Television Station
TWL	Top Water Level (SUSI/SIM Products)
Twr	Tower
U Ref Ch	United Reformed Church
UD	Urban District
UF	United Free
UL	Upper Level of Communication
ULC	Upper Level of through Communication
um	Unmade
Und	Undefined
Undenom	Undenominational
Under Constn	Under Construction
Unit	Unitarian
Univ	University
UP	United Presbyterian
Upr	Upper
UTM	Universal Transverse Mercator
V	Vale, View, Villas
V	Valve
V	Ventilator
V Ho	Valve House
VA	Vale
VA	Vertical Angle
VA	Voluntary Assisted
VC	Valve Cover
VC	Voluntary Controlled
VDP	Vehicle Detector Pad
VI	Vertical Interval
VI	Villas
Vic	Vicarage
VIL	Villas
VP	Vent Pipe
Vr	Ventilator
VT	Vault
VW	View
W	Walk, Way, Wharf
W	Wall, Weir, Well
W	Water, Wood
W	Watershed
W	Well
W Meth	Wesleyan Methodist
W Post	Wooden Post
War Meml	War Memorial
WB	Weighbridge
WB	Weighing Machine
WC	Water Closet
WC	Water Column
Wd El Gen	Wind Electricity Generator
Wd Pp	Wind Pump
Wes	Wesleyan
Wes Meth	Wesleyan Methodist
WF	Wharf
WF	Wharf
WH	Wash House, Water House
WK, WLK	Walk
Wks	Works
WLK	Walk
WM	Water Main
WM	Weighing Machine
WM	Witness Mark
WMP	Warning & Monitoring Post (Royal Observer Corps)
WN	Wire Nail
WP	Water Plug
WP	Wooden Peg
Wr Bd	Water Board
Wr Pt	Water Point
Wr T	Water Tap
Wr Twr	Water Tower
Wr Wks	Water Works
WS	Work Shop
WT	Water Tap
WT	Water Tap (Public)
WT Sta	Wireless Station
WV	Water Valve
WWL	Winter Water Level
WY	Way
X	Roofed Structure Seed! (Superplan Products)
XC	Cross Cut
Y	Yard
Y	Youth Hostel
Yd	Yard
YH	Youth Hostel (SUSI/SIM Products)
YMCA	Young Men's Christian Association
YWCA	Young Women's Christian Association

Ordnance Survey, Britain's national mapping agency

All content Crown Copyright © 1999

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