Carved heritage maps · UK & Ireland · Made to order

Personalised heritage maps, your legacy carved into wood.

Little Orchard Workshop creates precision-carved wooden maps of the UK and Ireland, taken from genuine historical records and worked in solid beech ply. A made-to-order gift for someone who is 'of a place', or has a deep interest in their local history.

Designed · Precision-carved · Made in 'The Black Country', England

The idea

A visual memory of your history.

A personalised gift for a respected loved one that tells their story of the time and place that they came from. A carved heritage map is a gift that both a senior relative and a younger person can understand and chat about. The explanation of what the area was like is right there for both to see.

Those half-forgotten memories come to the fore, the old friends, the jobs they did, where they lived. These are all conversations that flow from these maps. Those stories are a joy to hear, and these maps help families keep that, and pass it on.

For the business owner

These maps suit the home, and in a larger format they sit very well in a reception or boardroom. The heritage of a public space can be illustrated in a way that everyone understands.

The principal commission

A made to order heritage map
of your local area.

The old maps tell the stories of our near ancestry, how did the places we live become the way they are. Who built these things buildings and places.

The elders amongst us know these maps they lived in them. Give one to a loved one and hours of story telling or discovery will follow.

Each map is derived from historical map records, then precision-carved into solid beech ply, sealed and varnished, then mounted in a solid wooden frame ready to hang.

You can provide the location details after checkout, which makes this straightforward as a gift. Anywhere in the UK or Ireland, any era on record.

From £195 · Made to order · A2 framed

Commission your map →

Also made for

Heritage projects for corporate clients, public and civic spaces.

There is a growing interest in linking the older business and public spaces to their history in a way that is visually accessible to the casual viewer. My work is uniquely suited to fulfil that role. My work is saleable to sit very well in intimate spaces and up to larger public areas, with a quality that respects the skills of the old cartographers.

See the corporate work →

Also available The High Street Series

The original Black Country high streets,
carved from the historical record.

A personally important map series for me. My business is a Black Country manufacturing business, I am proud of that. This series tells the story of the original towns that form the Black Country. Maybe your house is there in the map.

Carved wooden heritage map of Brierley Hill High Street 1892, framed beech ply wall art

Brierley Hill1892

Brierley Hill was a closely worked district of furnaces, forges, nail shops, and later glasshouses. The ground was cut by pits and spoil, and industry reached into every part of the town. Daily life followed the hours of labour. The population was practical and self-reliant, sustained by regular work, learned skill, and a shared acceptance of demanding conditions.

Buy Brierley Hill A2 · £85

Carved wooden heritage map of Tipton High Street 1892, framed beech ply wall art

Tipton1892

Tipton's centre operates within a tightly packed industrial landscape, shaped by canals, yards, and workshops. The streets show little ornament, yet function with reliability and purpose. Life here is ordered by effort, and the town's continuity rests on the steadiness of its people, whose strength lies in repetition endured without complaint.

Buy Tipton A2 · £85

Carved wooden heritage map of Cradley Heath High Street 1892, framed beech ply wall art

Cradley Heath1892

Cradley Heath was chiefly occupied with chain making, much of it done in yard and home forges. Labour was severe and continuous, and the work fell to women as well as men. Industry and domestic life were closely joined. The people showed endurance and quiet pride, valuing independence, skill, and the dignity of earning by their own labour.

Buy Cradley Heath A2 · £85

Carved wooden heritage map of Dudley High Street 1891, framed beech ply wall art

Dudley1891

Dudley lay amid pits, furnaces, and lime workings. Coal and iron were worked without pause. Smoke hung over the town. The streets served trade and supply for labouring people who endured hard conditions with steadiness, drawing their living from the ground beneath them.

Buy Dudley A2 · £85

Carved wooden heritage map of Amblecote High Street 1892, framed beech ply wall art

Amblecote1892

Amblecote's centre runs close to furnaces and glasshouses, its scale modest but intensely focused. Daily movement follows narrow paths between home and workshop, governed by routine. The town persists through quiet competence, its people demonstrating endurance through skill, repetition, and a collective acceptance of demanding conditions.

Buy Amblecote A2 · £85

Carved wooden heritage map of Halesowen High Street 1892, framed beech ply wall art

Halesowen1892

Halesowen's centre combines agriculture, nail-making, and small industry, lending it a mixed and grounded character. Streets feel less compressed, though still shaped by labour. The town's strength lies in versatility, sustained by people accustomed to balancing field, forge, and household with resilience and self-reliance.

Buy Halesowen A2 · £85

Also available Special Projects

Maps made because
the subject demanded it.

These are a collection of passion projects. There is no theme here really. They are either a self challenge or because of a request by a friend or a customer. These maps are here really to say, if you have a challenge for me lets have a chat about it.

Round Oak Steel Works1903

The Round Oak Iron and Steel Works was one of the Black Country's most important industrial sites, dominating Brierley Hill from 1857 for over a century. This map captures the historic layout of the furnaces, railways, canals, and mills that powered Britain's industrial expansion. A detailed heritage artwork for historians, engineers, and lovers of industrial history.

Available to order · A2 · £85

World Atlas · Age of Exploration1880

This map is a true labour of love. The Age of Exploration shows the British Empire as it neared its zenith. To recreate it in the detail needed to read it properly is extremely difficult, and I would invite anyone interested to consider commissioning it at a larger size, such as 1000mm by 700mm, where the readability and detail would be much better.

Available to order · A2 · £85 · larger sizes on request

No. I. Who it's for

For anyone with an interest in local history.

For anyone that is interested in what the towns of their parents looked like. A unique gift idea for a grandparent who has everything. For someone who is interested in the history of their local area, especially if they grew up in it and watched it change over time. What I have seen is the importance of these maps to people that have a story to tell, even if they outwardly didn't show it.

For the stories that are waiting for an opportunity to be told.

A story that could be understood by a son or niece because they both could see that story in the map.

A note on care

I have also come to understand the help my maps can be to people living with dementia. The visual prompt of familiar places is a powerful tool to assist people in that situation.

No. II. How it works

How I make each map.

From the record

I work from genuine historical map records of the UK and Ireland: old Ordnance Survey maps, old county and old town street maps.

ii.

Precision-carved

Every map is precision-carved into a hardwood beech ply, framed, and ready to hang.

iii.

You choose

You choose the place and time that are important to you. I do the rest.

No. III. The heritage

Bringing the maps back
to the people who lived them.

I use historical source data: old Ordnance Survey maps, County and Town planning maps. They are preserved and available but mostly hidden away in archives and libraries. My mission is to bring these maps to the people that experienced these landscapes. These maps are their legacy, their heritage, their culture.

My business started over the road from the largest iron and steel foundry in Europe at the time, Round Oak Steel Works. Nothing of it remains, but for the lines on old maps and the memories of our relatives.

I wish to help people pass on the memories of their places wherever they live. Carved into something solid, durable and that can be touched and felt.

Round Oak Steel Works · Brierley Hill

Common questions

What you'll want to know.

What size are the maps?

The standard size is A2 (42 × 59.4 cm), framed and ready to hang. Custom sizes are available on request.

What are they made from?

Every map is precision-carved into a hardwood beech ply, then framed and ready to hang.

Can you map any location in the UK or Ireland?

I work from genuine historical map records, Ordnance Survey maps and county and town planning maps preserved in archives. If a record exists for the place and era you have in mind, I can carve it.

How long does it take?

Each map is made to order. The current lead time is [X] weeks from order to delivery, which I'll confirm when you get in touch.

How do I commission a custom map?

Tell me the place and the time you're interested in, along with any details that matter to you, and I'll come back with options and a quote.

Is it suitable as a gift for someone with dementia?

It can be. The visual prompt of familiar places is a powerful tool to assist people living with dementia. If you're considering a map for someone in that situation, get in touch and I'll help you choose the most relevant place and era.

Made to order

If a place meant something to them, I can make it.

Every map is made to order. Browse the current series, or order a map of a specific place and time, anywhere in the UK or Ireland.

Commission your map Get in touch