Trig Points

Data set of historic trig points in Great Britain, in British National Grid (OSGB36) coordinate reference system for use with R. Trig points were used in the retriangulation of Great Britain during the 20th Century to improve the accuracy of map making. Today they are mostly historical artefacts but are visited and logged (‘trigpointing’) by enthusiasts and, because they are typically located on hill tops, are still useful as navigational aids for hikers.

Installation

Install from CRAN as per a normal package:

Source and licence

Copyright 2018 Phil Mike Jones. Licensed under the terms of the MIT License. see LICENSE

Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right (2018)

The full list of trig points was obtained from: https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/gps/legacy-control-information/triangulation-stations

Warnings and limitations

  • This data set is no longer maintained by Ordnance Survey so stations marked as not destroyed might no longer exist.
  • The coordinates specified are not true OSGB36 National Grid coordinates. They are expected to be accurate to within a metre so will be fine for most purposes.

Station types

(Copied verbatim from the OS page).

  • Ground stations
    • Triangulation pillar - This consists of either a concrete or natural stone pillar, 1.2 m high with a brass plate set into the top to accept a survey instrument.
    • Surface mark - This is normally a dome-head brass bolt or rivet set into natural rock or a concrete block at ground level.
    • Buried mark - This is normally a brass bolt, rod or rivet set into a concrete block 60 cm below ground level.
  • Roof stations - The station is sited on a flat roof consisting of either a dome-head bolt or rivet positioned with enough space to set up a tripod.
  • Intersected station - These are ‘non-occupiable’ stations consisting of church spires, chimneys or mast.

Contributions

Issues and pull requests welcome for improvements or suggestions. Please note that this project is released with a Contributor Code of Conduct. By contributing to this project, you agree to abide by its terms.