Historic Address

The Historic Address Feature Type represents local authority addresses that are no longer in existence. This can occur as a result of demolition or the merging of two built properties to become one new single address, or the splitting of a single property into multiple flats for example.

Data schema versioning

The following table provides details about this feature type’s data schema versions, including the reasons behind the changes and the related launch date when each version went live.

Data schema version table

Please see for in-depth information about data schema versioning in the OS NGD.

Temporal filtering

Temporal filtering allows you to order a one-off snapshot of data from the OS NGD from a current or past date. It is an optional step when you create a new data package in OS Select+Build (the OS NGD download service).

The earliest and latest dates on which you can request a one-off snapshot of a date in the past for this feature type's data schema versions are indicated in the above. Please note that any data temporally filtered earlier than the specified launch date indicated in the table for the data schema versions may contain data inconsistencies.

More information about temporal filtering on OS NGD feature types is available from the .

Feature type attributes

The following sub-sections provide details about the attributes included with this feature type, their data types in the different output formats, and other important metadata about them.

uprn

Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) assigned by a local custodian or Ordnance Survey as a persistent identifier.

• Data Types: Integer (GPKG), Integer (CSV)

• Nullable: false

• OS Select+Build Filterable: No

versiondate

Date when the version was last updated.

• Data Types: Date (GPKG), Date (CSV)

• Nullable: false

• OS Select+Build Filterable: No

versionavailablefromdate

The date this version of the feature became the latest version.

• Data Types: DateTime (GPKG), DateTime (CSV)

• Nullable: false

• OS Select+Build Filterable: No

versionavailabletodate

The date this version of the feature was superseded by an update or ceased to exist.

• Data Types: DateTime (GPKG), DateTime (CSV)

• Nullable: true

• OS Select+Build Filterable: No

changetype

The type of change that generated a new version of the feature.

• Data Types: String (GPKG), String (CSV)

• Nullable: false

• Code List Name:

theme

The OS NGD theme to which this feature belongs.

• Data Types: String (GPKG), String (CSV)

• Nullable: false

• Code List Name:

description

A single descriptive value intended for a quick understanding of what the feature represents.

organisationname

poboxnumber

Text concatenation of 'PO BOX' and the Post Office Box (PO Box) number or the British Forces Post Office (BFPO) number.

• Data Types: String (GPKG), String (CSV)

• Nullable: true

• Max Length: 13

subname

The Sub Name is the secondary description for subdivisions of properties. For example: Sub Name: 'CRYNANT LIBRARY', Name: 'CRYNANT COMMUNITY CENTRE'.

name

The name is the English language primary description applied to an address, for example: 'SWANSEA UNIVERSITY BAY CAMPUS' (Welsh: 'CAMPWS Y BAE PRIFYSGOL ABERTAWE'). This attribute will also include numbers when the name contains non-numeric characters, such as 44A. Some descriptive names, when included with the rest of the address, are sufficient to identify the property uniquely and unambiguously, for example, MAGISTRATES COURT. Sometimes the name will be a blend of distinctive and descriptive naming, for example, RAILWAY TAVERN (PUBLIC HOUSE) or THE COURT ROYAL (HOTEL).

• Data Types: String (GPKG), String (CSV)

• Nullable: true

• Max Length: 110

number

The number gives a unique numeric identifier for addresses on a given street, for example, '11' (per Local Authority Street Naming and Numbering conventions). This includes numbers that contain a range, decimals or non-numeric characters, for example, 1-11 and 10A.

• Data Types: String (GPKG), String (CSV)

• Nullable: true

• Max Length: 13

streetname

Name, number or descriptor that identifies the nearest accessible Street that an Address is located on or close to.

• Data Types: String (GPKG), String (CSV)

• Nullable: false

• Max Length: 100

locality

Name of the area or geographical identifier within a town, settlement, village or hamlet that an address is located within. For example, a locality may be a suburb, housing estate or commercial estate.

• Data Types: String (GPKG), String (CSV)

• Nullable: true

• Max Length: 35

townname

Name of the settlement that the Street is located within. Where a settlement can be a City, Town, Village, Hamlet or Parish.

• Data Types: String (GPKG), String (CSV)

• Nullable: true

• Max Length: 35

islandname

Name of the island upon which an Address is located.

• Data Types: String (GPKG), String (CSV)

• Nullable: true

• Max Length: 50

postcode

The postcode unit that the Address is situated within. A postcode is an abbreviated form of address, made up of combinations of between five and seven alphanumeric characters. These alphanumeric characters are used by Royal Mail to help with the automated sorting of mail. A postcode may cover between 1 and 100 addresses. Postcodes (for example, NW6 4DP) are comprised of two components. The first component is the outward code (or ‘outcode’), which is the first two to four characters of a postcode, constituting the postcode area and the postcode district, for example, NW6. The outward code is the part of the postcode that enables mail to be sent from the accepting office to the correct area for delivery. The second component of a postcode is the inward code (or ‘incode’), which is the last three characters of the postcode, constituting the postcode sector and the postcode unit, for example, 4DP. The inward code is used to sort mail at the local delivery office. This field will contain the Royal Mail Postcode Address File (PAF) postcode where the Local Authority address has been matched to PAF. Where a match has not been made, the postcode information is sourced from Local Authority assigned data. In cases where the Local Authority do not hold a valid postcode, a spatial nearest neighbour function is used to spatially derive the postcode from the closest Address with a valid postcode.

• Data Types: String (GPKG), String (CSV)

• Nullable: false

• Max Length: 8

fulladdress

Concatenation of the following address components: Organisation (Pre-Build and Built Address Feature Types only), Sub Name and / or Name and / or Number, Street Name, Locality, Town Name, Island Name and Postcode Locator.

country

Name of the geographical territory that the Address is located within, where a geographical territory represents either a devolved country or an island nation.

• Data Types: String (GPKG), String (CSV)

• Nullable: false

• Code List Name:

alternatelanguagesubname

The Alternate Language Sub Name is the alternate language secondary description for subdivisions of properties. For example: Alternate Language Sub Name: 'LLYFRGELL Y CREUNANT', Alternate Language Name: 'CANOLFAN CYMUNED CREUNANT'.

alternatelanguagename

The Alternate Language Name is the alternate language primary description applied to an address, for example: 'CAMPWS Y BAE PRIFYSGOL ABERTAWE' (English: 'SWANSEA UNIVERSITY BAY CAMPUS'). This attribute may also include numbers when the name contains non-numeric characters, such as 44A. Some descriptive names, when included with the rest of the address, are sufficient to identify the property uniquely and unambiguously, for example, MAGISTRATES COURT. Sometimes the name will be a blend of distinctive and descriptive naming, for example, RAILWAY TAVERN (PUBLIC HOUSE) or THE COURT ROYAL (HOTEL).

• Data Types: String (GPKG), String (CSV)

• Nullable: true

• Max Length: 110

alternatelanguagenumber

The Alternate Language Number gives a unique numeric identifier for addresses on each street, for example, '11' (per Local Authority Street Naming and Numbering conventions). Numbers that contain a range, decimals or non-numeric characters do not appear in this field but will be found in the Name or the Sub Name attributes.

• Data Types: String (GPKG), String (CSV)

• Nullable: true

• Max Length: 13

alternatelanguagestreetname

Name, number or descriptor that identifies the nearest accessable street that an Address is located on or close to, defined in either Welsh (cym) or Gaelic / Scottish Gaelic (gla).

• Data Types: String (GPKG), String (CSV)

• Nullable: true

• Max Length: 100

alternatelanguagelocality

Name of the area or geographical identifier within a town, settlement, village or hamlet that an address is located within, defined in either Welsh (cym) or Gaelic / Scottish Gaelic (gla). For example, a locality may be a suburb, housing estate or commercial estate.

• Data Types: String (GPKG), String (CSV)

• Nullable: true

• Max Length: 35

alternatelanguagetownname

The name of the settlement that the address is located within, defined in either Welsh (cym) or Gaelic / Scottish Gaelic (gla). A settlement can be a City, Town, Village, Hamlet or Parish.

• Data Types: String (GPKG), String (CSV)

• Nullable: true

• Max Length: 35

alternatelanguageislandname

Name of the island upon which an Address is located.

• Data Types: String (GPKG), String (CSV)

• Nullable: true

• Max Length: 50

alternatelanguage

ISO 3166-3 Language Code for Welsh or Gaelic / Scottish Gaelic.

• Data Types: String (GPKG), String (CSV)

• Nullable: true

• Code List Name:

alternatelanguagefulladdress

Concatenation of the following alternate language address components: Organisation (Pre-Build and Built Address Feature Types only), Alternate Language Sub Name and / or Alternate Language Name and / or Alternate Language Number, Alternate Language Street Name, Alternate Language Locality, Alternate Language Town Name, Alternate Language Island Name and Postcode Locator.

floorlevel

Floor level represents either: the access point to the Address, or the floor level or levels that the Address is located on fully occupies or represents occupiable space within the property.

• Data Types: String (GPKG), String (CSV)

• Nullable: true

• Max Length: 30

lowestfloorlevel

In cases where the Floor Level attribute contains a list of floor levels (for example, where a commercial organisation occupies multiple levels within a building), the first value provided will be taken as the lowest floor level. For example, where Floor Level attribute values are given as -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, the Lowest Floor Level is -1. Mezzanine levels may be represented by a partial number, for example, 1.5. If the Floor Level attribute only contains one value, that value will also be used by the Lowest Floor Level attribute.

• Data Types: Float (GPKG), Real (CSV)

• Nullable: true

• Precision: 3

highestfloorlevel

In cases where the Floor Level attribute contains a list of floor levels (for example, where a commercial organisation occupies multiple levels within a building), the last value provided will be taken as the highest floor level. For example, where Floor Level attribute values are given as -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, the Highest Floor Level is 3. Mezzanine levels may be represented by a partial number, for example, 1.5. If the Floor Level attribute only contains one value, that value will also be used by the Highest Floor Level attribute.

• Data Types: Float (GPKG), Real (CSV)

• Nullable: true

• Precision: 3

classificationcode

Alphanumeric code used to classify the object using the AddressBase Classification Scheme, which is available to download from the .

• Data Types: String (GPKG), String (CSV)

• Nullable: false

• Code List Name:

classificationdescription

Description of the classification code as defined in the AddressBase Classification Scheme, which is available to download from the .

• Data Types: String (GPKG), String (CSV)

• Nullable: false

• Code List Name:

primaryclassificationdescription

A descriptive term used to describe the primary classification code for this address.

• Data Types: String (GPKG), String (CSV)

• Nullable: false

• Code List Name:

secondaryclassificationdescription

A descriptive term used to describe the secondary classification code for this address.

• Data Types: String (GPKG), String (CSV)

• Code List Name:

• Nullable: true

tertiaryclassificationdescription

quaternaryclassificationdescription

A descriptive term or collection of terms used to describe the quaternary classification code for this address.

• Data Types: String (GPKG), String (CSV)

• Nullable: true

• Code List Name:

buildstatus

buildstatusdate

addressstatus

The lifecycle status of a given Address, for example, 'Provisional' and 'Approved'.

• Data Types: String (GPKG), String (CSV)

• Nullable: false

• Code List Name:

postcodesource

Identifies the source of the postcode assigned to an address. This attribute can be used to identify properties capable of receiving mail as defined by Royal Mail for PAF matched address records, or as defined by Local Authorities for records which are not PAF matched but which are believed to be capable of receiving mail. For example, flats behind a front door with single letter box.

parentuprn

Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) of the parent record if a parent-child relationship exists.

• Data Types: Integer (GPKG), Integer (CSV)

• Nullable: true

• OS Select+Build Filterable: No

rootuprn

In instances where an address sits in a hierarchy (for example, Child UPRN – Parent UPRN – Grandparent UPRN), the Root UPRN will display the Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) for the top level Addressable Object in the parent-child structure, which in this example is the Grandparent UPRN.

• Data Types: Integer (GPKG), Integer (CSV)

• Nullable: true

• OS Select+Build Filterable: No

hierarchylevel

In instances where an address sits in a hierarchy (for example, Child UPRN – Parent UPRN – Grandparent UPRN), the Hierarchy Level attribute describes the position of the given UPRN within the overall set of relationships. For example, FLAT 1 is the Child UPRN at the lowest level and its Hierarchy Level will be 3; its Parent UPRN is BLOCK H, which will have a Hierarchy Level of 2; BLOCK H has, in turn, a Parent UPRN of EXETER UNIVERSITY, which will have a Hierarchy Level of 1.

• Data Types: Integer (GPKG), Integer (CSV)

• Nullable: false

• OS Select+Build Filterable: No

usrn

The Unique Street Reference Number (USRN), a unique and persistent identifier of a Street which is assigned by the Roads or Highway Authority.

• Data Types: Integer (GPKG), Integer (CSV)

• Nullable: false

• OS Select+Build Filterable: Yes

usrnmatchindicator

Description of the type of match made between the Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) and its Unique Street Reference Number (USRN). A value of 1 is matched manually to the most accessible USRN, and a value of 2 is matched spatially to the nearest USRN, which may not be the nearest accessible street.

• Data Types: String (GPKG), String (CSV)

• Nullable: false

• Code List Name:

localcustodiancode

Numeric code identifying the authority responsible for assigning the Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN), creating and maintaining the address record.

• Data Types: Integer (GPKG), Integer (CSV)

• Nullable: false

• OS Select+Build Filterable: Yes

localcustodiandescription

Name of the authority responsible for assigning the Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN), creating and maintaining the address record.

• Data Types: String (GPKG), String (CSV)

• Nullable: false

• Max Length: 35

lowertierlocalauthoritygsscode

The Office for National Statistics Governmental Statistical Service (GSS) code representing the lower tier local authority.

• Data Types: String (GPKG), String (CSV)

• Nullable: true

• Max Length: 9

easting

X coordinate defining the position of the object in accordance with the British National Grid (EPSG:27700) coordinate reference system.

• Data Types: Float (GPKG), Real (CSV)

• Nullable: false

• Precision: 8

northing

Y coordinate defining the position of the object in accordance with the British National Grid (EPSG:27700) coordinate reference system.

• Data Types: Float (GPKG), Real (CSV)

• Nullable: false

• Precision: 9

latitude

Value defining the latitude of the Address location in accordance with the ETRS89 (EPSG:4258) coordinate reference system.

• Data Types: Float (GPKG), Real (CSV)

• Nullable: false

• Precision: 9

longitude

Value defining the longitude of the Address location in accordance with the ETRS89 (EPSG:4258) coordinate reference system.

• Data Types: Float (GPKG), Real (CSV)

• Nullable: false

• Precision: 9

geometry

Geometry for the feature.

• Data Types: Geometry (GPKG), WKT (CSV)

• Nullable: false

• OS Select+Build Filterable: No

positionalaccuracy

Local Authority assigned value giving a description of the accuracy of the coordinate position allocated to the Address location, for example, 'Central Internal Position' of a building.

effectivestartdate

The date on which this record was inserted into the Local Authority database.

• Data Types: Date (GPKG), Date (CSV)

• Nullable: false

• OS Select+Build Filterable: No

effectiveenddate

The date on which the record ceased to exist.

• Data Types: Date (GPKG), Date (CSV)

• Nullable: true

• OS Select+Build Filterable: No