Question 1

How does a business get on the register?

Accepted Answer

Through the listing form under Join the register. It asks for the business’s name, town, trade, a few lines about the work and where it stands, plus your name and email so we can ask about it.

Nothing publishes itself. A real person reads every submission, checks the details and puts it on the map — that usually takes a few days, and you hear from us either way. The confirmation shows a reference number; keep it if you write.

Question 2

What does “approximate location” mean on a listing?

Accepted Answer

Every listing is shown one of two ways, chosen on the form. An exact address listing is pinned to its own street address, printed on the page. A town only listing is shown as a soft radius — roughly 14 km over the town — with no street address anywhere, and reads "approximate location". Town only suits businesses that don't receive visitors at the door; an owner can switch their listing either way later.

Question 3

What does the verified mark mean?

Accepted Answer

A solid check beside the name in the directory and at the top of the listing page. It means the register's team has actually checked the business — that it is what and where it says, and that the years behind it hold up. Verified listings also rank a little higher in results. The mark itself will only ever mean the check happened; payment will never substitute for it.

Question 4

I own a listed business. How do I edit it?

Accepted Answer

Sign in as an owner and your dashboard lists every business on your account, each editable in place: the story, the trade, exact address or town only, the pin, phone, website, hours and tags. Owner accounts are set up by the register's team — write to hello@heritagemap.net from the address on your submission and we'll arrange one. Edits to a live listing go back through review before they show.

Question 5

How do the categories and filters work?

Accepted Answer

Every listing belongs to one of sixteen trade groups and to a specialty inside it, like Blacksmithing. The directory filters on those with chips you can combine; the search box matches name, town, trade and tags; and the sort offers name, town or oldest first. The locate control sorts what's nearest to you first, and your position is never stored. The categories page lists all sixteen groups and links straight into a pre-filtered directory.

Question 6

What does “oldest on the register” mean?

Accepted Answer

The showcase on the front page: the approved listing with the earliest stated founding year in each trade group. The years are what owners and submitters tell us — a reflection of the register, not an audited record.

Question 7

Where does the map data come from?

Accepted Answer

The listings themselves come from owners and submitters, each one reviewed by hand before it publishes. The base map is © OpenStreetMap contributors, town coordinates come from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0), and the map is drawn with Leaflet. Tiles reach your browser through the register's own caching proxy rather than from a third party directly.

Question 8

Something on a listing is wrong. How do I report it?

Accepted Answer

Write to hello@heritagemap.net with the listing's name and what's off. Corrections are welcome from anyone; an owner's own corrections go through the owner dashboard instead.

Questions, answered plainly