Modernising the UK Land Registry's 1862 Register with Plone

The UK Land Registry's 1862 Register, a massive 160GB+ historical archive, was modernized using a headless CMS architecture built on Plone by Pretagov.

Visit the site at: https://digitalarchives.landregistry.gov.uk/

Site screenshot:

HM Land Registry site screenshot

Building the Site

Plone's robust content management capabilities and extensibility were leveraged to manage the vast amount of data. Specifically, they:

  • Leveraged Plone's content modeling: Plone's flexible schema allowed them to accurately represent the complex historical data within the register, ensuring data integrity and consistency. Custom content types were created to reflect the nuances of the original documents.
  • Utilized Plone's RESTful API: This decoupled the backend content repository (Plone) from the frontend presentation layer. This allowed them to create a modern, accessible frontend using technologies best suited for user experience and performance, independent of the core data management system.
  • Integrated with Elasticsearch for Search: Plone's integration with Elasticsearch provided a highly performant search capability, allowing users to quickly and efficiently find relevant information within the extensive archive.
  • Implemented robust security measures: Plone's inherent security features, combined with additional custom security measures, ensured the protection of this sensitive historical data. This addressed vulnerabilities present in the legacy system.
  • Achieved accessibility compliance: The combination of Plone's adaptable structure and careful frontend development allowed them to meet WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility guidelines and integrate the GOV.UK Design System for a consistent and inclusive user experience.

This modernization project showcases how Plone's powerful features, combined with a headless approach, delivered a secure, accessible, and high-performing solution for managing and presenting a large-scale historical archive, significantly reducing long-term maintenance costs and improving user experience.