This chapter covers the use of street directories – what they contain, how to find them, and tips for working with them.

The Growth Of Directories

Directories started being published in the 18th century as towns grew and there was a need for information about local trade and industries. The first provincial directory was James Sketchley’s Birmingham survey in 1763, but most started from around the 1780s. The first London directory was published in 1877 and they were published annually from the 1730s.

The earlier register offices kept lists of tradespeople, and some directories grew out of these lists; other directories were published by entrepreneurs who spotted a gap in the market and filled the need. Some directory publishers added to already published lists by going round the town and noting the tradespeople and their addresses; others asked tradespeople to send in their details with a small payment if they wanted to be included in the directories.

Types Of Directories

There are several different types of directories:

• Commercial directories – these list merchants and traders
• Professional directories – these list mainly the gentry, weathy tradespeople and professionals, and may list addresses but not occupations
• General trade directories – these list both ‘private residents’ and trades
• Specialist directories – these list tradespeople in specific industries
• Town directories – these list information only for one town or city rather than a county or part of a county (e.g. The Norwich Directory or Gentlemen and Tradesmen’s Assistant, printed by William Chase in March 1783)
• National and provincial directories – these covered several towns within a region, or perhaps a county.

 

The major series of directories covering the country are those produced by Frederick Kelly. Kelly initially started his directories through his work at the Post Office – he was the chief inspector of letter carriers, based in London. Letter carriers delivered his forms during postal rounds, and delivered the finished directories; he stopped using Post Office workers in 1847, but by then he was the dominant directory supplier for the south.

James Pigot’s directories had a wide coverage in the north of the country from 1820 to the mid-1800s, and his directories tend to be a classified list of trades, with an index of names for larger towns only. His directories were produced every six or seven years after a new survey; his firm was taken over by Kelly’s in 1853 (although Pigot’s name was kept until 1882).

Other publishers (which cover smaller geographical areas – often as Commercial Directory of [Town/County]) include:

• Bailey
• Bennett
• Cowell
• Deacon
• Freebody
• Gillman
• Glover
• Gore
• Harrod & Co
• Hunt & Co
• Jakeman & Carver
• Lascelles
• Littlebury
• Lucy
• Mathews
• Melville & Co
• Owen
• Peck
• Robson
• Rusher
• Salter
• Spencers
• Spennell
• Ward
• Warren
• Webster & Co
• Whellan
• White
• Wright.

 

What The Directories Contain

White’s 1845 Norfolk is a good example of one of the larger directories. Its contents are typical of a large directory and include:

• A table showing the distances of market towns within the county, from each other and from London; the market days are also noted

 

• Index of places – alphabetical list of the parishes, towns, townships, villages, hamlets, manors, seats, hundreds and unions in the county

 

• Index of subjects – including buildings, institutions, famous people, events

 

• Index to the history of larger towns

 

• General information about the county as a whole (‘General History and Description of the County’), which includes: Statistical information 1.Hundreds, in alphabetical order – number of assessable acres, gross estimated rental, assessed rental, assessed to property and income tax, population2.Unions (i.e. from Poor Law), in alphabetical order – number of parishes, population, number of houses, annual expenditure, potential room in workhouses, number of inmates in workhouses3.General statistical information – population, births, deaths, houses, marriages, paupers, poor rate levied and spent, county rates and major expenditure (e.g. alterations and repairs to prisons and hospitals, cost of officers)Geography – physical situation, rivers, soilsParliamentary – divisions, polling places within the divisions, number of MPs returnedGeneral history from pre-Roman times, including the Norman ConquestEarls and dukes of the countyBuildings and ancient monuments – encampments, Roman roads and stations, castlesHistorical events (brief summary – dealt with in more depth under the major towns)Ecclesiastic information – for example, number of livings, number of nonconformist churchesClimate and aspectMinerals and fossilsCoast and riversRailwaysTurnpikesAgriculture and enclosures (including crops, produce and fish)ManufacturersMembers of Parliament and their town residencesMagistrates and public officersPeers and their seatsSeats of the nobility, gentry and clergy (listed in place order)

 

• History of the capital of the county, including: Geography – physical situation, rivers, soilsBuildings and churchesParliamentary wards and parishes within themPopulation statistics for the previous 150 years for the parishesOrigins of the cityEvents in history (including plague, fire, flood, riots)Manufacturing in the cityTransport links (rivers, rail)Municipal governmentImportant buildings (particularly if something had been rebuilt)Ecclesiastical history – former monastic settlements, descriptions of cathedral, parish churches and nonconformist chapels, list of bishops and their datesSchools and hospitals/infirmaries (including lying-in hospitals and asylums) – when they were established, how they were set up and fundedCharities and bequests – who gave the money, when, who the trustees are, and the use of the moneyBanks and financial institutions – when they were set up, where they were established, presidents of provident institutionsWorkhouses – including statistics about number of inmates and financial transactionsRecent changes in roadsLiterary institutions (e.g. libraries, book societies) – when and where they were established, how many volumes, subscription feesNewspapersEntertainment (‘places of amusement’) – theatres, gardens, races, regattasShort biographies of leading citizens

 

• List of streets (in alphabetical order)

 

• Directory of gentry, clergy, partners in firms (after the First World War, this section tends to be known as ‘Private Residents’)

 

• Classification of trades and professions (in alphabetical order from Academies to Yeast makers; within that, alphabetical order of surnames and brief address; note that pubs and inns are often listed separately)

 

• Lists of coaches, railway, steam packets, trading vessels and carriers

 

• List of local governors – mayor, aldermen, wards and councillors, Justices of the Peace

 

• Index of persons from the trades directory (so you can find someone by name without having to guess at their trade)

 

• Advertisements (which may also give you information about shop fronts and the size of a factory).

 

There are similar sections for other large towns in the county, and then for the parishes within each hundred, giving parochial histories and other information such as:

• Situation, extent and population of the boroughs, towns and village
• Owners of land and lords of the manors
• Churches, chapels, charities and public institutions.

 

Following the history of each parish, there is a small directory giving addresses and occupations of principal inhabitants; post office regulations; arrival and departure of coaches, carriers, steam packets and trading vessels.

From the end of the 19th century, the directories started to add street directories – roads arranged in alphabetical order, with each house listed together with either the householder or a business name – followed by a classified directory of trades within the county.

Some directories also include maps, which can be useful for comparison with other forms of maps to see how streets and buildings changed.