Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The aim of the project was to improve access to local and trade directories for the period 1750-1919 by making a substantial collection of English and Welsh directories available online as a Digital Library of Historical Directories. This digital resource comprises in total some 600 directories, covering every English county together with Wales, and ranging widely over the period 1750-1919 (the latter cut-off point chosen for copyright reasons). There is a particular focus on the 1850s, 1890s and 1910s, with at least one directory provided for each county in each of these decades. The digitisation of the volumes involved a two-stage process, in which (1) the hard-copy source was scanned to produce a graphic image of each page, and then (2) those images were processed using OCR software to generate a machine-readable text file.An online version of this resource can be found on the Website of the University of Leicester.
This data collection includes the following directories:- Pigot's Directory of Kent (1824)- Pigot and Co's National, London and Provincial Commercial Directory for 1832-3-4. Sussex only (1834)- Pigot's Directory of Sussex (1839)- History, Gazetteer and Directory of Kent. Vol. II (1847)- New and Enlarged Directory for Maidstone, and its Environs (1850)- Hand-book for the use of Visitors to Harrow on the Hill; containing a topographical and historical account of the parish of Harrow, and the grammar school founded by John Lyon; with a Directory comprising the residences of the neighbouring gentry, tradesmen, etc. (1850)- A New Commercial and General Directory of the Town of Croydon; with a supplementary list of the clergy and gentry of the neighbourhood: to which are added brief notices of the town and miscellaneous information (1851)- Gravesend and Milton Directory for 1851 (1851)- Post Office Directory of the Six Home Counties, viz., Essex, Herts, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex. [1851. Sussex only] (1851)- Mason's Court Guide and General Directory for Brentford, Kew, Ealing, Isleworth, Twickenham, Teddington, Richmond, Kingston, Hampton, &c. (1853)- The Original Brighton and Hove Directory, including Cliftonville (1854)- Post Office Directory of Essex, Herts, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex. [1855. Part 1: Counties & Localities] (1855)- Post Office Directory of Essex, Herts, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex. [1855. Part 2: Court & Trade Directories] (1855)- Melville and Co's Directory & Gazetteer of Sussex, containing Brighton (1855)- Melville & Co.'s Directory & Gazetteer of Kent, containing a descriptive account of each city, town, and village, followed by a directory (1858)- Melville and Co.'s Directory & Gazetteer of Susssex, containing Brighton, Hastings (1858)- French & Son's Handbook and Directory for Worthing (1859)- Post Office Sussex Directory (1859)- The History of Walthamstow, its past, present and future; with a directory, map of the parish ... census returns, &c. (1861)- Brackett's Descriptive Illustrated Hand Guide to Tunbridge Wells, and the neighbouring towns, seats & villages; containing historical notices, information for visitors, and a short directory (1863)- The Post Office Directory of Sussex (1866)- The Post Office Directory of Essex (1874)- The Post Office Directory of Middlesex (1874)- The Post Office Directory of Surrey (1878)- The Post Office Directory of Sussex (1878)- Deacon's Court Guide, Gazetteer, and County Blue Book: a fashionable register and general survey of Sussex, embracing Brighton, Eastbourne (1881)- Kelly's Directory of Essex (1882)- Kelly's Directory of Kent (1882)- W. T. Pike's District Blue Book, Weald of Kent and Romney Marsh Directory (1884)- Kelly's Ealing, Acton, Hanwell, Gunnersbury & Chiswick Directory for 1889-90 (1889)- Kelly's Directory of Hertfordshire (1890)- Kelly's Directory of Sussex (1890)
Main Topics:The directories included are of many different kinds, commonly embracing trade, commercial, and private resident directories, together with gazetteers, almanacs, official information, etc. For the purposes of deposit in the UK Data Archive, the collection has been divided into 35 studies on a regional and temporal basis.
No sampling (total universe)
Compilation or synthesis of existing material
