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:- Bailey's Western & Midland Directory for ... 1783. [Also 1784. Nottinghamshire only] (1783-84)- Universal British Directory of Trade, Commerce & Manufacture, 1791-98. Nottingham & Newark extracts (1791-98)- The  Leicester  Directory,  describing  the  bankers,  manufacturers, and principal tradesmen with their places of residence, also the professors of law, physic & divinity, the corporation, clergy, militia &c. (1794)- The Leicester Directory, containing a general list of  the  merchants,  tradesmen,  manufacturers,  and  principal  inhabitants  of  Leicester,  arranged  in  alphabetical  order,  separate  alphabetical  lists of each particular trade and profession (1815)- The  Nottingham  Directory,  containing  a  general  list  of  the  merchants,  tradesmen,  and  principal  inhabitants  of  Nottingham, New Radford, and New Snenton (1815)- Pigot's Directory of Leicestershire, 1822, 1828, 1835 (1822-35)- Glover's  Nottingham  Directory,  for  1825,  being  a  general list of the merchants, tradesmen, and principal inhabitants of Nottingham, New Radford and New Snenton (1825)- The   Leicester   Directory;   containing   an   alphabetical  list  of  the  inhabitants,  a  complete  classification  of  trades,  a  new  arrangement  of  coaches  and  carriers,  a  list  of  all  the  civil  officers  of  the  town  and  county,  the  public  institutions,  churches and chapels, &c. (1827)- The  Directory  of  the  county  of  Derby,  containing  upwards of fifteen thousand names ... accurately taken during the years 1827, '8, and '9 (1829)- History,   Gazetteer,   and   Directory   of   Nottinghamshire, and the ... town of Nottingham (1832)- The  Nottingham  Annual  Register;  containing  an  almanack,  useful  tables,  chronicle  of  parliament,  and  remarkable  occurrences,  also  a  new  and  corrected  directory  for  1840 (1840)- A  Guide  to  Leicester,  containing  a  list  of  streets,  lanes,  yards,  &c.,  a  directory  of  the  principal  inhabitants,  classification of trades and professions ... with an almanack for 1843, county information, etc. (1843)- History,   Gazetteer,   and   Directory   of   Leicestershire,  and  the  small  county  of  Rutland;  together  with  the  adjacent towns of Grantham & Stamford (1846)- Lascelles and Hagar's Commercial Directory of the town  and  county  of  the  town  of  Nottingham;  also  the  parishes  of  Basford,  Bridgford,  Carlton,  Lenton,  Radford,  Sneinton,  Wilford,  and  Wollaton (1848)- Slater's Directory of Rutlandshire (1850)- Freebody's  Directory  of  the  Towns  of  Derby,  Chesterfield,   Alfreton,   Buxton,   Bakewell,   Matlock,   Wirksworth,   Ashbourn,  Belper,  Melbourn,  Ripley,  Burtonupon-  Trent,  &c.  &c.  &c. (1852)- Melville  &  Co.'s  Directory  and  Gazetteer  of  Leicestershire,  including  all  the  market  towns,  with  the  adjacent  villages, and containing a descriptive account of each place, followed by the directory (1854)- Post   Office   Directory   of   Derbyshire   and   Nottinghamshire (1855)- Post   Office   Directory   of   Derbyshire,   Leicestershire,  Nottinghamshire  and  Rutlandshire.  [1855.  Leics  &  Rutland only] (1855)- Slater's Directory of Rutlandshire (1858)- Wright's  Nottingham  and  Suburban  Directory  for  1858 (1858)- Commercial Directory of Leicestershire, containing an   alphabetical   list   of   the   gentry,   merchants,   manufacturers,   professions,  trades,  etc.;  and  separate  historical,  statistical,  and  topographical  descriptions  of  the  hundreds,  towns,  parishes (1861)- Gazetteer  and  Directory  of  the  Counties  of  Leicester  &  Rutland;  containing  an  alphabetical  list  of  the  gentry,  merchants,  manufacturers,  professions,  trades,  etc.;  and  separate  historical,   statistical,   and   topographical   descriptions   of   the   hundreds, towns, parishes (1861)- Slater's Directory of Leicestershire (1862)- Wright's  Nottingham  and  Suburban  Directory,  for  1862 (1862)- History, Gazetteer, and Directory of the Counties of  Leicester  and  Rutland,  comprising  general  surveys  of  each  county,  and separate historical, statistical and topographical descriptions of all their hundreds, towns, parishes (1863)- Buchanan  &  Co.'s  Postal  and  Commercial  Directory  of  Leicester,  including  the  market  towns  of  Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Hinckley,  Loughboro',  Lutterworth,  Market  Bosworth,  Market  Harborough,  Melton  Mowbray,  Mountsorrel,  Whitwick,  and  surrounding  villages (1867)- Street,  Alphabetical,  and  Trade  Directory  of  Leicester (1870)- C. N. Wright's Directory of South Derbyshire, also including Alfreton, Ashbourne, Wirksworth, Tutbury, Burton-on-Trent and other  places  in  Staffordshire,  Notts.  and  Leicestershire  within  12  miles of Derby (1874)- S.  Barker  &  Co.'s  General  Topographical  and  Historical  Directory  for  the  counties  of  Leicester,  Rutland,  &c.  ...  The historic sketch of Leicester by James Thompson (1875)- Commercial and General Directory and Red Book of Leicester and Suburbs (1875)- The  Post  Office  Directory  of  the  counties  of  Leicester and Rutland (1876)- Post Office Directory of Nottinghamshire (1876)- History,  Gazetteer  and  Directory  of  the  Counties  of Leicester and Rutland, comprising general surveys of each county and separate historical, statistical and topographical descriptions of all the hundreds, towns, parishes (1877)- Commercial  and  General  Directory  and  Red  Book  of  Leicester & six miles round, with Sileby and Mountsorrel (1878)- Spencers' Illustrated Leicester Almanack, Diary, Peerage, Baronetage, Directory, and General Advertiser, for 1880 (1880)- Commercial  &  General  Directory  of  Leicestershire  and Rutland, also Grantham, Stamford, and Atherstone (1880)

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