Hampshire Field Club & Archaeological Society

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Newsletter 44 - Autumn 2005

Trade Directories: Developments in Accessing Them

Derek Spruce

drawing of shop

Illustration from Warren’s Winchester Directory, 1913

Trade directories were commercial ventures listing traders and providing other information about towns and, later, villages throughout England and Wales. They had their origins in the 17th century, with wider coverage in the later 18th century (the first Hampshire directory by Sadler dates from 1784). By 1850 they were published widely giving information down to parish level, and they reached their peak in the early 20th century when 250 were published each year. They continued to be published until the Second World War but were quickly eclipsed by the growth of telephone directories.

A wide selection of these valuable historical sources can now be used in the comfort of your own home or via the Peoples’ Network in public libraries following the re-launch of the website www.historicaldirectories.org.uk. This provides a digital library of local and trade directories for England and Wales from 1750 to 1919. It is run by the University of Leicester, famous for its Department of Local History, and was made possible by a grant from the New Opportunities Fund of the National Lottery.

There is a clearly explained search engine facility that enables searches for directories to be made by decade of publication, location and key word searches initiated by the user. At the most basic level the site aims to provide directories for all geographical areas for the decades of the 1850s, 1890s and 1910s. Interrogation of the site for Hampshire directories shows that there is a much more comprehensive listing for the county, giving 18 directories in all. The Winchester area is especially well covered with six directories, ranging from Gilmour’s of 1854 through to three by Warren dating from 1895 to 1910. The remaining 12 cover the whole county and range in date from 1784 to 1911 with six covering the 20 years from 1851.

The section ‘How to Use this Site’ is very helpful and users can print high quality copies using the PDF button. There are advanced retrieval methods that can be used by those wanting to make sophisticated use of the search facilities but basic users can learn a great deal about their localities using the two basic search commands. There are also useful links to seven local and urban history and five military history sites.

The ‘History Notes’ provide much useful background information and guidance about the material for local, economic and family historians. It is regrettable that the series has to end in 1919, for the peak year of publication was 1936 when 320 directories were published. Continuation to the start of the Second World War with the inclusion of the 1939 Kelly’s Hampshire Directory would have been a fitting end but readers can view later editions in the Record Office or Local Studies Library whose help in the project is acknowledged by the organizers.

It is also a regret that the covering text does not bring to the attention of users the problems of interpretation and analysis that should be borne in mind. Advice about this can be found in M Drake and R Finnegan (eds), Sources and Methods for Family and Community Historians: A Handbook, Cambridge, 1997.

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