Study title

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  and  Midland  Directory;  or  Merchant's  and  Tradesman's  Useful  Companion,  for  the  year,  1783.  Containing  an  alphabetical  list  of  the  names  and  places  of  abode,  of  the bankers, merchants, manufacturers, gentlemen of the law and physic, and other eminent traders ... [Cornwall section only] (1783)- Pigot's  Directory  of  Cornwall  (1830)- The  Exeter  Journal  and  Almanack  for  1850  ...  containing  all  the  most  useful  county  and  local  information  necessary  for  the  private  gentleman,  clergy  and  professional  man,  the  merchant,  tradesman,  farmer,  seaman, ...