UK Researchers - City directories?

[Ted Pack]

Do your public libraries have old city directories, with "Reverse Directory" sections, like ours do in the USA? In the reverse section people are in address order by street and number instead of by name.

I'm thinking you probably do, since you aren't all that different from your American cousins, save for HM the Queen, the accent, "colour", beer and driving on the wrong side of the road. I drink beer at cellar temperature myself, now and again.

If so, how did they list houses that had names instead of numbers, like "The Laurels" and "The Copper Beeches"? I understand your Post Office did away with names some time ago and made everyone take a number.

Thank you.

[itsjustme]

Good afternoon Mr Pack,
In answer to your question no we don't have reverse directories. The UK's first directory was the trade directory which began in 1810 and went through to 1950, the telephone directory being seen as the replacement of the trade directories. This directory covered names and addresses for trade and commerce in the specific town or city.
Street directories - these were the residential directories mainly, people paid to have their name and sometimes business listed in this directory, by way of advertising their trade, and again this one began in 1810 through to around 1930.
Electoral register, this began in 1832 and it was basically every address in the town or city, where there was a male eligible to vote, as you probably know women didn't get the vote until 1929 in the UK that's when women's names were included for the first time, there were no business addresses in the electoral register. The electoral register uses the number of house system unless there is only a name, then the name of the property is listed.
Hope this has helped a little bit Ted.