DEVON-L Archives

Archiver > DEVON > 1999-07 > 0933028428


From: Brian Randell <>
Subject: Re: DEVON INDEXING PROJECTS
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 23:33:48 +0100 (BST)


Hi Sandy:

>But is there any sources that could be indexed pre 1800??. I live in
>Australia so don't have access to the record offices. Is there any very
>early 1800 or pre 1800 directories that we could index to help us get back
>that bit further.

I've now had a chance to consult my reference books regarding directories.

I believe the first national directory to have any Devon coverage was:

Bailey's Western and Midland Directory, 1783. (According to my notes it
includes 20 Devon towns and villages.)

The next I have a note of is:

The Universal British Directory of Trade, Commerce and Manufacture
Comprehending Lists of the Inhabitants of London, Westminster and the
Borough of Southwark and all the Cities, Towns and Principal Villages of
England and Wales, 1790-98. (I've noted that this has fuller entries for
Devon than Bailey.)

There were separate directores published for places like Exeter (the
earliest was 1807) and Plymouth (the earliest was 1812).

Pigot's directories were first published in about 1823, and in Devon
covered only the towns and larger villages.

White's 1850 Devon directory, quite a bit of which has already been
transcribed into GENUKI/Devon, is the first to cover every parish, and was
described by Hoskins as "the first county directory of any real historic
value".

In summary, I fear that only for a few of the towns and larger villages
will pre-Pigot directories be of much help, and then they will be far from
comprehensive with regard to the names they list. For lists of names of all
the inhabitants (or at least all the heads of households) of all the
parishes, the land tax records I referred to in my earlier message are the
best bet.

Cheers

Brian Randell

Dept. of Computing Science, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne,
NE1 7RU, UK
EMAIL = PHONE = +44 191 222 7923
FAX = +44 191 222 8232 URL = http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/~brian.randel

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