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The London Archives

Trade directories

Research Guide
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1. About this guide

This guide will explain how to explore London trade directories with a particularly focus on what is available on Ancestry.co.uk.

Trade directories can be used for researching individuals, businesses and streets. It is important to remember that they are not an official source of information but were produced commercially by independent publishers so not businesses or individuals are included.

2. Online records

Most trade directories for London from 1736 to 1943 can be browsed on Ancestry.co.uk. See London, England, City Directories, 1736-1943. These directories are generally not searchable by name or address so you will need to browse individual titles under ‘browse this collection’. Use the guide below to find the most useful titles for your research

Other directories including ones from 1944 onwards must be viewed in person at The London Archives or Guildhall Library. Please use the library catalogue to find additional titles.

3. Trade directories for London

3.1. Early directories

The first trade directory for London was compiled by Samuel Lee in 1677. This publication entitled ‘A Collection of the Names of Merchants Living in and About the City of London’ gives the names and addresses of about 1900 merchants and can be viewed for free on the Internet Archive. See The little London directory of 1677.

From 1734, annual London trade directories were published by different publishers. Two of the main competitors were Kent’s Directory and The London Directory:

  • Kent’s Directory – First published by Henry Kent in 1734, it continued until 1828. Earliest surviving edition is from 1736.
  • The London Directory – Published by John Payne from 1768 and then Thomas Lowndes from 1772 to 1799.

Both these directories consist of an alphabetical list of merchants and principal traders in central London with their occupations and addresses. You can find them on Ancestry.co.uk under the following titles: Kent Directory, Kent London Directory, London Directory and Lowndes London Directory.

3.2. Post Office London Directory

From 1800, the market is dominated by the Post Office London Directory. It is commonly known as Kelly’s Directory after Frederick Festus Kelly who took over production in 1837.

Until 1839, the directory was a straightforward alphabetical list of merchants and traders with their occupations and addresses. In 1840, a classified trades' directory was introduced followed by commercial and court directories in 1841. Here’s an outline of each section:

  • Commercial directory – List of merchants, traders and professionals arranged alphabetically by name
  • Trades' directory – List of merchants, traders and professionals arranged alphabetically by trade such as architects, ironmongers, publicans and so on
  • Street directory – List of merchants, traders, professionals and gentry arranged alphabetically by street
  • Court directory – List of selected private residents arranged alphabetically by name

Until 1916, the directory covered an area of inner London which is illustrated in the London map for the Post Office Directory, 1865 on London Picture Archive. It was expanded to include the whole of the County of London from 1917, the London postal area from 1958 and the area within the M25 from 1988.

You can find them on Ancestry.co.uk under the title Post Office London Directory.

3.3. Post Office London Suburban Directory

In 1860, a Post Office London Suburban Directory was introduced covering the Metropolitan Postal District excluding the area covered by the main Post Office London Directory. A postal district map of London is available on London Picture Archive. From 1904, it covered just the County of London.

It followed the same format as the Post Office London Directory with divisions for commercial, trades, street and court directories

From 1917, it formed a section within the main Post Office London Directory and the entries were completely amalgamated from 1934.

You can find them on Ancestry.co.uk under various titles. Look under Kelly's and Post Office for any titles including the words 'suburbs' or 'suburban'.

3.4. Post Office Home Counties Directories

There were separate county directories for the home counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex. They generally include descriptions and directories for individual towns, villages and parishes and are most useful for areas of London not covered by the Post Office London Directory or Post Office London Suburban Directory.

They appear on Ancestry under the title Post Office Home Counties Directories.

3.5. Local directories

Local directories for individual areas of London were published from 1853 to 1977. The contents vary between publishers but usually include a list of residents, a trade section and a street section. They are particularly useful for tracing householders as they contain far more than the Post Office directories.

You can find them on Ancestry.co.uk under various titles such as Balham and Tooting Directory, Hackney and Homerton Directory and so on.