UK City and County Directories - ancestry

[kiterunner]

UK City and County Directories 1766-1946 (http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=3145)

They did already have a similar database:
UK City and County Directories 1600s - 1900s (http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=1547)

but the new database has over 26,000,000 records searchable by name (or address) whereas the old one has around 400,000. The two databases do share many of the directories so I think it is mostly a case of the same directories being re-indexed rather than a lot of new directories being digitised. However, I did find with the old database that you usually had to search by surname only or browse to find the entries you were looking for, and the new one is actually coming up with matches for names from my tree (including some very unexpected ones!) so well worth a look.

As with the old database, if you have London ancestors you will find some of the directories under London and some under Middlesex.

Also the database title is wrong - it should be 1677-1946, not 1766-1946, as it includes the 1677 London Directory!

[Lindsay]

Thank you for pointing this out - just put in a surname and I can see several of my Yorkshire branch on the first page of results :)

[Mary from Italy]

Thanks Kite - the old database was really hard to use, so it's good to hear that they've improved it.

[kiterunner]

This has been updated and now there are over 42 million records, so quite a lot must have been added.

[Just Gillian]

Thanks Kate.

I don't know if this is one of the new additions, but Hadrill Rev Herbert Martyn B.A. of The Vicarage, East Harleigh, Maidstone is listed as Yienrnge Hadrill, occupation Bast Farleigh, Maidstone. I hope this isn't a typical example of the transcriptions.

[kiterunner]

The information about the database says that "This index was created using text recognition software. Records were not transcribed."