Kelly's Directory Of Worthing & Neighbourhood 1901

Kelly's Directory of Worthing & Neighbourhood, 1901

Unlock the World of Your Sussex Ancestors at the Dawn of the 20th Century!

Step back in time to the elegant Edwardian era on the vibrant Sussex coast. This meticulously digitised version of Kelly's Directory of Worthing & Neighbourhood, 1901, is more than just a book; it's a time machine and an indispensable key to unlocking the lives of your ancestors.

Published in the same year as the pivotal 1901 Census, this directory provides the rich, contextual detail that the census alone cannot. It moves beyond simple names and numbers to paint a vivid, full-colour portrait of the community your family lived in, worked in, and helped build.

What Genealogical Treasures Will You Discover Inside?

This comprehensive directory is packed with information crucial for your family history research:

Private Residents Directory: An alphabetical list of the head of households for Worthing and surrounding villages. Find your ancestors' names and their exact street address, allowing you to pinpoint their home on a map and walk the same streets they once did.

Commercial & Trade Directory: Discover what your ancestors did for a living! This section is classified by trade, from bakers and blacksmiths to drapers and doctors. It’s a fantastic way to confirm an ancestor's occupation or find family-run businesses.

Official & Court Directory: A "Who's Who" of local authority. Identify individuals who held civic positions, from mayors and councillors to magistrates and local officials. Was your ancestor a prominent figure in the community?

Local Information: A fascinating guide to the area as it was in 1901, including:
Details on churches, clergy, and parish officials.
Listings of schools, schoolmasters, and medical practitioners.
Information on local transport, including coach and railway services, showing how people and goods moved.
Postal arrangements and banking institutions.

Authentic Advertisements: Browse the period advertisements to get a true feel for the products, services, and aspirations of the time. You might even find an ad for a family business!

Why is the 1901 Directory a Genealogist's Goldmine?

The Perfect Companion to the 1901 Census: Found your family in the census? Use this directory to verify the address, learn more about their street, and discover their neighbours and local tradespeople. It adds a layer of social context that brings your family tree to life.
Bridging the Gaps: Directories are invaluable for tracking family movements between census years. If an ancestor disappears from one census, a search in the directories for the intervening years can often reveal where they moved to.

Break Down Brick Walls: Stuck on a common name? The combination of a name, profession, and address in the directory can be the key to distinguishing your ancestor from others with the same name.
Add Colour to Your Family Story: Move beyond dates and places. Learn about the shops your great-grandmother visited, the pub where your great-grandfather drank, and the church where your relatives were married. This is the social history that turns a list of names into a real family.
Who Will Find This Directory Invaluable?

Anyone with family roots in Worthing, Goring-by-Sea, Findon, Sompting, Lancing, or the surrounding areas.
Local and social historians studying the Edwardian period in Sussex.
House historians researching the history of a specific property.
Writers and researchers seeking authentic details about life in a turn-of-the-century English seaside resort.