Kelly's Directory Of Leicestershire & Rutland 1916

Kelly's Directory of Leicestershire & Rutland 1916 (Digital Download or CD)

Product Description

Unlock the history of your family and your local area with this fascinating reproduction of Kelly's Directory of Leicestershire & Rutland 1916.

A vital resource for genealogists and local historians, this directory serves as a perfect bridge between the 1911 and 1921 censuses. With the 1921 census only recently released and the 1931 register lost to fire, this 1916 directory is often the only way to trace family movements and residents during the middle of the First World War.

About the Format: This directory is available as a high-quality Digital Download or on a CD. Please note that the directory consists of scanned images of the original pages and is not text-searchable in the traditional sense. However, due to the meticulous alphabetical arrangement of residents and trades, navigation is straightforward. Furthermore, most modern PDF readers (such as Adobe Acrobat or browser viewers) now perform OCR (Optical Character Recognition) on the fly, allowing you to use the "Find" function to locate surnames and places with ease.

What's Inside: This comprehensive volume offers a detailed snapshot of life in Leicestershire and Rutland during the Great War. It is divided into several key sections:

• County Information: Detailed topographical descriptions of the region, geology, and history.
• Court & Administrative Directories: Listings for the County Council, Magistrates, and Public Officials.
• Town & Village Directories: Street-by-street and house-by-house listings for major towns like Leicester, Loughborough, Melton Mowbray, and Oakham, as well as every small village in the counties.
• Private Residents: An alphabetical list of private households, useful for finding where your ancestors lived.
• Trades & Professional Directory: Classified listings of businesses and tradespeople, from blacksmiths to zinc workers—perfect for understanding the local economy.
• Advertisements: Period advertisements that provide a colorful context for the goods and services available to your ancestors in 1916.

Historical Context & Famous Connections: Leicestershire and Rutland in 1916 were hubs of agriculture and industry. While the men were away fighting, the home front kept turning.

• The Birthplace of Travel: You will find entries relating to Melton Mowbray, the birthplace of Thomas Cook. While Cook himself passed away in 1892, his legacy and family connections remained rooted in the county.
• The Attenborough Link: 1916 was the year the future father of famous naturalists David and Richard Attenborough, Frederick Attenborough, was Principal of University College, Leicester. You may find academic staff listed in the Leicester borough sections.
• Sporting Heroes: The directory lists the grounds and officials of the Leicestershire County Cricket Club, which was active during this period, as well as the thriving rugby and football teams of the region.
• Industry: This was the golden age of the Leicestershire Hosiery and Boot & Shoe industries. The trade directories are packed with manufacturers that made the county famous worldwide, providing employment for thousands of women who stepped into roles vacated by soldiers.

Interesting Local Facts:

• Stilton & Pork Pies: Look out for the listings in Melton Mowbray, the undisputed home of the pork pie, and the staging posts for the famous Stilton cheese trade.
• The Rutland Sentinel: As the smallest county in England, Rutland's directory is intimate and detailed, centered around Oakham and Uppingham.
• Fox Hunting: Despite the war, the hunting traditions of the Quorn, Cottesmore, and Belvoir hunts remained a significant part of the county's social fabric, with many kennels and hunt staff listed.

Map Note: Please be aware that due to the age of the original source material, some fold-out maps may be missing or damaged. If a map is present and legible in the original book, it has been included as a bonus feature in this digital reproduction.