Kelly's Directory Of Nottingham & West Bridgford 1953

Kelly's Directory of Nottingham & West Bridgford 1953 - Digital Download or CD

Product Description:

Step back into the post-war era of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation year with this high-quality reproduction of Kelly's Directory of Nottingham & West Bridgford 1953.

An essential resource for family historians, genealogists, and local history researchers, this directory offers a fascinating snapshot of life in Nottinghamshire during the early 1950s. With the 1931 Census destroyed in the war and the 1941 Census cancelled due to WWII, directories from this era are vital tools for bridging the gap between the 1939 Register and the 1961 Census. If you are tracing ancestors who lived in Nottingham during this period of reconstruction and change, this is the definitive guide to where they lived and what they did for a living.

Product Format & Navigation

This directory is available as a Digital Download or on CD. The content consists of high-resolution scanned images of the original book pages.

• Please Note: As this is a scan of the original historical document, the text is not embedded in the traditional sense and is therefore not directly searchable via a simple "Ctrl+F" command within the file itself.
• Easy Navigation: Do not worry! Kelly’s Directories are famously alphabetical. You can easily locate residents by surname or trades by category, just like using a phone book.
• Modern Technology: Most modern PDF readers (such as Adobe Acrobat) offer "Run OCR" or "Recognize Text" features, which can make the images searchable on the fly depending on your software settings.

Contents of the Directory

This comprehensive volume is packed with detailed information, divided into easy-to-use sections:

1. Street Directory: A thorough listing of the principal streets of Nottingham and West Bridgford, showing the head of the household and commercial occupants at every address.
2. Commercial Directory: An alphabetical list of trades and professions (from Acrobats to Zinc Workers), allowing you to discover the local economy and find specific businesses.
3. Court & Private Residents: An alphabetical listing of private residents (the "gentry" and notable citizens) which often includes retired professionals and their addresses.
4. Official & Municipal Information: Details of the City Council, officials, magistrates, clergy, and public institutions, providing context on the governance of the city.
5. West Bridgford Section: A dedicated section for the town of West Bridgford, separate from the city, covering its own streets, officials, and residents.
6. Neighboring Parishes: Often includes smaller surrounding villages and hamlets within the county.

Historical Context & Famous Connections

Nottingham in 1953 was a city recovering from the rigors of war but looking forward to a new Elizabethan age. This directory places you right in the heart of that era.

• Local Industry: Discover the giants of Nottingham’s industrial past. At this time, the city was still dominated by the "Big Three": Boots the Chemist, Raleigh Bicycles, and Players Cigarettes (John Player & Sons). This directory captures them at their peak, before the later declines of British manufacturing.
• Sporting History: Football fans will find references to the homes of Nottingham Forest (City Ground) and Notts County (Meadow Lane). 1953 was a notable year for local football, with both clubs navigating the post-war football leagues.
• Famous People:
  • Lord Byron: While the poet died long before 1953, his ancestral home, Newstead Abbey, is a recurring feature in the county's history sections.
  • D.H. Lawrence: The mining town of Eastwood is covered in the county sections. By 1953, Lawrence was a celebrated (though sometimes controversial) literary figure, and this era saw his hometown beginning to embrace his legacy.
  • Alvin Stardust: Born Bernard Jewry in London, he moved to Mansfield (nearby) as a child. During 1953, the young future rock star would have been a teenager living in the area, potentially listed with his family.
• Music & Culture: This was the era of the "Palais" dances. The directory lists many dance halls and cinemas where the youth of 1953 would have been listening to the early stirrings of Rock 'n' Roll.

Important Note Regarding Maps

Please be advised that original directories often had maps removed by previous owners or damaged over time. While every effort has been made to preserve the original content, maps are not guaranteed to be present in this reproduction. However, if the original map is intact, it is included as a special bonus feature at no extra cost!

Unlock the secrets of your Nottingham ancestry today!