Introduction
Overview
After
publishing the book “A Guide to Collecting Avery Needle Cases” in 2017,
a decision was made to focus new research on the 82 companies related to Avery
style needle cases. This meant learning
more about the businesses that either patented or manufactured stamped brass
needle cases or had their name placed on one during the time
period in which these items were produced, 1867-1897. To know something about the companies
associated with these needle cases will make the ones in our collections even
more special. These companies fall into
three categories: 25 were needle
manufacturers or other businesses from the Redditch area in the UK and 1 from
Germany; 18 were companies from Birmingham and 1 from Liverpool involved with
brass or other metal manufacturing; and 37 were other businesses (30 from
London, 4 from New York and 3 from other places), who were agents or licensees
of these companies. After three years of
extensive research this book was created and it contains information about the
25 Redditch area manufacturers, listed in alphabetic order by company name. Due to the number of Redditch companies
involved, this book is divided into two volumes. Volume I contains
the Preface, Introduction and Chapters 1-10.
Volume II contains the Preface, Introduction and Chapters 11-25. Additional books will be prepared in the
future to cover the companies outside the Redditch area related to Avery needle
cases.
The
goal was to write a short history about each company focusing on the 19th
century. This included determining when
the business was established and when it ceased to exist or was merged with
another company. Information was
gathered from city and trade directories, libraries, archives and of course the
Internet. An attempt was made to
supplement this historical data with photographs or drawings of each factory and/or
it’s floor plan as well as locating one of the
company’s advertisements from the Victorian Period. Be advised that just because an old drawing
is found of a factory doesn’t necessarily mean it is
an accurate depiction of what the factory actually looked like. Many companies created elaborate drawings to
make their factory look larger or more elaborate in order to
impress others and increase the sale of their products. Visits were also made to the original factory
locations to see what the areas look like today. No company history would be complete without
trying to locate information about the owners.
Where did they come from? What
did the owners and their parents do for a living throughout their lives? Where did they live and when did they die? Where were they buried and what happened to
their estate and/or their children after their deaths? This involved basic genealogical research
including finding birth, marriage, death and census
records and also locating obituaries and probate documents.
Each
company’s story is divided into three parts: History, Images and
Genealogy. The History portion is further
subdivided into a Company section and an Owner’s section. Although historical research of this type is
not an exact science, it should be based on evidence and not assumptions.
Wherever possible, information provided by previous authors was reviewed and
their sources examined to see if the same conclusions could be drawn. A thorough search through all available
sources was undertaken and the results were evaluated, both what was found and
what was not found. Each History
section contains extensive footnotes in order to
document the sources of the information.
Be advised that it only includes footnotes when the source of the
information is not readily available in the Genealogy section. Detailed information from census records,
vital records (birth, baptism, marriage and death) and
probate records is listed in the Genealogy section followed by a code to
indicate the source. However, detailed
data found in an obituary or an article in a book or newspaper is not included
in the Genealogy section because to include all of that
text would require many additional pages. Instead these types
of details are revealed in the History section and the sources are footnoted
there. Additionally, rather than adding
captions to drawings or photographs, the sources of these are also included in the
footnotes where needed. Items in the
Genealogy section highlighted in yellow need additional research.
To
save space, the chart below was created for the nine most common sources listed
in the Genealogy section. For example,
specific information followed by (S4) means the source of the information is
census records. Data from unusual or less common sources is listed separately with an “S=”
followed by the name of the source enclosed in parenthesis e.g.: (S=The National
Archives, Kew).
Source Code Chart
(S1b, c, m, d) Ancestry.com or findmypast.co.uk - England
Select Births, Christenings (burial) 1538-1975
and Marriages 1538-1973 and Deaths & Burials 1538-1991 or Non-Conformist and Non-Parochial Registers
1567-1970 or Church of England Marriages 1754-1912 (b=birth, c=christening or
baptism, m=marriage, d=death, and burial=burial)
(S2) Ancestry.com or
findmypast.co.uk - Public Member Trees with undocumented sources
(S3) Ancestry.com - England Marriage
Bands 1754-1931
(S4) Ancestry.com or
findmypast.co.uk - England censuses which list family members as head, wife,
son, daughter, etc.
(S5b, m, d) Ancestry.com or findmypast.co.uk -
England, Wales Civil Registration Birth, Marriage or Death Index 1837-1915 or
England Wales Civil Registration Death Index 1916-2007 (b=birth, m-marriage and d=death)
(S6) Ancestry.com or findmypast.co.uk
- England, Wales National Probate Calendar 1858-1966 and England and Wales
Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills 1384-1858. (Note: Probate effects are listed only in pounds;
shillings and pence are not included).
(S7) Ancestry.com - National Burial
Index for England & Wales Transcription or
Find a Grave Index 1300-Current or other Church of England Burial records
(S8b, m. d) UK General Registration Office (GRO) official
birth, marriage or death certificates b=birth,
m-marriage and d=death)
(S9) Ancestry.com - 1939 England and
Wales Register
How the Research was Done
Documenting
how the research was done is important in case someone in the future wants to
review the results and see if they come to the same conclusions. After obtaining as much information as
possible from libraries, archives and other researchers, each company was
searched online using Google and Google Books.
Another chart was created to show the sources of information obtained
from city and trade directories in an attempt to
verify when the companies were established.
This chart is located at the end of this chapter. Presumably, if the firm was not listed in one
of these directories it was not fully established at the time the directory was
created. Please note that often
advertisements, letterheads or needle packets from the Victorian Period contain
the name of the company and the words “established” followed by a year. These often indicate the firm had been in
business significantly longer then when they first appear in city and trade
directories. Based on extensive research
done over a period of eight years on the W. Avery & Son company, it seems likely
that some of these dates were based on when an earlier member of the owner’s
family, e.g.; father, grandfather, great-grandfather, etc. first started to
work in the needle industry and this date is often used as the date the firm claimed
they were established when in fact the company was officially founded at a
later date.
After
uncovering the name of an owner, further details about their lives often
started with searching for them in census records. These records are not 100 percent accurate
because the census taker or the person giving the information may have made a
mistake regarding the name, age, occupation or
birthplace of an individual. However,
often this is the only information available for a specific time
period. The UK census was taken every
ten years starting in 1841 and these records are currently available online through
1911 at genealogy websites such as Ancestry.com. One can usually follow a family through these
years by matching parents and their children from one census to the next based
on location, names, ages, occupations and places of
birth. However, at other times it is
extremely difficult because the surnames of many of the individuals being
researched are very common. For example, some of the surnames
investigated were James, Morgan, Smith, Thomas and
Turner. In order to
locate the owners of a firm and follow them through the years it was first
necessary to uncover approximately what year they were born and where. An initial search for individuals in the
Redditch area was done using the person’s name and the census year 1871 or
1881. For example, according to city and
trade directories or other sources, the company named James Smith & Son
from Astwood Bank, had an owner named James Smith. Therefore, a search for all individuals with
the name James Smith living in the Astwood Bank area of Redditch was
undertaken.
A
review of each record was then done to see what the person’s occupation was and
often, after reviewing all of the records, only one
person in the area with that name had an occupation equal to needle manufacturer. Please note that people residing near town or
county borders (Worcestershire verses Warwickshire) occasionally are listed in
one district in one census and in another district in a different census when
in fact they are living on the same street in both censuses. Apparently, some jurisdictions changed as the
population increased. During the 19th
century, from the 1820’s until the 1890’s, the population of the Redditch area
increased around 275%1. Once
a birth year was available, searching for that person in other records was much
easier because the search was limited to individuals born within 5 years of
that birth year. Based on the name and
birth year, the death index and probate records were also examined and once a
death date was determined, newspapers were searched for obituaries using
websites like the British Newspaper Archive.
Occasionally family trees recorded by other researchers on genealogical
websites were used to locate an individual, however since many of these are undocumented
and data like this is often incorrect, census and other records were very carefully
examined in order to ensure accuracy. Nevertheless, mistakes could still be
made. If anyone believes any data in
this book in inaccurate, please contact the author at meinket@yahoo.com.
Additional
records were often not obtained because of the cost involved. For example, if the death index indicated James
Smith died in the 4th QTR of 1912 and his probate record listed his name
occupation, residence, death date, probate date and mentioned his wife,
children or someone else associated with
the family, was it really necessary to obtain his official death record from
the General Register Office (GRO) at a cost of
£11 each? For the research in this book GRO records (official
birth, marriage and death records beginning in 1837) were only acquired in
situations where it was needed to prove a connection. If data was obtained
from other reliable sources there was no need to purchase a GRO record what
would not provide much addition information.
Also, information about wives and children, especially daughters, was
often not undertaken because most wives and daughters were not listed with an
occupation, making it extremely difficult to identify if they were related. For example, let’s
say James Smith’s wife was named Sarah and the research showed there were six
Sarah Smiths who died in the Redditch area within 20 years of James Smith’s
death. How does one prove which was his
wife if there are no probate records or something else to tie them together? One would have to order all six GRO death
records in order to try to determine which was his
wife and even then, the GRO records might not provide enough information to
prove it.
___________________________
Endnote
[1] In Pigot’s 1828-29 Directory the population of the Redditch area was listed as 3,000 and in Kelly’s 1892 Directory it was listed as having 8,266 inhabitants in 1891.
Current Maps Showing the Original
Needle Factory Locations
The
area known as the Needle District during the Victorian Period consisted of a series
of towns and villages in the Redditch area of the UK. At the time 90 percent of the world’s needles
were produced in this region. The Needle
District included places in both the counties of Worcestershire and
Warwickshire and these counties were further divided into districts such as
Alcester and Bromsgrove as well as sub-districts like Studley, Tardebigg and
Feckenham. The towns where the needle
manufacturers related to Avery needle cases were located include:
Redditch, Studley, Headless Cross, Astwood Bank, Feckenham, Alcester and Hunt
End. What follows are current maps of
these areas taken from Google Maps marked to show the original location of each
factory. Old maps of these areas,
available online at www.old-maps.co.uk, were reviewed and compared to the
current maps in order to ascertain exactly where the
factories were located. When a factory
location was not specifically named on the old maps, consultation was made with
knowledgeable individuals in the Redditch area to determine where the factory
was located.
Redditch Area Map
A = Arthur James,
Excelsior Works and the James home known as Brunswick House
B = Samuel Thomas
& Sons, British Needle Mills and the Thomas home known as The Laurels
C = William
Bartleet & Sons, Abbey Mills
D = Joseph
Holyoake & Son, Gate Works
E = Alfred Booker
& Co., Midland Works
F = Richard Turner
& Co., Old Factory
G = William
Woodfield & Sons, Easemore Works
H = Charles Laight
& Co., Cable Works
I = Richard Wyers,
Albert Works
J = Henry Milward
& Sons, Washford Mills
K = John English
& Son, Queens Works
L = Abel Morrall
Ltd, Clive Works
M = Richard Wyers,
Neptune Works
N = William Gould,
The Grove
O = Holyoake home
known as The Willows and Bartleet home known as The Shrubbery
P = Richard
Harrison & Co., Metropolitan Works
Not Found -
William Hall & Co., Minerva Works, Mt. Pleasant
Not Found - Thomas
Johnson & Sons, Globe Works
Studley Area Map
A = Henry Milward
& Sons and Abel Morrall, Washford Mill
B = William Hall
& Co., Central Works
C = Abel Morrall,
Priory Needle Mill
D = Abel Morrall
and Francis Morrall, Green Lane Needle Mill
Headless Cross Area Map
A = William Avery
& Son, needle factory and Avery home known as Sherborne
Cottage
B = Thomas Harper
& Sons, Phoenix Works
Astwood Bank Area Map
A = James Smith
& Sons, Double Century Works
B = James Smith
home known as Doe Bank House
C = John Anthony
Croft, Astwood Hill Farm
D = Anthony Croft,
needle factory on Foregate Street
Not Found -
Richard Newhall & Sons, Poplar Works
Feckenham Area Map
A = William W.
Gould & Sons, Feckenham Mills
B = John English
& Co., needle factory
C = Needle
scouring mill on Mill Lane possibly owned by Gould or shared with English
Alcester Area Map
A =Abel Morrall
and W. Hall & Co, Ragley Mills
B = Hayes,
Crossley & Co, Excelsior Works
C = T. & J.
Holyoake, Oversley Mill
D = T. & J.
Holyoake, Hoo Mills
Hunt End Area Map
A = George
Townsend & Co., Givry Needle Works
Redditch
Area Manufacturer City and Trade Directory Charts
The
data obtained from city and trade directories is shown in the two charts
below. The second column in each table
contains the names of the Redditch manufacturers arranged in alphabetic
order. This is followed by 9 columns,
each representing the year a city or trade directory was published. If the manufacturer was listed in that year’s
directory, the letter “Y” is placed in the column. In some cases, the “Y” is followed by another
letter to indicate the section of the directory where that name was found. An Abbreviations legend, explaining these
codes, is listed immediately following the second table as are Notes because
several companies required additional research beyond the 18 directories listed
in these tables. Detailed information
about the city and trade directories reviewed can be found in the Sources
section at the end.
Chart Part 1: 1820-1861
|
Redditch
Area Manufacturer City and Trade Directory Chart - Part 1: 1820-1861 |
||||||||||
|
# |
Company Name |
1820 |
1822 |
1823 |
1828-1829 |
1835 |
** & 1842 |
1850 & 1850 |
1855
|
1861 |
|
1 |
William Avery & Son |
|
Y |
Y |
Y-R |
Y-R |
** as John Avery Y-F |
Y-R (only in |
Y-R Y-F |
Y-R |
|
2 |
William Bartleet & Sons |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y-R |
Y-R |
** Y-R |
Y-R |
Y-R |
Y-R |
|
3 |
Alfred Booker &
Co. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Y-R (listed as T. Booker & Son) |
|
4 |
John
Anthony Croft1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Y-F (his father Thomas was listed as a needle
scourer) |
|
|
5 |
John English & Co. and John English & Son |
|
|
Y |
Y-F |
Y-F |
** Y-F |
Y-F |
Y-R and Y-F |
Y-R and Y-F |
|
6 |
William Gould or William Gould & Son or William W.
Gould |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y-R |
Y-R |
** Y-R |
Y-R |
Y-F |
Y-R |
|
7 |
William Hall & Co. |
|
|
|
|
|
** Y-A |
Y-S |
|
Y-R |
|
8 |
Thomas Harper & Sons |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
9 |
Richard Harrison & Co. (aka Harrison, Bartleet
& Co. from 1876-1912) |
|
|
|
|
|
** |
Y-R |
Y-Fish Hook & Tackle Maker |
Y-Fish Hook & Tackle Mfr. |
|
10 |
Hayes, Crossley & Co.2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
11 |
Joseph Holyoake
& Son (aka T. & J. Holyoake)
|
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y-R |
Y-R |
** Y-R |
Y-R |
Y-R |
Y-R |
|
12 |
Arthur James |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Y-R |
Y-R |
|
13 |
Thomas Johnson & Sons |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Y-R (listed as fish hook maker)
|
|
|
14 |
Charles Laight & Co. (aka Charles Laight &
Sons) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Y-R |
|
15 |
Henry Milward & Sons (aka Henry Millward
in 1820) |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y-R |
Y-R |
** Y-R |
Y-R |
Y-R |
Y-R |
|
16 |
Abel Morrall |
|
|
|
|
|
** |
Y-S |
|
Y-R |
|
17 |
Richard Newhall & Sons |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
18 |
James Smith & Son |
|
|
Y |
Y-F |
Y-F |
** Y-F |
Y-F |
Y-F |
Y-R |
|
19 |
Samuel Thomas & Sons |
|
|
|
|
Y-R |
** Y-R |
Y-R |
Y-R |
Y-R |
|
20 |
George Townsend & Co. |
|
|
Y |
Y-A |
|
|
|
|
Y-R |
|
21 |
Richard Turner & Sons (aka Richard Turner & Co.) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Y-R |
Y-R |
|
22 |
C. G. Wacker & Co. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
23 |
Joseph Welch (aka Joseph Welch & Sons |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24 |
William Woodfield & Sons |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Y-R |
|
25 |
Richard
Wyers |
|
|
|
Y-R |
Y-R |
** Y-R |
Y-R |
Y-R |
Y-R |
Chart Part 2: 1865-1912
|
Redditch Area Manufacturer City and Trade
Directory Chart - Part 2: 1865-1912 |
||||||||||
|
# |
Company Name |
1865 |
1870 |
1873 |
1876 |
1878 & 1879 |
1892 |
1896* or 1896-97 |
1900 |
1912 |
|
1 |
William Avery & Son (aka Avery Brothers in 1878 and
W. Avery & Co. in 1879) |
Y-R |
Y |
Y |
Y-HC |
1878 (listed as a pearl button mfr.)
1879 (listed as a pin mfr.). |
Y-HC |
Y |
Y-HC |
|
|
2 |
William Bartleet & Sons |
Y-R |
|
Y |
Y-R |
1878-Y 1879-Y |
Y-R |
Y |
Y-R |
Y-R |
|
3 |
Alfred Booker &
Co. |
Y-R |
Y |
Y |
Y-R |
1878-Y |
Y-R |
Y |
Y-R |
Y-R |
|
4 |
John
Anthony Croft1 |
|
|
|
Y-F (listed as a needle pointer in
Hunt End and in Callow Hill as a farmer) |
|
|
|
Y-F (listed as a farmer) |
Y-F (listed as a farmer) |
|
5 |
John English & Co. and John English & Son |
Y-R |
Y |
Y |
Y-R and Y-F |
1878-Y 1879-Y |
Y-R and Y-F |
Y |
Y-R and Y-F |
Y-R and Y-F |
|
6 |
William W. Gould or William W. Gould & Sons |
|
Y |
Y |
Y-F |
1879-Y |
Y-F |
|
Y-F |
Y-F |
|
7 |
William Hall & Co. |
Y-R |
Y |
Y |
|
1878-Y |
|
Y and Y-S* |
|
Y-R Y-S |
|
8 |
Thomas Harper & Sons |
|
|
Y |
Y-HC |
|
Y-WH |
Y |
Y-WH |
Y-WH |
|
9 |
Richard Harrison & Co. (aka Harrison, Bartleet
& Co. from 1876-1912) |
Y-R |
|
Y-R |
Y-R |
1878-Y 1879-Y |
Y-R |
Y-R |
Y-R |
Y-R |
|
10 |
Hayes, Crossley & Co.2 |
|
Y |
Y |
|
1878-Y |
|
|
|
|
|
11 |
Joseph Holyoake
& Son (aka T. & J. Holyoake)
|
Y-R |
Y |
Y |
Y-R |
1878-Y 1879-Y |
Y-R |
Y |
|
|
|
12 |
Arthur James |
|
|
Y |
Y-R |
|
Y-R |
Y |
Y-R |
Y-R |
|
13 |
Thomas Johnson & Sons |
|
|
|
|
|
Y-R |
Y |
|
|
|
14 |
Charles Laight & Co. (aka Charles Laight &
Sons) |
Y-R |
Y |
Y |
Y-R |
|
Y-R |
Y |
Y-R |
Y-R |
|
15 |
Henry Milward & Sons |
Y-R |
|
Y |
Y-R |
1878-Y 1879-Y |
Y-R |
Y |
Y-R |
Y-R |
|
16 |
Abel Morrall |
Y-R |
Y |
Y |
|
1878-Y 1879-Y |
|
Y and Y-S* |
Y-R |
Y-R and Y-S |
|
17 |
Richard Newhall & Sons |
|
|
Y (listed as needle case mfr) |
Y-AB 1876* (listed as needle case mfr) |
Y-AB 1878* (listed as needle case mfr) |
|
|
|
|
|
18 |
James Smith & Son |
Y-R |
Y |
Y |
Y-F |
|
Y-F |
|
Y-F |
Y-F |
|
19 |
Samuel Thomas & Sons |
Y-R |
|
Y |
Y-R |
1879-Y |
Y-R |
Y |
Y-R |
Y-R |
|
20 |
George Townsend & Co. |
Y-R |
Y |
Y |
Y-F |
1879-Y |
Y-F |
|
|
|
|
21 |
Richard Turner & Sons (aka Richard Turner & Co.) |
Y-R |
|
Y |
Y-R |
1878-Y |
Y-R |
Y |
Y-R |
Y-R |
|
22 |
C. G. Wacker & Co. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
23 |
Joseph Welch (aka Joseph Welch & Sons |
|
|
|
Y-R (listed as a watch maker) |
|
Y-R (listed as a crochet hook maker) |
Y-R (listed as a crochet hook) |
Y-R (listed as a crochet hook mas) |
|
|
24 |
William Woodfield & Sons |
Y-R (fish hook) |
Y |
Y |
Y-R |
1878-Y 1879-Y |
Y-R |
Y |
Y-R |
Y-R |
|
25 |
Richard
Wyers |
Y-R |
|
Y |
Y-R |
|
Y-R |
Y |
Y-R |
Y-R |
Abbreviations
Y = listed
as a needle-making firm/factor or needle manufacturer in the directory unless
otherwise noted
Y-A
= listed as a needle manufacturer in the Alcester section of
the directory which sometimes includes Studley unless otherwise noted
Y-AB = listed
as a needle manufacturer in the Astwood Bank section of the directory unless
otherwise noted
Y-F = listed as a needle manufacturer in the Feckenham section of the directory which sometimes includes Astwood Bank, Headless Cross, Hunt End and Web Heath unless
otherwise noted
Y-HC = listed
as a needle manufacturer in the Headless Cross section of the directory unless
otherwise noted
Y-R = listed
as a needle manufacturer in the Redditch section of the directory which
sometimes including surrounding towns unless otherwise noted
Y-S
= listed
as a needle manufacturer in the Studley section of the directory unless
otherwise noted
Y-WH= listed
as a needle manufacturer in the town of Web Heath section of the directory
unless otherwise noted
Notes
1 = There was another man named Anthony Croft who was a needle
manufacturer but from a different Croft family. - According to Almanacs in the
Redditch Library, Anthony Croft of Astwood Bank is listed in 1873, 1876, 1877,
1878, 1879, 1880 and 1882. He is not
listed in 1883 and 1884 however Mary Croft is listed in his place as a sewing
and machine needle manufacturer.
Research done at Redditch Library in 2018.
2 = Listed in Alcester in 1873, 1878, 1879, 1880. No longer listed in 1881. Research done at the Redditch Library in
2018.
**=Also listed in Accounts and Papers:
Nineteen Volumes - (14) - Trade: Corn: Post Office: Postage. Session 26 January
– 22 June 1841, Vol. XXVI, 1841. Section
entitled Needles and Fish Hooks, Order to the House of
Commons 3, March 1841 signed 14
November 1840 by 57 needle manufacturers from the Redditch area.1841.
Sources
(Available online at Google Books (https://books.google.com/) or at the
Historical Directories of England & Wales website at http://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/digital/collection/p16445coll4 unless otherwise
noted.)
1820 S. Lewis Worcestershire General and
Commercial Directory for1820. A
transcribed version available
from Raymond McLaren
and on
the internet at https://www.parishmouse.co.uk/worcestershire/reddittch-lewis-worcestershire-directory-1820/.
1822 “A History and
Directory of Redditch including Headless Cross” dated July 1822 prepared by F.
M. (F. Milward) included as a reference in a document printed after 1877.
A photocopy of the original available from Raymond McLaren.
1823 Directory
of Redditch A Century Ago compiled by T. Mence post master during this time period. Probably
published in 1923. A photocopy of the
original available from Raymond McLaren.
1828-29Pigot and Co’s National Commercial Directory, for
1828-9; Comprising a Directory and Classification of the Merchants, Bankers,
Professional Gentlemen, Manufacturers and Trades, in all the Cities, Towns, Seaports,
and Principal Villages in the Following Counties in England, VIZ …Warwickshire,
Worcestershire…
1835 Pigot and Co’s National
Commercial Directory, Comprising a Classification of the Merchants, Bankers, Professional
Gentlemen, Manufacturers and Trades, … in all the Cities, Towns, Seaports, and
Principal Villages in the
Counties of Worcestershire.
1842 Pigot
and Co’s Royal National and Commercial Directory and Topography of the Counties
of Warwickshire, …Worcestershire, 1842.
1850 Post
Office Directory of Birmingham with Staffordshire and Worcestershire, by W.
Kelly & Co, 1850 (includes Feckenham and Redditch).
1850 History,
Gazetteer, and Directory of Warwickshire, by Francis White & Co, 1850
(includes Alcester, Redditch and Studley).
1855 M.
Billing’s Directory and Gazetteer of the County of Worcester, 1855 (includes
Feckenham and Redditch).
1861 Corporation
General and Trades Directory of Birmingham, . . . Redditch . . .and
Wolverhampton, by William Cornish, 1861.
1865 Jones’s
Mercantile Directory of the Iron District of South Staffordshire and East
Worcestershire, 1865. (includes Redditch however,
Feckenham is not listed in this directory).
1870 The
Handbook to the Manufacturers & Exporters of Great Britain, edited by
George Taylor Wright, 1870.
1873 The
Needle District Almanack and Directory for 1873. Available at the Redditch Library.
1873 Littlebury’s Directory and Gazetteer of the County of
Worcester. A photocopy of the original
available from Raymond McLaren. Also
available at the Redditch Library.
1876* The
Needle District Almanack and Trades Directory for 1876. Available at the Redditch Library.
1876 The
Post Office Directory of Worcestershire, by E. B. Kelly, 1876 (includes
Feckenham and Redditch).
1877 The
Needle District Almanack and Trades Directory for 1877. Available at the Redditch Library.
1878* The
Needle Region Almanack and Trades Directory for 1878. Available at the Redditch Library.
1878 The
Post Office Directory of Birmingham with its Suburbs for 1878, by E. B. Kelly.
1879 The
Post Office Directory of Birmingham with its Suburbs for 1879, by E. B. Kelly.
1879 The
Needle Region Almanack and Trades Directory for 1879. Available at the Redditch Library.
1880 The
Needle Region Almanack and Trades Directory for 1880. Available at the Redditch Library.
1881 The
Needle Region Almanack and Trades Directory for 1881. Available at the Redditch Library.
1882 The
Needle Region Almanack and Trades Directory for 1882. Available at the Redditch Library.
1883 The
Needle District Almanack and Trades Directory for 1883. Available at the Redditch Library.
1884 The
Needle District Almanack and Trades Directory for 1884. Available at the Redditch Library.
1892 The
Post Office Directory of Worcestershire, by Kelly and Co., 1892 (includes
Feckenham and Redditch).
1896* Kelly’s
Directory of Warwickshire, 1896 (includes Alcester and Studley).
1896-97Peck’s Circular Trades Directory
and Detailed Buyer’s Guide to the Manufactures of Birmingham and District
including … Redditch, 1896-7.
1900 Kelly’s
Directory of Worcestershire, by Kelly’s Directories Limited, 1900 (includes
Astwood Bank, Feckenham, Headless Cross, Hunt End and Redditch).
1912 Kelly’s
Warwickshire Directory, 1912 (includes Alcester and Studley).
1912 Kelly’s
Worcestershire Directory, 1912 (includes Astwood Bank, Feckenham, Headless
Cross, Hunt End and Redditch).