Discover your local history Guide No. 2 Trade Directories

Discover North Tyneside Commercial publishers selling to an identified market produced trade directories. The older directories were sold primarily to the gentry and leisured classes. From 1850s onwards the directories were designed for a more commercial market. Nineteenth century directories are arranged alphabetically by Church of England parish with an alphabetical list of townships usually at the beginning.

Each entry has a brief historical description of a village/town, followed by a contemporary description, then a list of private inhabitants and local trades-people. They therefore contain the following information: topographical details (including mineral deposits), history and a description of a village/town, population figures, and details of transport (eg. Stage Coach, Carrier, Railway), names of public buildings (eg. Inns, Schools), and names of local officials and businesses.

This leaflet contains a list of trade directories available at the Local Studies Centre, North Shields Library. The directories are listed below in chronological order.

Date Directory 1790 Whitehead's Newcastle & Gateshead directory 1827 Parson's & White Durham & Northumberland 1 1828 Parson's & White Durham & Northumberland 2 1828-29 Pigot's directory of Northumberland 1834 Pigot's directory of Northumberland 1844 Williams' Commercial directory 1847 White & Co's directory 1850 Ward's Northumberland & Durham 1851 Ward's North of England directory 1853 Ward's North of England directory 1854 Whellan, Northumberland 1854/55 Slater's directory of Durham, Northumberland & Yorkshire 1855 Slater's, Durham 1855 Whellan, Northumberland 1857/58 Ward's North of England directory Date Directory 1863/64 Ward's directory of Newcastle & Gateshead 1865/66 Ward's directory of Newcastle, Gateshead & Shields 1867 Ward's directory of Newcastle, North Shields, South Shields 1871/72 Campbell's directory of North Shields 1871/72 Ward's directory of Newcastle, Gateshead, Shields & Jarrow 1873 Kelly's Directory of Northumberland 1873 Post Office directory of DUR & NBL 1875/76 Ward's Directory of Newcastle, Gateshead, North & South Shields 1879 Post Office Directory of Durham and Northumberland 1885/86 Ward's Directory of Gateshead, Newcastle, Sunderland, North & South Shields etc. 1886 Kelly's Directory of Gateshead 1886 Kelly's Directory of North Shields & Tynemouth 1888 Ward's Directory of Newcastle upon Tyne 1890 Kelly's directory of DUR & NBL 1892 Ward's directory of Newcastle and the adjacent villages 1894 Ward's directory of Newcastle on Tyne and adjacent villages 1894 Kelly's directory of Northumberland 1897 Kelly's directory of Durham, Northumberland, Cumberland & Westmorland 1898 Ward's directory of Newcastle and the adjacent villages 1899 Sunderland, Durham & Cleveland district Trades directory 1899 Newcastle, Sunderland and district Trades directory 1901 Ward's North Shields, Whitley Bay, etc., 1901/2 Ward's Newcastle 1902 Kelly's directory of Northumberland 1904 Ward's directory of Newcastle upon Tyne etc., 1906 Kelly's directory of Northumberland 1909/10 Ward's directory of Newcastle, Gateshead, North Shields, South Shields, Wallsend, etc., 1910 Kelly's directory of Northumberland Date Directory 1911/12 Ward's directory of Newcastle, Gateshead, Jarrow, N & S Shields, Tynemouth Wallsend, Whitley Bay. 1913/14 Ward's directory of Newcastle, Gateshead, North Shields, South Shields, Wallsend, etc., 1914 Kelly's directory of Durham & Northumberland 1916 Ward's directory of Newcastle & Wallsend 1918 Ward's directory of Sunderland, Wallsend, Newcastle & Gateshead 1920 Ward's directory of Newcastle 1921 Kelly's directory of Northumberland 1924 Ward's directory of North & South Shields, Jarrow, Wallsend, Newcastle 1925 Kelly's directory of Durham & Northumberland 1926 Ward's directory of Newcastle, Whitley Bay, Tynemouth, North Shields 1927 Ward's directory of Sunderland, Wallsend, Gosforth, Newcastle & Gateshead 1928 Ward's directory of Whitley Bay, Tynemouth, North Shields, Wallsend, etc., 1929 Ward's directory of Sunderland, Wallsend, Newcastle, Gateshead etc., 1929 Kelly's directory of Northumberland 1930 Ward's directory of Whitley Bay, Tynemouth, North & South Shields, Wallsend etc., 1930 Telephone directory of Northumberland, Durham & Yorkshire 1931 Ward's directory of Sunderland, Wallsend, Newcastle, Gateshead 1932 Ward's directory of Whitley Bay, Tynemouth, North & South Shields, Wallsend etc., 1933 Ward's directory of Sunderland, Wallsend, Newcastle Date Directory 1934 Ward's directory of Whitley Bay, Tynemouth, North & South Shields, Wallsend etc., 1934 Kelly's directory of Durham & Northumberland 1935 Ward's directory of Sunderland, Wallsend, Newcastle 1936 Ward's directory of Whitley Bay, Tynemouth, North & South Shields, Wallsend etc., 1937 Ward's directory of Sunderland, Wallsend, Newcastle & Gateshead 1937 Telephone directory of Northumberland, Durham & Yorkshire 1938 Ward's Directory of Whitley Bay, Tynemouth, North & South Shields, Jarrow, Wallsend 1938 Kelly's directory of Durham 1938 Kelly's directory of Northumberland 1939 Ward's directory of Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, Wallsend 1940 Ward's – Whitley Bay, Tynemouth, North & South Shields, Jarrow, Wallsend, Newcastle 1947 Kelly's directory of the City of Newcastle 1950 Kelly's directory of the City of Newcastle 1953 Kelly's directory of the City of Newcastle 1956 Kelly's directory of the City of Newcastle 1959 Kelly's directory of the City of Newcastle 1962 Kelly's directory of the City of Newcastle 1965 Kelly's directory of the City of Newcastle 1968 Kelly's directory of the City of Newcastle