Gazetteers

Gazetteers were the rage in the  1800's as more people began to be able to read and  became more curious about the world outside their parish.

Gazetteers contained details of towns and villages in the area that they set out to cover.

Usually these details included a brief history, population size in acres and details of the main industry and any other notable claim to fame.

Unlike the trade directories they contained no details of prominent residents.

One of the most commonly used nowadays is the four part National Gazetteer of Great Writing and Ireland which was completed in 1868 although there are many others in existence..