Shropshire Routes to Roots

Pigot's Directory, 1821-1822
This map shows the town of Shrewsbury and the surrounding villages within ten miles. Crossing through Shrewsbury from the northwest, and heading east to Wellington, is the Holyhead road. By exploring the Transport and communication: From Trackways to Motorways theme, can you find out when the Holyhead road was opened? When you have done this, decide whether this 1821 map can be considered to be accurate.

Slater's Directory, 1850
This map is based on the same survey as the one done in 1822. Rather than drawing completely new maps, which was expensive, map-makers often put new bits of information onto old surveys.

On this map there is one important addition to the one printed in 1822. By looking at the other sources from 1850 on this page, can you work out what exactly it is?

Kelly's Directory, 1895
This map was clearly drawn from a new survey to those above:

• What has been added since the previous two maps?
• Have any of the railways on the old maps now fallen into disuse?

Pigot's Directory, 1821-1822
This extract contains a lengthy history of the town, before getting to the more contemporary details about its economy, buildings and population. Skipping over the first page, can you discover:

• Whether Shrewsbury's industry was declining or growing
• The number of inhabitants of the borough and town

Slater's Directory, 1850
Open this directory and answer these questions to work out how Shrewsbury was changing:

• What did the chief industries of Shrewsbury used to be, and what the "chief support of the place" was in 1850?
• When was Lord Hill's column erected, and how much did it cost?
• Comparing this directory with that from 1822, is it your general impression that Shrewsbury was declining or growing?

Kelly's Directory, 1895
In this extract, you might look out for:

• The job done by E. Baker in the Post Office, and what this suggests about the changes in communication since 1850
• The population of the borough and town in 1895

Pigot's Directory, 1821-1822
Imagine that you are going on a shopping trip in 1822. By looking at the list of trades, can you work out:

• What sorts of foods you could have bought
• What you could have bought for your home
• From which street you might have bought your meat; if you walked down the same street today, how many butchers' shops would you see?

Slater's Directory, 1850
Now take a trip round Shrewsbury thirty years later:

• Looking at the names of the butchers, were any of the same families there in 1822? What does this suggest about the way shops were run?
• Were there any new types of businesses?
• Which street would you probably have gone to if you had wanted to buy some clothes?

Kelly's Directory, 1895
The lists of tradespeople in Kelly's Directory are organised slightly differently, by surname rather than by occupation. Can you find addresses where you might have:

• Chatted about cameras
• Learned to type
• Bought a bicycle

Pigot's Directory, 1821-1822
Imagine that it's 1822, and you want to send goods to London:

• Could you have had travelled using just one method of transport?
• How often could you have despatched goods?

Slater's Directory, 1850
It seems from this extract as if there were many more carriers in 1850, for example from Shrewsbury to Wellington. In fact what is probably the case is that there are simply more listed because the directory has been more comprehensively researched. This is one of the drawbacks of using trade directories as the only evidence for how transport has changed.

Kelly's Directory, 1895
Looking at the way in which this directory treats transport links:

• Is the order in which transport types are listed different to previous years?
• What might this suggest about the preffered way of sending goods in 1895?