Shropshire Routes to Roots

Pigot's Directory, 1821-1822
From this map it is possible to see that Broseley was only a relatively small town. Looking at the map, can you find:

• Where the Iron Bridge crosses the River Severn

Slater's Directory, 1850
By opening this map, can you discover:

• Whether Ironbridge is a town or a village, or even smaller
• Iron mines on the south edge of the map

Kelly's Directory, 1895
This later map shows quite a lot of growth in the towns in the area. From it, can you work out:

• Whether Ironbridge has grown since 1850
• How the area generally has developed since 1822

Pigot's Directory, 1821-1822
This fascinating extract gives some of the flavour of what it must have been like to live in an area at the forefront of England's industry. For example:

• The second sentence of this extract gives the primary reason why the Broseley area became such a hub of industry. Can you work out what this is (hint: appropriated means 'collected')?
• How significant were the iron works of Coalbrookdale?
• Was the population of Broseley parish increasing or decreasing? Can you find a reason why in the extract?

Slater's Directory, 1850
In Slater's Directory, Broseley and Madeley were listed together, and the extract encompassed Coalbrookdale, Coalport, Ironbridge, Benthall and Dawley. The number of towns in the one place implies the importance of the area as a centre of industry. For example:

• How is Ironbridge town described (top page, right hand column)?
• Does this suggest the map of 1850 may be slightly out of date?
• How important was the River Severn to the region's economy?

Kelly's Directory, 1895
Kelly's Directory lists Broseley in a different way again, separating it from Madeley, Coalbrookdale and Ironbridge. However, this difference from the earlier two directories is probably due to the layout of Kelly's Directory - which listed even small places on their own - rather than the fact that Ironbridge and the others became so significant as to need a separate listing in their own right.

Pigot's Directory, 1821-1822
This extract gives one clue as to why Broseley was so successful in industry. Here, Iron Masters are listed alongside Lime Burners. Lime was used in the iron industry, and it was important that the one could be found next door to the other because this reduced costs significantly.

Slater's Directory, 1850
This extract suggests how the iron industries were supported by other tradespeople. Look at the extract:

• How many people associated with boats, barges and other forms of transport can you find?
• Can you find another group of manufacturers who would have sold their wares directly to the mines and industries?

Kelly's Directory, 1895
Kelly's Directory lists trades differently, by surname. This makes it harder to trace developments, although you may still find some interesting jobs in this extract, especially about the new leisure activities available to the growing middle-classes. For example, at the top of the page:

• What was Henry Rogers Botwood in charge of?
• What did Ernest Jones do?

Pigot's Directory, 1821-1822
In trade directory listings, 'Coaches' carried people, whilst 'Carriers' generally carried goods. Using this information:

• How often could a person have travelled to Shrewsbury?
• How often could someone have sent goods to Shrewsbury?

Slater's Directory, 1850
This extract shows how the coming of the railway impacted upon existing transport links:

• Were the destinations served by the coaches different to those of 1822? For example, was there a coach to Birmingham in 1850?
• What might the reason for any change be?