Directories and Phone Books
What do I need to know before I start?
Try to find out:
- name of person
- what trade or profession they were engaged in
- when they were working in Glasgow
What records can I find in the Mitchell: Special Collections
Directories for Glasgow
1783-1978
The directories contain an alphabetical list of Glasgow’s main inhabitants, a street directory and a trades directory, listing people by their address and profession or trade. The first directory was published in 1783 by John Tait and included other nearby towns, then by Nathaniel Jones , and thereafter by Walter McFeat as the Glasgow Directory.
In 1828 the directories became known as the Post Office Annual Glasgow Directory. There is a directory for each year from 1800 with the exceptions of 1802, 1808 and 1816.
As the city and businesses grew, the later directories naturally contain more information than the earliest directories, with content such as public institutions and memberships, local travel times and methods, mail deliveries and costs, educational, law or medical directories and suburban directories.
Trade Directories for Glasgow
Kelly’s Directory Glasgow
- 1921- 1974 for most years
Glasgow Trades Directory
- 1906-1928 for most years
Glasgow and Lanark Trades Directory
- 1902-1967 intermittent coverage
Glasgow and West of Scotland Trades Directory
- 1902-1966 intermittent coverage
Trades Directories list business types, names, addresses and often the names of individuals associated with the business listings. There are many trades directories for Scotland also available.
Phone Books for Glasgow
- 1889 to date. Coverage for most years for each decade
Yellow Pages for Glasgow
- 1929 to date. Coverage for most years for each decade
The Phone Books and Yellow Pages for Glasgow list the names, addresses and phone numbers of residential and business customers respectively.
What records can I see online?
You can view Glasgow Directories from 1783-1911 on the National Library of Scotland Scottish Post Office Directories site.
What records can I see elsewhere?
British Phone Books for 1880-1984 can be seen on Ancestry which is available for free in all Glasgow Libraries.
National Library of Scotland Post Office Directories 1783-1911
A digital collection of the trade directories of England and Wales (1766-1919)
Street directories held by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland 1819-1900