William White and his Directory Maps
Lacks map (as usual)
Early years
Most book collectors are familiar with the
words “history”, “gazetteer”, and “directory”. During the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries, the educated middle class took an increasing interest in
the historical development of their county. Many of these turned to the latest
editions of William Camden´s Britannia (originally in Latin 1586), a
monumental work which became something of a best seller after its translation in
1610 into English. In addition, many of the atlases of the British Isles of the
time included historical background, and other works began to focus on just one
county[i] or
city.
England's Gazetteer, or, an accurate
description of all the cities, towns, and villages of the kingdom[ii] is credited as lending its name to that
genre. This was a list of towns and cities throughout England with a short
description of each, and this also included an Index Villaris, noting
the locations of lesser noted villages and hamlets. Compiled by
Stephen Whatley and originally published in 1751 (3 vols), two further editions
appeared. The American equivalent followed in 1791[iii].
However, there were many other works on the market at that time which included
elements of the gazetteer. The county atlases of Britain, included copious
notes on the more important towns and cities of each county, providing
gazetteer writers with another prime source of geographical information.
However, some authors began to realise that
certain information was missing and began to include lists of the residents of
a location. Lists of the gentry, or members of parliament had been a popular
inclusion even in the popular chapbooks and penny almanacks of the day, and
many of these included long Lists of the Fairs, identifying traders as a
valuable target audience. As a result, lists of merchants, and later, all
residents increasingly began to be included in these county works. This was a
good boost for traders and from that the trade directory was born. The first specialised
directory for London was compiled by Samuel Lee as early as 1677, as a Collection
of the Names of the Merchants, with the names and addresses of nearly 2,000
tradespeople and goldsmiths involved in the wholesale trade. Slow to catch on,
the next directory did not appear until almost 60 years later. Nevertheless, by
the second half of the eighteenth century, directories for important trading
centres began to appear: Liverpool from 1766, Manchester from 1772, Sheffield
from 1774, and Bristol from 1775. The first county directory was that of
Hampshire in 1784.[iv]
Even smaller towns and cities were slowly
covered during the beginnings of the following century. The Picture of
Plymouth of 1812 included a List of the Principal Inhabitants. In
1816 The Exeter Pocket Journal, published in Exeter by Trewman and Co.,
included a Complete Directory of all the Merchants and Traders
for Exeter and its suburbs as well as some 36 other lists of persons. The first
directory to cover large parts of Devon was that of E Hunt & Co., published
in London in 1848. Although a Directory and Topography of Exeter and Bristol,
it included more towns from Devon than elsewhere: Collumpton, Exmouth, Newton
Abot & Newton Bushell, Teignmouth, Tiverton, Topsham, Torquay and Totnes
and included a descriptive account of each place.
By the end of the nineteenth century the
gazetteer-directory, combining historical background with the geographical
information and lists of residents and traders of towns, became a popular
purchase for gentry, gentleman and trader alike. These remained a vital source
of information until the end of the twentieth century. Today these city or
county directories are an important resource of material for social and
historical aspects of the areas they covered, and most of those interested in
their family history will have delved into the pages of one or more as they
provide a useful source of information for genealogists to supplement census
returns etc.
White´s History, Directory and Gazetteer became a popular source of reference for many
people, shopkeepers and private individuals alike, from the 1820s until the
beginnings of the twentieth century. In common with other directories of the
time, it combined an historical account of the district covered, a gazetteer of
most villages and towns, together with local information useful to traders and
gentry. Considering the large number of directories produced by William White
and his son (and the maps they distributed) very little is known about the
father and son partnership as such[v].
We know that William White was born and died in Sheffield, and although born in
that city on 3rd January 1799, he appears to have been in Leeds at
age 18, where he is reported as having ‘joined the late Mr Edward Baines of
Leeds in the preparation of county histories and directories’[vi]. In
1822, William White was engaged by Edward Baines as a compiler[vii]
just when Baines published his History, Directory & Gazetteer, of the
County of York.
Thus, William´s story, and that of his
directories, really begins in Leeds. Edward Baines (1774-1848) was a well-known
figure in Yorkshire´s largest city by the time William arrived there. Baines,
with financial help from many prominent Whigs, became the owner and editor of
the Leeds Mercury, which ultimately became the leading provincial
newspaper in England. He was also a somewhat controversial figure: on the one
hand, he was described by one of
his most prominent rivals as "one who has earned for himself an
indisputable title to be numbered among the notable men of Leeds”; while he was
also labelled by Cobbett as "The Great Liar of the North".[viii]
Born in Preston in Lancashire, Edward Baines moved to Leeds in
1795 where he completed the last two years of an apprenticeship at a local
newspaper, the Mercury before setting himself up independently. In
1801, with the backing of a number of supporters, he was able to purchase the Mercury
and swiftly increased sales of that publication from 700-800 (1801) to 5,500
(1840s)[ix].
As editor, he was a strong supporter of many Whig reforms and used the
newspaper to spread his beliefs. He was sympathetic to the poor, identifying
their poverty as a major source of dissatisfaction. Edward´s eldest son,
Thomas, took employment at the Liverpool Echo and it would be the
younger son, also Edward, who would take over much of the running of the Leeds
newspaper. He was present
and taking shorthand notes at the giant Reform meeting at Manchester which
became the Peterloo massacre, when 400-700 yeomanry charged a
demonstration promoting reform in 1819, at which 19 died. Edward junior joined the paper in 1815 and, after prolonged
visits to Europe, by 1827 he had become a partner at Baines & Son. While
Edward Baines spoke up against child slavery, Edward junior advocated against
education for all.
Edward Baines may well have aspired to being
an author. The newspaper gave him scope for short articles, but he was an avid
reader, politically astute and greatly interested in the events of the day. The
Napoleonic wars had left a great impression on him and he decided to prepare a
history of that period. His History of the Wars of the French Revolution
appeared first in parts, then in a two-volume work. The first edition appeared
in 1817 with 6 maps and was available, translated into Spanish, in America only
two years later[x]. Baines had, however,
plagiarised an earlier work, a fact he only admitted in a later, revised
edition[xi].
If William White was at the Baines company at age 18, he
would have been in the Leeds offices at the time that the History, Directory
& Gazetteer of the County of York; with select lists of the merchants &
traders of London and the principal commercial and manufacturing towns of
England ... also a copious list of the seats of the nobility and gentry of
Yorkshire was being compiled, this first appeared in 1822. The combination
of history with gazetteer and directory was a
novel approach which would influence other directory compilers throughout the
century. Volume
I, covering the West Riding of Yorkshire was written by Edward Baines (senior).
As compiler of that work, W(illiam) Parson is named on the title page as of
the directory department, but indicating he was head of the numerous
canvassers and compilers involved. The directory of the East and North Ridings of
that county followed a year later with the same attributions. William
White would later refer to 1822 as the year in which his directory business was
established.
In 1817, Baines
hired Parson, who had already established a reputation for this type of work, In
order to insure the utmost accuracy for his Directory of Leeds.
Hence, Mr W Parson of Manchester is explicitly mentioned in the
Preface and has assisted in the compilation of several extensive
publications of a similar description. This
is presumably the same William Parson, who with T Bradshaw, would compile and publish
a Staffordshire General & Commercial Directory for 1818, printed by
J Leigh for the Proprietors[xii].
Listed in a directory for Manchester of 1811, Parson is bookseller and
stationer at 35 Market Street Lane. He is thought to have written some
entries for Pigot´s Commercial Directory 1816-17.
Other
directories for Leeds already existed: in 1797 Wright´s Leeds Directory
appeared; and in 1809 Baines himself had published such a work. Although Baines
could borrow some of the content from these earlier works, he maintained (like
most directory publishers of the time) that nothing so far produced in Leeds
could match its content[xiii].
The directory of Yorkshire was even larger more ambitious, with every habitable
spot listed and a complete history of the county.
Baines´ Yorkshire
was extensive in scope and certainly interesting not just from the historical,
but also from a cartographic point of view. The combination of quite a detailed
historical account of the county with gazetteer and directory was, to a large
extent, a completely novel approach. Moreover, Edward Baines was obviously
interested in maps and many cities were surveyed especially for his
directories. The Yorkshire volumes were accompanied by an “atlas”. This was a
folder/booklet with a Table of Computed Distances of the Towns of Yorkshire
From The Metropolis, And From Each Other and a set of six maps which were
designed to accompany the History and Directory, and all of which appear to be
newly surveyed (see Appendix I).[xiv]
.jpg)
Map of ROCHDALE from directory of Lancashire (1824-1825.
There is no
mention of William White at this time as he would have been one of a team of compilers. Fifteen years
later, in the Preface to the second edition of the Yorkshire volumes (1837)
when referring to the first edition of 1822, White mentions that he “was an
assistant compiler, and he has since been engaged in publications of a similar
nature for all the Northern Counties”. This second edition was written and
published by White from his business in Sheffield, but also sold by Baines and
Newsome in Leeds.
Over the next two years, following
the initial publication of Yorkshire in 1822, Edward Baines Snr. was extremely
industrious, producing his next directory; this time for the county of his
birth. The History, directory, and gazetteer, of the county palatine of
Lancaster; with a variety of commercial & statistical information ...
Illustrated by maps and plans. By Edward Baines. The directory department by W.
Parson was published in 1824
(Vol. 1) and 1825 (Vol. 2).[xv] For
this publication, Baines chose to use a local Lancashire publisher,
William Wales & Co. in Liverpool. In London his directory would be handled
by the well-known company Longman, Hurst, & Co. Paternoster Row. Once
again, although White was possibly involved, it is Parson who is heading the
research department. The directory was again published with maps separate:
eight single page uncoloured engraved maps of cities and towns, large maps of
navigable waterways, Lancashire, Manchester and Liverpool, a population chart
and a distance table, all issued separately in a wallet/booklet (see Appendix II). Some appear to be newly surveyed.
A third directory
soon followed. Possibly as a derivative of the Yorkshire directory, The Directory, Guide, and Annals, of
Kingston-upon-Hull, and the Parish of Sculcoates; Together with the
Neighbouring Towns and Villages in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire was
published in 1826. The development of this directory is significant, as it
traces the beginnings of the later White series of directories. Published in
Leeds and printed by Edward Baines, the title page states that the publisher
was William White & Co., with William Parson as the editor. But when the
second edition was issued (in 1831) as Directory, Guide, and Annals of Kingston-upon-Hull,
Scarborough, Bridlington, Flambro', Filey, Hornsea, and the Towns and Ports
Connected with the Rivers Humber, Ouse, and Trent, Etc., it was published by William White in
Sheffield. The printer was now R Leader. This was a popular directory and
there were frequent reprints with changes to the layout and by 1882, White's Directory of Hull, was in its seventh edition.
Durham and Northumberland:
One of two covers of map section. Courtesy Michael Kemp, Booksellers, Sheerness.
In 1827 the next county directory appeared linking White,
Parson and Baines, but the partnership had undergone a further change. The History,
directory, and gazetteer, of the counties of Durham and Northumberland, and the
towns and counties of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Berwick-upon-Tweed was
published in two volumes by Wm Parson and Wm White (1827 and 1828). Printed for
W White & Co., by Edward Baines and Son, it was sold by the publishers at
their new offices at Bell´s Court in Newcastle. Durham and Northumberland
was illustrated with maps and tables, on fine paper, 1s 6d each extra (see Appendix III). This, together
with the next directory of Cumberland and Westmoreland (see below), are
the only two directories reported that were published in Newcastle. This may
have been a sign that Edward Baines was interested in establishing a new office
there, or that White had actually begun to take this branch of the business away
from Baines. As Baines had used a local publisher for his Lancashire directory
(William Wales of Liverpool), it may have been a marketing ploy of Baines to
use a local publisher for the Durham and Northumberland work. This 2-volume
work included a small map of the routes of the Whitehaven Steam Packets, but
otherwise the maps were to be had in an extra Atlas with coloured maps extra
3s.
Norton[xvi]
writes that Edward Baines and William Parson published a combined history,
directory and gazetteer of Yorkshire in 1822, and this type of volume was
commonly followed by them and by their successor, William White. We know
that Edward Baines (junior) was following in his father´s footsteps at the
newspaper offices and became a partner at this time (Baines & Son) but that
it was White who took over the directory side of the business. In the 1826 Hull
directory William announces that “the task of preparing directories such as
have for some years been issued from the Press of the Mercury Office at Leeds,
has been devolved on the Present Proprietors,” i.e. White and Parson. The obituary is probably near the
mark: when, about four years afterwards, Mr. Baines gave up that
department of literature, Mr. White succeeded him, and prosecuted his labours
with remarkable energy and success. [xvii] This
marks the real birth of the White series of directories, even if he regularly
mentioned 1822 as the year of establishment, and once noted it as 1818.
William White´s Directories:
Click the entry below to access relevant page.
1. Early Years - William White and Edward Baines
2. William White & Co.
3. Rivalry and Family Feud
4. Francis White
5. Maps
6. William White Co. - Later Years
Appendix I. Description of the maps in the Directory of Yorkshire (Baines)
Appendix II. Description of the maps in the Directory of Lancashire (Baines)
Appendix III. Description of the maps in the Directory of Durham and Northumberland (White & Parson, White 1)
Appendix IV. Lists of White directories - locations, date of issue, reference to maps.
White 2 - Cumberland & Westmorland
White 3 - Nottinghamshire
White 4 - Staffordshire
White 5 - Norfolk
White 6 - Yorkshire (later editions)
White 7 - Lincoln
White 8 - Suffolk
White 9 - Leicestershire with Rutland
White 10 - Essex
White 11 - Devonshire
White 12 - Hampshire with Isle of Wight
White´s city directories
[ii] Wikipedia: Several copies are available on-line. Google Books digitalised the copy at the Bodleian, but Hathi Trust has various copies and volumes.
[vi] William White´s obituary in Sheffield and Rotherham Independent, 4 September 1868.
[viii] Thornton, David: work submitted for his doctorate to the University of Leeds, 1999, Mr Mercury – A Biographical Study of Edward Baines with Special Reference to his Role as Editor, Author and Politician. Much of the comment about Baines is taken from this work.
[x] Published By M. Carey & Son, Philadelphia, 1819.
[xv] Hathi Trust has these available on-line from the Maddison Library of the University of Wisconsin. Two internet sites offer the (same) “Baines” History and Directory of Liverpool for 1824: however, there is no title page and the pages have been extracted from the directory for Lancashire (p.[149] to p.489,).
[xvii] Sheffield Independent - Saturday 05 September 1868.
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