The aim of the project was to improve access to local and trade directories for the period 1750-1919 by making a substantial collection of English and Welsh directories available online as a Digital Library of Historical Directories. This digital resource comprises in total some 600 directories, covering every English county together with Wales, and ranging widely over the period 1750-1919 (the latter cut-off point chosen for copyright reasons). There is a particular focus on the 1850s, 1890s and 1910s, with at least one directory provided for each county in each of these decades. The digitisation of the volumes involved a two-stage process, in which (1) the hard-copy source was scanned to produce a graphic image of each page, and then (2) those images were processed using OCR software to generate a machine-readable text file.An online version of this resource can be found on the Website of the University of Leicester. This data collection includes the following directories:- Bailey's  Western  and  Midland  Directory;  or  Merchant's  and  Tradesman's  Useful  Companion,  for  the  year,  1783.  Containing  an  alphabetical  list  of  the  names  and  places  of  abode,  of  the bankers, merchants, manufacturers, gentlemen of the law and physic, and other eminent traders ... [Cornwall section only] (1783)- Pigot's  Directory  of  Cornwall  (1830)- The  Exeter  Journal  and  Almanack  for  1850  ...  containing  all  the  most  useful  county  and  local  information  necessary  for  the  private  gentleman,  clergy  and  professional  man,  the  merchant,  tradesman,  farmer,  seaman,  &c.  with  complete  memorandum  and  account  book (1850)- History,  Gazetteer,  and  Directory  of  Devonshire,  and the city and county of the city of Exeter (1850)- The  Exeter  Journal  and  Almanack  for  1851  ...  containing  all  the  most  useful  county  and  local  information  necessary  for  the  private  gentleman,  clergy  and  professional  man,  the  merchant,  tradesman,  farmer,  seaman,  &c.  with  complete  memorandum  and  account  book (1851)- A  Directory  of  Plymouth,  Stonehouse,  Devonport,  Stoke, and Moricetown, compiled from actual survey (1852)- The  Exeter  Journal  and  Almanack  for  1852  ...  containing  all  the  most  useful  county  &  local  information,  necessary  for  the  private  gentleman,  clergy  and  professional  man,  the  merchant,  tradesman,  farmer,  seaman,  &c.  with  complete  memorandum  and  account  book (1852)- The  Exeter  Journal  and  Almanack  for  1853  ...  containing  all  the  most  useful  county  &  local  information,  necessary  for  the  private  gentleman,  clergy  and  professional  man,  the  merchant,  tradesman,  farmer,  seaman,  &c.  with  complete  memorandum  and  account  book (1853)- West of England Pocket Book, or gentleman's diary, with an almanack (1853)- The  Exeter  Journal  and  Almanack  for  1854  ...  containing  all  the  most  useful  county  &  local  information,  necessary  for  the  private  gentleman,  clergy  and  professional  man,  the  merchant,  tradesman,  farmer,  seaman,  &c.  with  complete  memorandum  and  account  book (1854)- The  Exeter  Journal  and  Almanack  for  1855  ...  containing  all  the  most  useful  county  &  local  information,  necessary  for  the  private  gentleman,  clergy  and  professional  man,  the  merchant,  tradesman,  farmer,  seaman,  &c.  with  complete  memorandum  and  account  book (1855)- The  Exeter  Pocket  Journal  and  Almanac,  with  a  memorandum and account book (1856)- Post Office Directory of Cornwall (1856)- The Exeter Pocket Journal and Almanack, with a memorandum and account book (1857)- West  of  England  and  Trewman's  Exeter  Pocket  Journal, or Gentleman's Diary, with an almanac (1858)- West  of  England  and  Trewman's  Exeter  Pocket  Journal, or Gentleman's Diary, with an Almanack (1859)- A  Directory  of  Redruth  and  its  Neighbourhood;  being  an  alphabetical  list  of  the  residences,  names,  &  trades  of  persons residing in the four parishes of Redruth, Illogan, Gwennap, and Stithians,  with  a  brief  history  of  Redruth,  Carnbrea,  &  Gwennap  Pit,  and a list of the mines and their managers (1866)- Post Office Cornwall Directory (1873)- History, Gazetteer and Directory of the county of Devon including the city of Exeter, and comprising a general survey of the  county  and  separate  historical,  statistical,  and  topographical  descriptions  of  all  the  hundreds,  unions,  parishes,  townships,  chapelries, towns, ports, villages & hamlets (1878-79)- Kelly's  Directory  of  Cornwall (1883)- A  Trade  and  General  Directory  of  the  City  of  Truro, with ... notice of its institutions, list of clergy in diocese, &c.