INFORMATION

Get access to data from hundreds of rare Kent volumes to help you solve your family tree problems...

or...to find out who the previous occupants were...in your house years ago!

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Also very useful to the legal profession, when they are trying to trace the movements of people during the 20th century. (Probate searches will be given priority - when speed is vital.)

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This collection has been amassed over an entire lifetime, and includes some volumes that are thought to be the only ones in existence. In many cases, money cannot buy them, as they are not available to purchase on the open market.  It has cost many thousands of pounds over the years to amass this collection, and many volumes have been restored and/or rebound. Restoration of other volumes is a work in progress.  In order to use this site, searches can be requested, and images will be supplied of the relevant pages. An affordable fee will be charged for the time taken.  Any images supplied, can then be attached to ancestors in your genealogy database if relevant.

 

This collection is thought to be the biggest collection of Kent directories held in private ownership.

The collection has cost many thousands of pounds to purchase, and some are very rare. New volumes (that aren't already held,) are always sought to add to the collection, but are almost impossible to find. 

Rare ones are hardly ever seen for sale, and can be hugely expensive. Some of the more expensive volumes have cost between £200 - £300 each.  Additionally, these sometimes need expensive professional restoration.

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The concept, is to share the collection publicly, and to implement an affordable search fee for the time needed to respond to your search requests. 

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Some volumes are in a terrible state when purchased, and have to be restored at great cost. Volumes are sometimes rebound, and for those with damaged internal pages,it is necessary for the paper to be "rebuilt" - which is a slow and painstaking process using archival materials.

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Kent directory information will typically only be available by visiting specific public archives in person. Here, you can access this collection, that encompasses the whole county - from the comfort of your PC or phone!  

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In addition to Kent, the collection also includes Rye in East Sussex, and some areas in what is now South East London.

It is very easy. Try a search, and see how you get on!  

Search results will come back quickly!

Good luck!

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*Many volumes are tagged as being "unrecorded."  This means that they are not held in any public repositories such as local libraries, the British Library, the Guildhall Library or elsewhere.