The Manchester Directories 1772, 1773 & 1781

In 1772 Manchester was a fast growing town thanks to the rise in industrialisation. Inventions to improve the textile practices, that were the mainstay of its residents, were springing up all around the area, bringing more and more traders and merchants into the town. Elizabeth Raffald was a busy entrepreneur involving herself in numerous business ventures. She ran a shop, a cookery school, a coaching inn, a servant's employment register, wrote a cookbook and supported the local newspaper financially, wrote a manuscript on midwifery and so much more. She was innovative in her own field of cookery, creating many new dishes which she included in her 1769 cookbook, The Experienced Housekeeper, so it was only logical that she would be the first with this innovation too. She saw a need for a directory of traders and notable people and only 3 years after producing her cookbook she had compiled a 60 page guide to the locations and trades of many residents, a year later increasing it to 78 pages as the town grew and addresses were improved. She produced a third directory in 1781 after placing advertisements in the Manchester Mercury for people wishing to be included. After she died in 1781 it took another 7 years before anyone else attempted another directory. Elizabeth Raffald was truly a pioneer of her time. For more about Elizabeth see 'The Experienced English Housekeeper of Manchester' by Suze Appleton