Kelly's Directories

Kelly's Directory is formerly called "the Kelly's, Post Office and Harrod & Co Directory". It is/was a trade directory and not an historical account of places with the UK.

It was created by Frederic Festus Kelly who In 1835 or 1836 became the chief inspector of letter-carriers for the inland or general post office. The directory was also known as a general directory of postal addresses of local gentry, landowners, charities, and other facilities.

I have scanned PDFs of the 1882, 1894, 1902 and 1914 Directories. I have an extract of the 1878 Post Office Directory describing Belchamp Walter.

The directories are available on-line for free on such websites as the University of Leicester. As my interest is Belchamp Walter I have displayed the sections from the copies that I have. In addition I have a transcript of these entries at the foot of this page.

In addtion to the description of the village the list of the names of important people is used to cross-reference with other pages on this website.

The determinatio of who was important in the community is a socio-political statement in itself. These include:

The landowners and owners of estates
The clergy
The farmers - could be tenants or owners
Tbe Schoolmaster or mistress
Publicans - and beermakers
Other businesses - Wheelwright, Millers, the Blacksmith, shoemakers and shopkeepers (this of course includes those assocated with the Post office - Postmaster and carriers.

Comparing the entries for Belchamp Walter

Of the four copies of Kelly's the entries for Belchamp Walter are quite similar and appear to be updated versions of the previous entry. There are noteble differences that could explain some of the other histories that may have used Kelly's as a source.

One of the most interesting difference is that the tomb/chantry in the church was attributed to de Vere in the 1882, 1894 and 1902 versions and then Botetourt in 1914.

The owner of Belchamp Hall was John Mayne St. Clere Raymond in 1882 and the owner was Samuel John St. Clere in 1894.
In 1902 the owner seems to be a Mrs. Raymond and in 1914 a Capt. William Gibbs (at Belchamp House)

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Belchamp Walter - 1882

The transcript from the 1882 Kelly Directory briefly describes the village and its history from the time that John Raymond III purchased the estate in 1611.

It describes the Raymond memorial in the chancel of St. Mary's church and some of the family that had been interred there. John Mayne St. Clere Raymond is credited with the "restoration work" performed on the church in 1859. The mosaic reredos is mentioned in connection to the "restoration" which is now believed to be attributed to John Jenkins Cole who could also have been the architect for the extension in Belchamp Hall at this time.

Belchamp Walter - 1894

Samuel John St.Clere Raymond, J.P. was lord of the manor and principle landowner. John Mayne St. Clere Raymond died in 1893.

Belchamp Walter - 1902

This directory entry was written 2 years after the death of Samuel John St.Clere Raymond, J.P.

Belchamp Walter - 1914

The Mrs. Raymond in this directory entry for 1914 is Margaret Charlotte Montague Smythies, wife of Samuel John St.Clere Raymond, of Belchamp Hall, Essex, who died in 1900. + 1939,

Frederic Festus Kelly

Frederic Festus Kelly was rather similar to current-day tele-marketers and scammers. If he had the technology we have today he would be spamming like crazy. He seemed to have little interest in accuracy and was more interested in compiling a list that he could sell for businesses to sell products.

Frederic Festus Kelly (died 3 June 1883) was a high official in the British Post Office. He was also the founder of Kelly & Co. (later Kelly's Directories Ltd.), which published the Kelly's Directory, a sort of Victorian-era "Yellow Pages" that listed all businesses, tradespeople, local gentry, landowners, charities, and other facilities located in a particular village, city or town.

In 1845–1847, Kelly was sharply criticised by some members of Parliament, particularly Thomas Duncombe, and accused of using his office for his private benefit and for requiring letter-carriers to assist in gathering information for the directory. Duncombe also presented a petition from Jonathan Duncan complaining of abuses by Kelly. In 1847, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Wood declared that Kelly could not use government employees in connection with his directory. Kelly then relied on his own employees to collect information for the directory, which he had already begun hiring in 1844.

Kelly Directories and search engine indexes

As the directories are similar to modern day "Yellow Pages" it would not be sensible to allow the pages to be indexed in my opinion. If an Internet user was looking for a particular person it would

Other Villages

The other villages close to Belchamp Walter are described in the Kelly's Directory

An example is Gestingthorpe

Kelly's Directories

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