Hi folks, How helpful to hear those rules of thumb from postmen and other experiences about city house numbering in Manchester. I have learned from that. However can I just add a note of caution from my experience of research in Birmingham if I may? In Birmingham, house numbers changed constantly as the city grew. Depending on the period, houses could be numbered 1,2,3, etc all down one side and then all the way up the other side back up to the top. Admittedly this was typically in smaller streets than the Manchester example of Chester Road, but I learned to be very careful and not make any assumptions. Another trick that the authorities had up their sleeves was to set up the numbering (either alternate as we tend to now, or all the way down one way then back up the other), say in 1861, then squeeze loads of little houses into spaces between developments which were called courts. Or a factory or wokshop would be built in a space, or demolished. So you get to the 1871 census and the houses would be completely renumbered. This could happen two or three times in the life of a Victorian Birmingham city street. Then along comes either complete redevelopment in modern times, or else some refurbishment in modern times, and whoops the numbers are changed again as bits and pieces are demolished or roads altered. After long research in Birmingham, it's hard to trust simple house numbering systems ever again! I learned 1. to be aware of the date of my address vs the date of the map and check a map as close as I could to the date of the address. 2. to use the directories, as listers have illustrated. Again, as close to the date of your address as possible. The directories are a huge help. 3. to roam around the censuses from page to page, working out where the house was by finding a neighbouring pub or the next street that the enumerator went down. etc. 4. to not mind giving up sometimes! Manchester may have a slightly different history to Birmingham, but I would be surprised if there were no similar instances. Sally in Yorkshire

Hi Sally Thanks for your notes of caution :-) It reminded me of what happened to a very good friend of ours. When he bought a house, it was number 49. However, the road was completely renumbered within a few years and his house was changed to number 15 (the next door neighbour gave him the 5 and the 1 which he then inverted and used for 15). This all took place 10-15 years ago and he had a horrendous time explaining to the mortgage company that he *hadn't* moved house, it had just changed its number. I can see that in years to come, anyone looking into his history might think that he had moved house within the same road when he hadn't. I will look more carefully at house numbers on censuses and maybe note the neighbours, especially if the road appears to be the same but with a different number. Heather Sally Haden wrote: > Hi folks, > How helpful to hear those rules of thumb from postmen and other > experiences about city house numbering in Manchester. I have learned > from that. > > However can I just add a note of caution from my experience of > research in Birmingham if I may? > > After long research in Birmingham, it's hard to trust simple house > numbering systems ever again! > > <snip> > > Manchester may have a slightly different history to Birmingham, but I > would be surprised if there were no similar instances. > > Sally > in Yorkshire