Elizabeth Raffald

The Manchester Directories 1772, 1773 & 1781 Elizabeth Raffald

In 1772 Manchester was a fast growing town thanks to the rise in industrialisation. Elizabeth Raffald 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 so it was only logical that she would be the first with the innovation of 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.