Victorian Directories.

I was made aware after visiting the Visual Resources centre that the library held past documents of Manchesters history. I found old Directories that document all of the merchants and manufacturers in 1808 and 1809. The book was so crunchy and smelt of must and age, it was great! Just investigating and reading about the inhabitants of Manchester in that period made it all very real. Its exciting to imagine life going on years ago,and when its documented in a book in front of your eyes its sinks in. This project is real. I also managed to find some old ordance survey maps and i have pin pointed Hotspur House in my sketchbook. Then 'Medlock Mill'. Im intrigued mainly about the names documented in the Directory, i want to see if i can find any REAL workers of 'medlock mill' and perhaps start drawing on their individual lives. Further my investigation with actual names. Identify actual people.