Find your ancestors in Surrey, Southwark, Licenses and Trade Registers

What can these records tell me?

In partnership with Southwark Archives, Findmypast has digitised the original coal dealer and street traders’ registers. The amount of information in each record can vary depending on the record type and the age of the records. You may discover your ancestor’s:

• Name
• Address
• Event date

By viewing the original images, you will learn the exact goods and the size of the pitch they used to trade on the streets of Southwark.

Discover more about these records

Did your ancestor sell coal by the sack, or jellied eels by the pint? Perhaps they traded in live rabbits, hosiery, fruit, or watches from a street stall in bustling Southwark? These newly searchable records shine a light on the working lives of ordinary Londoners, people who kept the city running through war, rationing, and recovery. Whether running a market stall or applying for emergency fuel permits, their names and trades have been carefully preserved in local authority registers, now available by name for the first time.

Digitised in partnership with the Southwark Archives, the earliest records date from 1915 and include the Register of Licensed Coal Retailers in the Borough of Southwark, followed by similar lists from 1917 to 1919. These records detail those who sold coal at street level—an essential trade during a time of growing regulation and wartime shortages.

In 1921, new emergency measures meant coal was no longer freely available. For a few critical months between April and July, businesses had to apply for permits to obtain coal, citing how and why they needed it. The Local Coal Overseers’ Book for 1921 records these applications, capturing the name of each business and the purpose of their coal use. These restrictions were lifted by July, but the record remains as a unique snapshot of how communities adapted under pressure.

From 1934 to 1951, you’ll also find the Registers of Street Traders in the Borough of Southwark, listing those licensed to sell goods on the street. These volumes show a striking increase in both traders and products in the years after the Second World War, a sign of the city’s resilience and renewal.

These records were created by local councils and the London County Council (LCC) Public Control Department, established in 1891 to regulate markets, protect consumers, and enforce fair trading standards, especially in weights and measures. Inspectors routinely visited stalls to ensure compliance, making these registers a rich and reliable source for tracing family members who worked in public-facing, often precarious trades.

Southwark’s long and vibrant history of street trading is tied to famous markets like Borough Market and East Street Market, places where many families made their living, generation after generation.