The 'Directories' listed here come from a variety of sources, and in a variety of forms.
The earliest, the Pipe Rolls, have a highly varied subject matter, mostly in the greatest detail, covering everything that could arise on any great estate. The disposal of wrecks on the coast of the Isle of Wight, quarrels among tenants, crops and cropping, assarts of land, building work and salmon fisheries, down to the provision of partridges for the Bishop's dinner are but a few of the subjects of account. The details of Headley have been drawn out and given here.
The other items under this heading take more the form of a listing - more familiar as a 'directory' - either as lists of those registered for election purposes, tax purposes, or as informational lists of businesses, people and places.