Here on The Archive new titles just keep on coming! We’ve added 109,854 brand new pages this week, and we are delighted to have added eleven brand new titles from all corners of the United Kingdom and Ireland, covering 120 years of history.

This week sees the addition of some historic Irish titles, including the Kilkenny Moderator and the Sligo Independent. The Kilkenny Moderator is a particularly old title; it was founded in 1814 by Abraham Denroche. Although it had a Protestant-Unionist viewpoint, it was also an enthusiastic supporter of the Gaelic league. It even featured a weekly Irish language lesson. At the beginning of World War One Isabella Browne Lalor became editor-proprietor of the newspaper upon the death of her husband, a very unusual position for a woman to hold at the time. The Kilkenny Moderator ceased publication in 1925.

Kilkenny Moderator | 24 January 1903

The Sligo Independent was another Irish newspaper to be run by a woman. Founded by Alexander Gillmor in 1855, upon his death in 1881 it passed into the hands of his daughter Jane. The Sligo Independent was a Conservative newspaper, and it also aimed to establish Sligo as a commercial centre, which it did by carrying advertisements from local firms. Another Protestant publication, it contained many reports concerning Protestant parish events.

Rounding off our new Irish titles this week is the Westmeath Guardian and Longford News-Letter and the Midland Counties Advertiser. The Westmeath Guardian and Longford News-Letter ran from 1835 to 1928 and had a Conservative, Unionist and Protestant perspective, whilst the Midland Counties Advertiser was a weekly title published in Roscrea, Tipperary.

We are delighted to feature two brand new titles from Wales this week. The first of which is the Brecon County Times. The oldest newspaper in Breconshire, it also circulated in Radnorshire, Glamorganshire and Monmouthshire, with a strong conservative bias. Established by William Poole, it was seen as the ‘recognised medium for all business purposes,’ as well as featuring local and national news. Our second Welsh paper is the Barmouth & County Advertiser. Established in 1877 by John Hughes, it included local news and visitor lists, Barmouth being a popular seaside holiday resort.

Brecon County Times | 13 March 1930

We have four brand new English titles this week from the West Country and Yorkshire. We have added the Huddersfield Daily Chronicle, which was founded by John James Skyrme and Robert Micklethwait in 1850. With a liberal and progressive agenda, the newspaper was an advocate of free trade, national education for all, promising to be ‘impartial chroniclers of the opinions of public men.’ The Huddersfield Daily Chronicle ceased publication in 1916. Another new Yorkshire title this week is the Brighouse News, which was weekly newspaper established in 1866 before it was incorporated into the Brighouse Echo.

Huddersfield Daily Chronicle | 31 January 1900

Fresh for the West Country this week is the South Bristol Free Press and Bedminster, Knowle & Brislington Record, which labelled itself the paper for ‘every home in the district.’ Bursting with advertisements, it was discontinued in 1931. Finally we have the Cornish Guardian, a local weekly which was published in Bodmin and founded in 1901.

Our final new title this week is the St. Andrews Gazette and Fifeshire News. A weekly newspaper running from 1863 to 1883, this newspaper is a must-read for anybody with an interest in the history of golf.

This March it will be 130 years since the Forth Bridge was opened. The Forth Bridge, spanning the Firth of Forth, was the longest bridge in Britain at the time and represented a remarkable feat of engineering. Using our newly added newspaper, the Huddersfield Daily Chronicle, we can discover the remarkable story of the bridge and its opening.

Leeds Mercury | 4 March 1890

Designed by engineers Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker (the latter received his knighthood on completion of the bridge), work began in 1882. The work was not without its risks, however. As the Huddersfield Daily Chronicle reports in 1887 two men suffered a fatal accident when they ‘were employed painting girders 150 feet high’ and ‘the hooks supporting the scaffold gave way.’ James Sime and John O’Neill plummeted to the ground and were killed, although remarkably a third man survived.

Newcastle Chronicle | 29 September 1888

In the run up to the Forth Bridge’s opening on 4 March 1890, the bridge was subject to multiple tests. Board of Trade officials Major-General Hutchinson and Major Marindin inspected the bridge in February 1890, where ‘two trains of 47 waggons each, loaded with pig iron weighing 1,800 tons, were run across the bridge.’ A couple of days later the tests were complete, showing the ‘structure to be the strongest and stiffest railway bridge yet built, capable of accommodating the heaviest traffic.’

4 March 1890 saw an ‘exodus of people from Edinburgh…to South Queen’s Ferry to witness the ceremony of the opening the Forth Bridge by the Prince of Wales.’ The Prince, later Edward VII, was greeted by a guard of honour and many people from the surrounding villages. Entering a special train, the Prince was taken to the centre of the bridge, where he ‘completed the bridge by fixing the last rivet. This was done by turning the valve of a hydraulic riveting machine.’

Graphic | 8 March 1890

Loud cheers greeted this action – and the Forth Bridge, after eight years of construction, was declared open!

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New Titles

Updated Titles

This week we have updated four of our existing titles.

You can learn more about each of the titles we add to every week by clicking on their names. On each paper’s title page, you can read a FREE sample issue, learn more about our current holdings, and our plans for digitisation.

You can keep up to date with all the latest additions by visiting the recently added page.  You can even look ahead to see what we’re going to add tomorrow.