If you’re interested in the history of Yorkshire, you’ve come to the right place. The Archive currently holds over 70 titles from ‘God’s Own County.’
From Barnsley to Batley, from Ilkley to Keighley, from Sheffield to Wakefield, The Archive has 76 historic Yorkshire newspapers all available to search, which works out at being over 300,000 pages in all. These newspapers range from those that cover the entire county (like the Yorkshire Evening Post), to those with a more regional focus (take for example, the Scarborough Gazette), but all contain historic Yorkshire headlines from 1754 right through until 1959, bringing you over 200 years of Yorkshire history!
Sheffield Daily Telegraph | 8 June 1925
A Regional First
Our earliest Yorkshire title on The Archive is the Leeds Intelligencer. The Leeds Intelligencer was founded in 1754 and was one of Britain’s first regional newspapers.
Leeds Intelligencer | 2 July 1754
You’ll see the old spelling of Leeds above – ‘Leedes’ – which was dropped in 1765 in favour of the modern spelling.
Specialist Yorkshire Titles
You’ll also find some of our specialist titles amongst our Yorkshire collection. These include trade title Holmes’ Brewing Trade Gazette, which concentrates on the business of brewing, providing an intriguing insight into local industry.
Holmes’ Brewing Trade Gazette was published by entrepreneurial brewer’s chemist Joseph Holmes, from Leeds. It was a ‘monthly journal dedicated to the interests of Brewers, Publicans, Wine & Spirit Merchants.’
Holmes’s Brewing Trade Gazette | 1 June 1885
Another specialist Yorkshire title is the Star Green’un. Published in Sheffield, the Star Green’un was a sporting newspaper, and you can search historic sporting headlines within this publication.
Star Green’un | 13 February 1909
Of Local Interest
You’re sure to find fascinating links to and stories from the past in our collection of Yorkshire newspapers, especially those connected with some of Yorkshire’s more famous residents.
For example, we have on The Archive the preferred local newspaper of none other than the Brontë family, the Halifax Guardian. We were lucky enough to find a letter in the Halifax Guardian from Patrick Brontë, the father of Charlotte, Emily and Anne, which he wrote to the newspaper in 1843.
What Yorkshire-related discoveries will you make?
Halifax Guardian | 29 July 1843
The Brontë sisters | The Sphere | 2 March 1946
Tips and Tricks
To help you with your Yorkshire newspaper research, you can use our clever search tools to focus on the region of Yorkshire you are most interested in. Our counties filter allows you to view pages from East Riding of Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire or West Yorkshire.
Our place filter can help you zone in even more, offering the ability to choose specific cities in Yorkshire including Bradford, Hull, Leeds, Sheffield and York. Smaller towns like Bridlington, Dewsbury, Doncaster, and Harrogate feature too.
Equally, try not to limit your search. You will find that even one hundred, two hundred years ago, that news travels, so news from one part of Yorkshire might end up in another!
Illustrated London News | 30 April 1932
These special blogs can help you can started on The Archive, from researching your local history, to researching genealogy and your family history, so register with us today and see what you can uncover!
