This week we have added over 120 years of history to The Archive!  With an increase of more than 109,000 pages, we have added 7 brand new titles and updated 15 existing titles.

Our new pages span from 1860 to 1988 with a strong focus on the year 1880.  Read on a discover more about the headlines from the 1880s.

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One of the largest releases this week is more than 47,000 pages of our brand new Evening News.  The Evening News was one of England’s most successful evening newspapers in the early 1900s.  In 1888, ownership of the newspaper was taken over by Lord Northcliffe and Lord Rothermere.  They also owned the Daily Mail which became their more influential title.

Another new title we added this week is Potteries Examiner.  The Potteries was an area comprised of six towns including Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke, and Tunstall.  Today they make up Stoke-on-Trent.  The area was the centre of ceramic production and the residents were known as Potters.  The newspapers delivered local and international news along with a gossip column, wit & humour, police intelligence, and ladies column.  Our coverage starts in January 1881, but before jumping into the new year, the newspaper wanted to review the year before.  It described 1880 as:

‘The year was has just expired, has, without doubt, been fruitful of events of more than ordinary interest and importance, so far as the people of this country are concerned; for, although the past year may have witnessed any great convulsion of empires, or any armed encounter on a large scale, followed as is sometimes the case by a change in the dynasties of the world, still, it has been conspicuous for remarkable incidents which will give it a place in the pages of history.’

The editor did not have an issue with run-on sentences.  It was quite a robust description.  Let’s take a look at the new pages we added from 1880 and what they can tell us about the event of that year.

Change in political leadership

In 1880, the government changed from Conservative to Liberal after the election in April 1880 and William Gladstone became the Prime Minister for a second time. The Blackpool Gazette & Herald, clearly in support of the change, reported: ‘Meanwhile, the country, with a loud voice, is calling upon Mr Gladstone to once more take the post of Prime Minister… No other living statesman stands so high in public estimation, and no other first minister of the Crown could so well guide the helm of state under present difficult circumstances.’

Death of the Fleet Street Jester

At the time of his death, Tom Taylor was the editor of Punch, a weekly satire and humour magazine.  The Faversham Times and Mercury and North-East Kent Journal described Taylor as, ‘the genial editor of Punch’.  Along with being an editor, he was a ‘dramatic author, critic, and writer on art subjects.’  Most famously, his play, American Cousin, was being performed when US President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in the audience.

Death of George Eliot

Mary Ann Evans, also known as George Eliot, died on 22 December 1880.  The ‘distinguished authoress of “Adam Bede“‘ died in her sixtieth year.  However, the report of her death wasn’t announced in many newspapers until early 1881.  This is a reminder while searching for events in newspapers, to look weeks or even months after the event for a report.  The Northern Weekly Gazette, updated this week, provided that Marian Evans was the ‘daughter of a poor clergyman, but in early life was adopted by a wealthy clergyman, who gave her a first-class education.’  The article did not describe her literary career or achievements.

First cricket test match in England

1880 saw the first Test match to be played on English soil.  England beat Australia by 5 wickets.

‘A grand three days match took place this week at the Oval, between a representative English team and the Australian crickets at present in this country. .. Contrary , however, to general expectation, the English victory was not the easy one which appeared so certain when the stumps were drawn on Tuesday evening.’

The test match was played at the Oval and the English team was led by Home Caption Lord Harris.

New Titles

Updated Titles

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.