Imbued with Christian symbolism and yet born out of pagan tradition, the Christmas tree is an integral part of Christmas celebrations across the world. With between six and eight million real Christmas trees now sold in the United Kingdom alone, it is hard to think of a time when it was a new and exotic Continental import. In this special blog, using articles from the British Newspaper Archive, we will take a look at the history of the Christmas tree, …
This week we have added 88,734 brand new pages to The Archive. We are delighted to welcome a trio of new Scottish titles, as well as updates to eight of our existing titles. We bring you new publications this week from three corners of Scotland. First up, we have added the Kilmarnock Herald and North Ayrshire Gazette, a weekly local newspaper published every Friday in the historic burgh of Kilmarnock. Kilmarnock has many claims to fame; it was where Robert Burns’ first book …
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This week we have a lot to celebrate here at The Archive. Not only is it our 8th birthday (The Archive was launched on 29th November 2011) – we have also reached the remarkable milestone of 35 million pages – all now available to search. We have added 128,362 new pages to our collection this week, with one brand new title – the Sporting Gazette – joining us. We also have updates to six of our existing titles, with extensive updates to Scottish title the Elgin Courant, and …
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I know a land where the wild flowers grow Near, near at hand if by train you go, Metro-land. Metro-land. The above pre-First World War verse written by George R Sims coined the phrase ‘Metro-land’ – that area of north west of Wembley served by what was then called the Metropolitan Railway, and is now known as the Metropolitan Line. In this blog, using articles found on the British Newspaper Archive, we will explore how the Metropolitan Railway shaped London’s …
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This week we have added 93,860 new pages to The Archive. We have one brand new title joining us this week – the Banffshire Reporter – as well as updates to thirteen of our English and Scottish titles. Published in Portsoy, Aberdeenshire, the Banffshire Reporter was a weekly local newspaper founded by Thomas Anderson. Anderson ‘mastered the art of printing after he reached middle life,’ and printed several newspapers in the Portsoy area. Upon his retirement the Banffshire Reporter was sold to the Calder Brothers …
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Reading like a 1950s noire novel, or a Cold War thriller from the pen of John le Carré, the murder of Polish aristocrat Countess Teresa Lubienska on the platform of Gloucester Road Underground station shocked the nation, and provoked a massive man hunt that saw 18,000 people interviewed over the following months. Belfast Telegraph | 25 May 1957 Using contemporary articles found in the British Newspaper Archive, we explore the circumstances of Countess Lubienska’s murder, the possible motives behind her killing, …
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This week at The Archive we have added nearly 200,000 new pages to our collection, covering England, Scotland and Ireland. To be precise, 193,470 brand new pages have joined us this week, with updates to 21 of our existing titles. We have updates to eleven of our English titles this week, covering the length and breadth of the country, from Devon (Express and Echo) to Newcastle (Newcastle Daily Chronicle), from Staffordshire (Staffordshire Sentinel) to London (Hammersmith & Shepherds Bush Gazette). A particular highlight this week includes …
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When the Blitz began on 7 September 1940, ‘It was the people of London who took command…Men, women, and children went straight to the safest place they could think of – the Underground stations.’ In this special blog, over 80 years after the beginning of the Blitz, we take a look at how London’s main transport system – the Underground – became a popular place of shelter for those seeking protection from the German bombing campaign, using an assortment of …
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This week is another bumper week for new and updated titles on The Archive, as we have added another 115,438 brand new pages to our site. We are delighted to welcome five new titles to our ever-expanding collection, and on top of this, we have additions to thirteen of our existing titles. We continue to augment our Scottish holdings this week, our five new titles all hailing from north of the border. Our earliest publication this week is the Fifeshire Journal, which was …
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On 10 January 1863 the Metropolitan Railway was opened in London. An unprecedented feat of engineering, the Metropolitan Railway was the first underground railway in the world, forming the basis of the London underground and other global underground systems. In this special blog, we take a look at the historic first three days of the Metropolitan Railway’s existence, from its grand opening on Friday 10 January 1863, to the teething problems it encountered when it opened to the public on …