Here at The Archive, we love to learn of the discoveries you have made through our newspaper pages, and how you have used them, whether they have influenced novels, or provided information for dissertations. We were incredibly grateful, therefore, when crime writer and athletics historian Peter Lovesey contacted us with his account of sixty years of researching newspapers. From accessing historical newspapers in their original form, to scrolling through microfilm reels, and finally to searching newspapers digitally on the British …
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As we approach Christmas, we at The Archive were curious to uncover Christmas recipes from the past through our newspaper collection. Would we find them to be similar to our usual Christmas feasting fare? Or would the festive food of days gone by have fallen out of favour? Well, we’ve sourced 22 delicious and unusual Christmas recipes from our newspapers to help us answer these questions. From herring pies to plum puddings, from orange cakes to mince pies, we will …
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Sent to the front lines, soldiers in the First World War could only communicate home through letters. Although censored, these letters provided comfort to both those at home and those fighting in the trenches, and they were often reproduced by local newspapers. In this special blog, we’ve pulled out extracts from 30 different letters, sent by servicemen throughout the First World War, which were all featured by our newspapers. These 30 letters, sent by 30 different men, all provide a …
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This October we’re exploring the historical superstitions and traditions from across the British Isles and Ireland. Here, we’ve compiled 30 of the most intriguing historical superstitions, sourced from our newspaper collection. From the more well-known superstitions, for example, not passing underneath a ladder, or throwing spilled salt over your shoulder, to those you may not have heard of, like giving a knife along with a penny, anyone?), without any further ado, here are 30 fascinating superstitions from history for you …
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Since August 2021, the Archive has been working in partnership with the British Library to build a collection of free to view newspaper pages. This collection enables enhanced access to the diverse newspaper holdings of the British Library, with the titles, which have carefully curated by the British Library, spanning four centuries of news and covering not just Britain and Ireland, but the Caribbean, India, and beyond. You can search our free to view pages by creating a free account …
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Today marks the release of over one million new free to view pages on the British Newspaper Archive. Thanks to our ongoing partnership with the British Library, we have now made over four million newspaper pages freely accessible since 2021. Our collection of over four million free to view newspaper pages represents a significant step in making historical resources available to more and more people, an effort to which the British Newspaper Archive and the British Library are firmly committed. …
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Just when did ‘Brits abroad’ get their bad reputation? And when did the phrase enter the vernacular? In this special blog, we explore the shocking history of the ‘Brits abroad’ stereotype, and learn how although this group of badly behaving tourists got their name in the 1980s, the British abroad have a long history of causing upset on their travels. Last week, we looked at the rise of Brits travelling abroad using our newspapers, and this week, again using newspapers …
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This August at the British Newspaper Archive we are taking a look at the history of holidays, and in particular, the history of British holidaymakers travelling abroad. Nowadays, the holiday season is synonymous with trips to the airport, with holidays abroad bookable at just the click of a button. Decades ago, however, travelling abroad was not that easy. With strict limitations on travel money, the difficulties of booking travel abroad, potential holidaymakers faced a range of challenges in getting away …
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As the 2024 Paris Olympics begin, we at the British Newspaper Archive could not help but look back at the 1924 Paris Olympics, with the same city playing host to the summer Olympic Games exactly one hundred years ago. Paris had also hosted the Olympics in 1900, and so this year will be the third time that the city hosts the iconic sporting tournament. And the 1924 Paris Olympics would prove an iconic one for Britain, with gold medal wins …
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With a history that winds all the way back to Anglo-Saxon and medieval farming practices, the story of allotments in the United Kingdom is as rich as the soil itself. From the General Enclosure Act of 1845, which aimed to give the landless poor an area to cultivate, to the ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign in the 1940s, all the way to the allotment renaissance of the 1990s, we will explore the history of allotments, using newspapers sourced from our Archive. …