The newspapers in our collection are full of gardening advice from across the centuries. In this series of posts we will explore flower and vegetable gardening from the early 1700s to the 1950s. Join us as we discover forgotten varieties and perennial favourites. We will share hints and tips from bygone ages, some of which may be worth reviving, and others which are better left untried. April Showers In April we can give into impatience and declare it Spring in …
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In last week’s inaugural post for Cookery Corner, we looked at delicious cake recipes and found some that made our mouth water. This month, we have toned it down a little and are taking a look at biscuits – our favourite cup of tea companion. To begin our search, we identified a number of classic biscuits we wanted to find: ginger nut, shortbread, and digestive. Along the way, a few other types popped up. Ginger Nut Initially, a search for …
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This week for Easter, we took a look through our newspapers to find Easter traditions across the globe. The papers in the British Newspaper Archive report events from around the world as well as explore international customs and traditions. We found traditions in Romania, Russia, Bulgaria, France, and England. Easter Customs In 1933, The Sphere did a feature on Easter customs in many lands. In one image, you can see fishermen from Galilee, in present-day northern Israel. The caption tells us …
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We were thrilled with the number of people who visited our stand at Who Do You Think You Are? Live in Birmingham between 6 April and 8 April. Many wanted to get to know more about the website. We also spoke to long-term users who did not know about some of the new features or wanted to know if we had any search tips. Here are the top 5 search tips we discussed with our visitors: 1. Search outside your …
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Thousands arrived at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham for Who Do You Think You Are? Live 2017 between Thursday 6 April and Saturday 8 April. Today, we are reviewing a few of the family history stories revealed during the show and we will share 5 of the top search tips discussed during the event. The event welcomed family historians and genealogists from across the country to come together to discuss their research and to find out more about the …
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This week thousands have assembled at Who Do You Think You Are? Live in Birmingham to demolish those brick walls, learn new tricks of genealogy, and hear about the latest news of family history. Most of us have searched the newspapers for obituaries, but much more can be revealed about our ancestor’s lives than the memorials at their death. Today, we will take a look at the divorce courts, bankruptcy notices, illegitimacy cases, and committee minutes. The mid- to late …
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April Fool’s Day is the perfect day to delve into a topic that has of late appeared in the headlines: fake news. While its current iteration may seem particularly upsetting, it may be comforting (in a way) to learn that this is not a new phenomenon and it, in fact, plagued late nineteenth century journalism. In the United States, a new brand of ‘journalism’ emerged, coined ‘yellow journalism’—the clickbait of the pre-internet era. Joseph Pulitzer, now known mostly for the …
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March has been a great month at the Archive. We have added eight brand new titles this month including the Rutland Echo and Leicestershire Advertiser. In bringing online a newspaper for England’s smallest county we now have a newspaper for every county in England. And we won’t stop there. Our England collection will continue to grow. And watch this space for similar ‘country completion’ announcements. This month we are particularly pleased to announce the addition of issues from the 1850s …
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Whilst Mothering Sunday is now commonly combined and celebrated with the secular holiday of Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom and Ireland, its origin is religious in nature and separate from that of the American Mother’s Day. Starting in the 1700s, individuals would attend a special service on Laetare Sunday (the fourth Sunday of Lent) at their mother church (usually the church where an individual was baptised or their local parish church/closest cathedral). This activity was soon coined as going …
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This month we are introducing a new blog theme: Cookery Corner. Whether you want sweet or savoury; an easy 30-minute meal or an extravagant four-course dinner, the British Newspaper Archive holds all your culinary desires. Each month we will dip into through the thousands of recipes found in the British and Irish newspapers while focusing on a specific topic. Sweet Cakes We thought the best way to start, of course, is with cakes! This month, we discovered numerous recipes for …