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Understanding the Open Air Schools of the 1900s

In the early 1900s British authorities took a new approach to education: open air schools. Inspired by methods of teaching in Germany, these open air schools were intended to provide disadvantaged city children with fresh air, alleviating their poor health and preventing the spread of tuberculosis. In this special blog, using newspapers taken from our Archive, we will investigate the open air schools of the 1900s, from their early inception, to how they continued to play a role in education

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Free To View Pages on The British Newspaper Archive

In partnership with the British Library, the British Newspaper Archive features 1 million free to view newspaper pages as part of its collection. A great way to get started with your research, and to begin to explore historic newspapers and their stories, all you need to do is register a free account with us to access the free to view pages. Register now to explore FREE pages Once you’ve registered, you can explore 150 different newspaper titles, which span the years 1720 to

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Hot off the Press – New Titles This Week

This week at The Archive we are thrilled to bring you 11 brand new titles and additions to 6 existing titles.  We have added 19,712 new pages from regional titles across Scotland and England. Register now and explore the Archive Five of our new titles come to us from across Scotland including a newspaper from Scotland’s most northern point in the Atlantic Ocean, the Shetland Isles. The Shetland News   The Shetland News was first published in 1855 and it

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18th Century Molly Houses – London’s Gay Subculture

  June is Pride Month. At The Archive, we are delving into the newspapers and pulling out the breadth of LGBTQ history available. Register now and explore The Archive 18th Century Gay Subculture 18th century London was home to a flourishing gay subculture with Molly Houses at the centre of the social scene. ‘Molly’ was a slur used for effeminate, homosexual men and the term was adopted to describe the clubs, taverns, inns, or coffee houses where they met up

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How to search for historic events in the newspapers

Britain’s favourite horticultural happening is right around the corner once again. The RHS Chelsea Flower Show begins on 23 May and will be held in the grounds of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, for the 105th time. To celebrate, we’re showing you exactly how to go about unearthing newspaper stories on the Flower Show, and other long-running events, using our ever-growing Archive. Register now and view 3 pages for FREE Searching for an event in the Archive is much like searching for a person’s

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The last of the Romanovs

    On 15 March 1917, amid the chaos and fury of the Russian Revolution, Tsar Nicholas II, Emperor of all Russia, abdicated from the throne and ended 300 years of Romanov rule.  Russians of all classes were on the streets of Petrograd (formerly known as St Petersburg), and Nicholas’ own military had joined the ranks of protestors.  How did this monarch fall and a dynasty end?  On the anniversary of Tsar Nicholas’ abdication, we will take a look through

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The Homeward Mail – News from the East

The British Newspaper Archive brings you news from India, China, and further East during the height of the British Empire.  The Homeward Mail from India, China and the East was first published in 1857 by Messrs. Smith, Elder, & Co. and provided Britain with news from its colonies in the East.  The publishing company also produced the first Dictionary of National Biography and worked with major authors such as Charlotte Brontë, George Eliot, Alfred Tennyson, and Arthur Conan Doyle.  Along

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Liz Bonnin’s Presbyterian connections in Trinidad

Last night, during Who Do You Think You Are? we searched through Liz Bonnin’s family tree and discovered her Indian and French heritage. This week’s episode opened with gorgeous views of a sun soaked beach and crashing waves, making us all envious as we watched by our fires and with hot cups of tea in our hands.  The first part of the episode took us to Bonnin’s mother’s home in Trinidad to find more clues about Liz’s Indian ancestors. Early

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The Battle of Jutland: A message from Admiral Jellicoe

After the Battle of Jutland, Admiral Jellicoe sent this message to his Fleet, as recorded in the Cornishman on the 15th June 1916: “I desire to express to the flag officers, captains, officers and men of the Grand Fleet my very high appreciation of the manner in which the ships fought during the action of May 31, 1916. At this stage, when full information is not available, it is not possible to enter into details, but quite sufficient is already

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‘Wherefore art thou, Romeo?’ Shakespeare’s missing men of 1916

Midsummer's Night Dream illustration

Countless celebrations are taking place across the country to commemorate the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death. Wherever you live, you’ll find parades, talks, and performances of all kinds paying homage to the Bard’s work, but it was a very different story 100 years ago. Search the newspapers On the tercentenary of Shakespeare’s death in 1916, Britain had found itself in the middle of one of the most horrific battles in history. While the odd commemorative event took place in larger

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