Articles by Rose Staveley-Wadham

Vesta Tilley, Annie Hindle, Hetty King and Ella Shields – just a few of the incredible male impersonators who were the superstars of their day. In music halls across the world, from London to Baltimore, from South Africa to Australia, these pioneering women hit the heights of fame during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.Music Hall and Theatre Review | 12 June 1896In this special blog, we will celebrate the legacies of these early drag kings, exploring their art, the fame

This week at The Archive we have added a century’s worth of news, spanning the headlines from 1864 to 1964. We have added 90,176 new newspaper pages in all, with six brand new titles joining us from England and Wales over the past seven days.So read on to discover more about our new titles, from Hastings to Harborne, from Neath to Stockton, as well as to find out which of our existing titles we have updated during the past week. Using our

With the next census fast approaching in England and Wales, we thought we’d delve into the history of the census, and the changing attitudes towards it from its inception in 1801 and throughout the nineteenth century.From initial fears and suspicions, to feelings of pride and honour, our newspapers chart the evolving attitudes to the modern British census, and how it was depicted in popular culture, in poetry, illustrations and even on the stage.So read on to discover more about

Upon the advent of the First World War a new organisation was formed – the Women Police Volunteers. Later known as the Women’s Police Service, these women played a vital role in paving the way for the establishment and acceptance of women in the police.Members of the Women’s Police Service at a Buckingham Palace Garden party | The Sphere | 2 April 1919Although the inclusion of women in the police was discussed prior to the outbreak of the war, and a small number

This week at The Archive we have added 71,798 brand new pages to our ever growing collection, with a duo of brand new titles joining us this week too, from Cornwall and Buckinghamshire respectively.So read on to discover more about which new titles we have added, the ten titles we have updated, and also to find out more about the last moments of Mary Pearcey, condemned to death in 1890 for murder.Register now and explore the ArchiveThe first new

Here at The Archive, as well as exploring pioneering figures of the past, and momentous moments from history, we like to celebrate the best of our collection’s local news, however bizarre, amusing and strange!Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News | 13 May 1959With so many regional titles to be found on The Archive, there are many surprising and unusual stories to be found from around the country. And none more amazing is the story of Buttercup the cow, who was the first

This week at The Archive we have been immensely busy adding 173,282 brand new pages to our collection. We have added an incredible 11 brand new titles over the past seven days, spanning such diverse countries as India, China, Dominica and Antigua, as well as some towns and cities slightly closer to home, like Beverley, Birkenhead and Blandford.Here at The Archive we don’t like to neglect our existing titles either, and so in this vein, we have added new pages to 19

‘The foulest nuisance that ever disgraced the annals of a nation,’ the condition of the Thames in the summer of 1858 had reached a crisis point. Bloated with sewage and other effluence from the world’s second largest city, the Thames had become a ‘pestilential stream,’ emitting a putrid odour that was dubbed the ‘Great Stink.’Westminster Bridge | Illustrated London News | 21 October 1843In this special blog, we shall uncover the true state of the Thames, as it was in the June and

This week at The Archive has been an especially busy one, as we have added 150,624 brand new pages from titles to be found across the world! Not only have these 150,624 new pages joined us this week, we have added nearly 150 years’ worth of headlines, from 1771 to 1920.Furthermore, this week sees the continuation of our commitment to publish the international titles held by the British Library. To this end, new titles join our collection from the Caribbean, including Barbados, Jamaica and

Nicknamed the ‘Idle Women,’ although they were about as far from idle as anybody could possibly be, the women canal workers of the Second World War performed vital war work which is all but forgotten today, some seventy years later.Some of the ‘Idle women’ arriving at a canal dock | The Sphere | 15 April 1944The curious name of ‘Idle Women’ came from the badges that these pioneering women wore, with the initials ‘IW,’ which stood for ‘Inland Waterways’. This moniker, given