Search the blog

This week we are marking 200 years since the birth of the modern railway, with the addition of three brand new railway titles to our holdings. That’s not all, we’ve added 362,596 brand new pages to our collection, with extensive updates to one of the south coast’s most famous titles, the Portsmouth Evening News.Through our new railway titles this week, we’ll take a look at another important moment in railway history, the opening of the North British Railway in June 1846, which…

This September we are marking 200 years since the birth of the modern railway. On 27 September 1825 the first modern railway was opened, namely the Stockton and Darlington Railway, and what better way to celebrate this iconic transport first, than by uncovering 20 pioneering railway firsts from our Archive.Register now and explore The Archive1. The earliest mention of the word ‘railway’ in our Archive – March 1759Well before the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, railways, in the sense of tracks, were…

This week at The Archive we have put in a sterling effort as we have now reached over 87 million pages, having added 299,609 brand new pages in all, alongside two brand new titles (the Rotherham Advertiser and the Stirling Journal and Advertiser), as we get into the festive spirit by exploring an Edwardian Christmas. That’s not all, as from Brechin to Bridgnorth, from Crawley to Cumbernauld, from Larne to Leamington Spa, we’ve updated 22 of our existing titles from across England, Scotland…

Eighteenth century writer, philosopher and early feminist Mary Wollstonecraft faced censure in her lifetime, not just for her radical beliefs, but also for her rejection of societal norms. Long after her death, however, attitudes began to shift, as she gained recognition as a trailblazing fighter for women’s equality and became an inspirational figure in the women’s suffrage movement.Following on from our blog on the life of Mary Wollstonecraft, in this second and final blog we shall examine the writer’s…

In December 1920 the world’s first illustrated weekly news magazine the Illustrated London News delved into the ‘curiosities and ingenuities‘ of the Patent Office, featuring some of Britain’s most unusual rejected patents.Illustrated by the publication’s own artist W.B. Robinson, the Illustrated London News presented a series of the bizarre designs that had been submitted to the Patent Office, but had since ‘lain dormant.’We at The Archive were keen to delve into our collection’s cabinet of curiosities, and these rejected…

This September at The Archive we are going back to school with the addition of brand new title the Schoolmaster and Edinburgh Weekly Magazine, alongside three other brand new titles from London, Liverpool, and Kent. Meanwhile, we’ve added 302,872 brand new pages so far this month, with 26 of our existing titles updated too, from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.So from Bayswater to Bury, from Carmarthen to Croydon, from Donegal to Dumfries, read on to discover more about our new and…

Mercedes Gleitze (1900-1981) was the first British woman to swim the English Channel, and the first person to swim the Straits of Gibraltar. In an amazing career that spanned the 1920s and 1930s, Mercedes captured the imagination of the British public and became a household name.Born to German parents in Brighton, Mercedes was one of three sisters. Skilled in languages, she moved to London where she worked as a secretary and stenographer. Whilst living in London she began swimming in…

This March at The Archive we are celebrating inspiring women from history, who broke boundaries across different fields, whether they be medical, sporting, political and much more besides. We will be highlighting those inspiring women who broke the mould, and we will be showcasing the achievements of some lesser known women along the way, who deserve recognition for their trailblazing lives and careers.And in this special blog, we will be looking at ten inspiring women from history who you…

As part of our railway history month on The Archive, we’re delighted to welcome a very special guest blog post from Dr Mike Esbester, Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Portsmouth and co-lead of the ‘Railway Work, Life & Death Project.’ In this special blog, Mike takes a look at the dark side of railway work, and how the British Newspaper Archive has helped to inform research into railway accidents from days past.The Dark Side of Railway Work…

Long before Agatha Christie envisioned murder on the Orient Express, or before she wondered what might have taken place on the 4.50 from Paddington, murder, mystery and mayhem were already well established on the railways of Britain and beyond.The first victim of murder on British railways was 70-year-old Thomas Briggs. In this special blog, we will take a look at his story, as well as nine others sourced from the pages of our newspaper Archive, which tell the strange, the…