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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’re exploring the traditions surrounding Midsummer Eve and Midsummer Day, as we welcome a trio of brand new newspapers to our holdings. Furthermore, we’re delighted to be welcoming 151,872 brand new pages in all this week, whilst we have updated fourteen of our existing titles from across the United Kingdom and Ireland.So read on to discover more about our new and updated newspapers this week, and also to learn more about the history of Midsummer…

With the Summer Solstice fast approaching, as well as the midpoint of the year and Midsummer’s Day, we at The Archive were keen to delve into the traditions and superstitions surrounding this time of year.With a history of celebration in Britain and Ireland that predates Christianity and the Roman invasion, in this special blog we are going to take a look at the history and origins of Summer Solstice celebrations, as well as investigating the range of traditions that…

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…

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 to peruse.…

This week at The Archive we are delighted to welcome a duo of brand new titles to our collection, the Alnwick Guardian and County Advertiser and the Newport Pagnell Citizen, as we explore the Northumberland tradition of the kern dinner, which is held to celebrate the harvest home. Meanwhile, we have added 146,333 brand new pages to our collection in total, whilst we have updated 21 of our existing titles.So read on to discover more about our new and updated titles…

This week at The Archive we marking the leap day of 29 February by adding 247,740 brand new pages, as well as examining the tradition of the leap year proposal. We’ve also added a duo of new titles, whilst we’ve updated 69 of our existing titles from across the world, from the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Channel Islands, the Caribbean, New Zealand and Hong Kong.So read on to discover more about the tradition of the leap year proposal, our two new titles,…

To mark St Andrew’s Day this year, the day that celebrates the patron saint of Scotland, we’ve added a very special brand new title to The Archive, Scotland on Sunday, alongside 218,837 brand new pages from across the United Kingdom. That’s not it, we’ve also added one wonderfully named title from the county of Worcestershire, the Kidderminster Shuttle, whilst we’ve updated our existing titles from Carrickfergus to Croydon, from Coleshill to Crowthorne.So read on to discover more about our duo…

As it’s the height of spooky season we’re exploring the history of Halloween at The Archive, with the help of the 93,381 brand new pages that we have added to our collection over the last seven days. Meanwhile, we’re delighted to welcome one brand new newspaper title to The Archive, which is the Middlesex & Surrey Gazette, whilst we have made exciting updates to some of our existing titles from across Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.So read on to discover more…