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Today is a momentous day. Some fifteen years after the launch of the British Newspaper Archive, we have achieved the milestone of 100 million newspaper pages available to search as part of our collection. 100 million pages of stories waiting for you to uncover, from the length and the breadth of the United Kingdom, Ireland and beyond, covering five centuries of news.To celebrate this remarkable achievement, we’ll take a look at how we reached our 100 million newspaper pages landmark, exploring the…

This week at The Archive we’re delving into the history of prohibition across Scotland and its impact on local distilleries. As well as exploring a time when parts of Scotland went dry for a bit longer than just the month of January, we’ve added 74,458 brand new pages to The Archive, as well as updating twelve titles from across England, Scotland and the Isle of Man.So read on to discover which of our titles we have updated this week, and…

To mark the start of 2026, we’ve added 404,407 brand new pages to The Archive over the last fortnight, as we explore the remarkable history of PS Comet, the pioneering steamboat, which was launched in 1812 to connect Glasgow with Helensburgh.The New Year treats don’t stop there; we’ve added four brand new titles to our collection from England and Northern Ireland, whilst we’ve updated 21 of our existing titles from across the United Kingdom and Ireland. So read on to discover more about…

This week at The Archive we have been busy adding 204,327 brand new pages, as we remember the Great Fire of Edinburgh, which took place in November 1824. Meanwhile, we’ve added four brand new titles to The Archive, with one being dedicated to financial reform and another being dedicated to society gossip. Moreover, we’ve updated twelve titles from across the United Kingdom and Ireland.So read on to discover more about our new and updated titles this week, and also to learn…

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 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…

Since August 2021, the Archive has been working in partnership with the British Library to build a collection of free to view newspaper pages. This collection enables enhanced access to the diverse newspaper holdings of the British Library, with the titles, which have carefully curated by the British Library, spanning four centuries of news and covering not just Britain and Ireland, but the Caribbean, India, and beyond.You can search our free to view pages by creating a free account with…

Today marks the release of over one million new free to view pages on the British Newspaper Archive. Thanks to our ongoing partnership with the British Library, we have now made over four million newspaper pages freely accessible since 2021.Our collection of over four million free to view newspaper pages represents a significant step in making historical resources available to more and more people, an effort to which the British Newspaper Archive and the British Library are firmly committed.As…