British Newspaper Archive - read historic newspapers online with a subscription to the British Newspaper Archive!

Give a subscription to the British Newspaper Archive - history lovers can view millions of historic newspapers online!

The British Newspaper Archive is an incredible resource for anyone who wants to immerse themselves and get lost in historic newspapers, all from the comfort and convenience of home. It is amazing what they can tell you about the past and the way people used to live. It's a great way to escape the 21st century, and go back in time!

The Archive is growing week by week, and there are now just over 85,544,205 pages online at the time of writing (8th November, 2024)! There's even a handy 'search' box, so that they can search out a particular publication, region, country, county, town, place and even recently added titles. You can also see the papers which have been updated here. And the work never stops, giving your loved one all the more to go and explore without even leaving home! Subscribe to the British Newspaper Archive here.

Britannia and Eve, pictured below, was a wonderful source of fashion spreads, and it had short stories, too! It was especially known for its short stories, just the thing to enjoy during the dark winter months! Take a closer look here.

Take a peep into the magazine

Newspapers are a window into past times

They give a real flavour of what life was like, what was important, what mattered to people and what they wanted to hear about. You can get a “feel” for the times and what was happening locally and nationally, day to day. Can you imagine what people would have been discussing at the dinner table, or the events they would have been looking forward to at the weekend? What would they have been tempted to buy as a result of the adverts in the papers? Could it have been crimes committed?? Take a look at the Illustrated Police News

The Illustrated Police News combined two Victorian passions:
the police newspaper and the illustrated journal.
It focused on stories of crime, accidents and disaster....
Find out more here

Letters and editorials give you a really good idea of the views people held at the time of publication, and also of attitudes. For instance, local advertisements, local events, even notices in the personal ads, give a flavour of local life. If you're researching the family history, it can particularly give you an inkling of what the lives of your relatives might have been like.

The Sussex Express first joined the Archive back in 2013.
In 1857, it was The Sussex Agricultural Express, but it also incorporated other titles:
The Surrey Standard, Weald of Kent Mail and the Hants and County Advertiser.

So what can you search for with The British Newspaper Archive?

The Archive has an amazing search facility, to help you find what you're looking for. You can search by newspaper, region, country, county, the type of resource you're looking for, and the date you're looking for, so it's a mine of information on things such as:

News articles –events and issues of local, regional, national and international importance
Family notices – birth, marriage and death notices, announcements about engagements, anniversaries, birthdays and congratulations
Letters written to the editor by readers – what were they writing about? What did they care about? What did they want to share?
Obituaries on the lives of notable people
Advertisements – what were people wanting to buy, what did business want to sell?
Illustrations – photos, engravings, graphics, maps, cartoons

The Weekly Casualty List pictured below was published during the First World War. It listed the names of the servicemen who had been wounded, killed in battle or died of wounds, or reported missing or taken prisoner. As the link on the image shows,you can put in the name of a publication and do a search for it in the Archive.

What else does the Archive have?

Headlines from History looks at how papers reported happenings of the time, such as Pets in Parliament, the Jitterbug dance which divided Britain in the 1940s. In August 2024, there was an article to "uncover the shocking history of the Brits Abroad stereotype".
New titles added – this is a round up of new papers added during the week
Tips for using the Archive so that you can really make the most of it such as how to research local history
Genealogy and family history – which papers are best to do your research with?
Plus over 73 million newspapers to read!

The Archive is a partnership between the British Library and Findmypast. The British Library’s collection is huge – it’s got newspapers from 1603 to the present day, as well as 300,000 reels of microfilm!

There are monthly, 3 month and 12 months subscriptions available as gifts, starting from £8.34 a month for 12 months. You can do a month for £14.99 and three months for £11.17 a month.

The pages of the Alnwick Guardian give us an insight into events held around harvest time.
In Northumberland, the harvest festival is marked by a kern dinner.
The Alnwick Guardian has detailed descriptions of kern dinners held at Alnwick Castle
for the Duke of Northumberland's staff.
Workers and their families enjoyed roasted meats, plum puddings, and of course, ale.

Can I see any of it without subscribing?

There’s about 4 million pages free to view as part of the collection, brought to you as a result of the partnership with the British Library. The Archive and the British Library are committed to making historic resources available to increasing numbers of people, which is why so many are free to view. You can see which papers they are here - not only is there a list of them, but also the years which are available to you.

Immerse yourself in history by delving into historic newspapers.

Give a subscription to the British Newspaper Archive here