Newspapers and their access - England

[rbell35]

Seeking information on accessible newspapers for England generally but also specifically for Silkstone, Bretton West, Yorkshire, England for the 1826-30 period. I have already been given some information by readers but most of these have been difficult to access and usually not online! I live in Australia so I guess that automatically presents a problem. Seeking some advice please on on how to proceed. Maybe there are some lateral approaches I can pursue? Thanks in anticipation. Cheers, Rob

[mshrmh]

rbell35 - as you've already found many newspaper archives are not online (I'd guess the majority, in fact).

The main collection of online papers is the "Gale" collection of the British Library which is a subscription site, though some libraries offer access. They list the papers covered, so you can tell if they're likely to cover the area of your interest:
http://newspapers.bl.uk/blcs/dispBasicSearch.do?prodId=BLCS&userGroupName=blcsuser
This is a small selection of the BL's collection:
http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/inrrooms/blnewspapers/newscat/newscat.html

Two of the national newspapers have online archives - both again via a charge or a library, though you may be able to search first.
http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/archive/
http://archive.guardian.co.uk/
(The latter was the Manchester Guardian well into the 20th century so had more coverage of that region).

The British Library and relevant local studies libraries/archives are most likely to have relevant papers - not easy for you I appreciate!

Otherwise you could try Google books & documents - it can be surprising what turns up, though I don't find them easy to use.

[andycand]

Hi Rob

The Gale 19th Century British Newspapers (and many other databases) are accessable through the National Library of Australia eResources by Australian residents. You need to apply for a Library card. The link below has information

http://www.nla.gov.au/getalibrarycard

Andy

[Ruskie]

I think you can also join this:
http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/onrl/premiums.asp
even if you live in Austalia.

(not sure where the link is though)