The ''Birmingham Gazette'', known for much of its existence as ''Aris's Birmingham Gazette'', was a newspaper that was published and circulated in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries. Founded as a weekly publication in 1741, it moved to daily production in 1862, and was absorbed by the ''

Birmingham Post The ''Birmingham Post'' is a weekly printed newspaper based in Birmingham, England, with a circulation of 2,545 and distribution throughout the West Midlands. First published under the name the ''Birmingham Daily Post'' in 1857, it has had a s ...

'' in 1956. The newspaper's title was initially ''Birmingham Gazette and General Correspondent'' from 1741; ''Aris's Birmingham Gazette'' by 1743, and continuing until 1862; ''Birmingham Daily Gazette'' from 1862 to 1904; ''Birmingham Gazette & Express'' from 1904 to 1912; and ''Birmingham Gazette'' from 1912 to 1956. In November 1956 the ''Birmingham Gazette'' was absorbed by the ''Birmingham Post''. The merger led to the publication of ''The Birmingham Post & Birmingham Gazette'' which ran until 1964.

History

Aris’s Birmingham Gazette - 1771-11-11 - p1

The ''Gazette'' was founded as the ''Birmingham Gazette and General Correspondent'' by Thomas Aris, a stationer from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

who had moved to Birmingham in May 1740 and started a bookselling and printing business in the

High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

. The first edition was issued on 16 November 1741, just under ten years after the town's first known newspaper, the '' Birmingham Journal''. By 1743 it had absorbed its rival ''Warwick and Staffordshire Gazette'' – which had been founded in

in 1737 and moved to Birmingham in 1741 – and become the town's only newspaper. Although decried by its rivals as a "Mere register of sales or... broker's guide" due its high number of advertisements,

Asa Briggs Asa Briggs, Baron Briggs (7 May 1921 – 15 March 2016) was an English historian. He was a leading specialist on the Victorian era, and the foremost historian of broadcasting in Britain. Briggs achieved international recognition during his lon ...

described the eighteenth century ''Gazette'' as "one of the most lucrative and important provincial papers, ranking with the ''

Liverpool Mercury The ''Liverpool Mercury'' was an English newspaper that originated in Liverpool, England. As well as focusing on local news, the paper also reported on both national and international news allowing it to circulate in Lancashire, Wales, Isle of Man ...

'' and the ''

Edinburgh Courant The ''Edinburgh Courant'' was a broadsheet newspaper from the 18th century. It was published out of Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland. Its first issue was dated February 14–19, 1705 and was sold for a penny. It was Scotland's first regional newsp ...

''". Historical copies of the ''Gazette'', dating back to 1741, are available to search and view in digitised form at the

British Newspaper Archive The British Newspaper Archive web site provides access to searchable digitized archives of British and Irish newspapers. It was launched in November 2011. History The British Library Newspapers section was based in Colindale in north London, u ...

.Digitised copies of ''Aris's Birmingham Gazette''
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Editors

John Thackray Bunce John Thackray Bunce (11 April 1828 – 28 June 1899) was a British journalist and author. He served as editor of ''Aris's Birmingham Gazette'' from 1860 to 1862, and of the ''Birmingham Post'' from 1862 to 1898. Early years Bunce was bor ...

(1860–1862)

References

Defunct newspapers published in the United Kingdom History of Birmingham, West Midlands Newspapers published in Birmingham, West Midlands Publications established in 1741 Publications disestablished in 1956 1741 establishments in England Daily newspapers published in the United Kingdom {{UK-newspaper-stub