The ''Matlock Mercury'' is a weekly newspaper published on a Thursday in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

which serves Matlock,

Darley Dale Darley Dale, also known simply as Darley, is a town and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, with a population of 5,413. It lies north of Matlock, on the River Derwent and the A6 road. The town forms part o ...

Wirksworth Wirksworth is a market town in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. Its population of 5,038 in the 2011 census was estimated at 5,180 in 2019. Wirksworth contains the source of the River Ecclesbourne. The town was granted a mark ...

Bakewell Bakewell is a market town and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, known also for its local Bakewell pudding. It lies on the River Wye, about 13 miles (21 km) south-west of Sheffield. In the 2011 census, ...

and smaller

villages A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in the

Derbyshire Dales Derbyshire Dales ( ) is a local government district in Derbyshire, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 71,116. Much of it is in the Peak District, although most of its population lies along the River Derwent. The borough borders ...

area of

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

. The ''Matlock Mercury'' began life in the late 1940s as ''Coming Events'', an entertainments guide published by Ella Smith from her house on Bakewell Road, Matlock which remained as the newspaper's home until October 2000 when a new office opened on Firs Parade in the centre of the town. The name ''Matlock Mercury'' was adopted in the mid-1950s. Much of the newspaper's archive was destroyed when four feet of water struck during flooding in 1965. The printing works, which shared the same building until 1996, were also badly damaged. Ella Smith sold the Mercury to John Uprichard a successful journalist and TV news reporter in the mid-1970s. Uprichard modernised and updated the facilities and printing works to provide a modern newspaper aided by his wife Beryl Uprichard. The ''Mercury'' was eventually taken over by the ''

Derbyshire Times The ''Derbyshire Times'' is a weekly local newspaper published in northern Derbyshire, each edition being on sale from Thursday. Its headquarters are in Chesterfield and much of its coverage centres on the town and the surrounding area. The newspa ...

'' and its owners, ''

Johnston Press Johnston Press plc was a multimedia company founded in Falkirk, Scotland, in 1767. Its flagship titles included UK-national newspaper the '' i'', ''The Scotsman'', the ''Yorkshire Post'', the ''Falkirk Herald'', and Belfast's ''The News Letter'' ...

''.

Don Hale and the Stephen Downing case

Stephen Downing, was a 17-year-old with the reading age of an 11-year-old, who was imprisoned for the murder of Wendy Sewell in

in 1973. He served 27 years in jail. A long campaign by Downing's family and

Don Hale Don Hale (born July 1952) is a British author and journalist known for his investigative work and campaigning against miscarriage of justice in specific legal cases. Early life Hale played football at youth and reserve level for Bury, Blackbu ...

, the then

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

of the ''Matlock Mercury'' led to the conviction being declared unsafe by the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

in 2001 and Downing was released. Hale was voted Man of the Year by ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' newspaper, Journalist of the Year by ''

What the Papers Say ''What The Papers Say'' is a British radio and television series. It consists of quotations from headlines and comment pages in the previous week's newspapers, read in a variety of voices and accents by actors. The quotes are linked by a scri ...

'' and was awarded an

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

for his efforts, though he was also criticised for referring to Sewell as the "Bakewell Tart". The case, and Don Hale's campaign, was featured in the 2004

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Don Hale and the Stephen Downing case

References

External links