The ''Warminster Journal'' is a weekly

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

published in

Warminster Warminster () is an ancient market town with a nearby garrison, and civil parish in south west Wiltshire, England, on the western edge of Salisbury Plain. The parish had a population of about 17,000 in 2011. The 11th-century Minster Church of S ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

in South West England. The paper serves the west Wiltshire towns of Warminster and Westbury as well as the villages of the Wylye Valley,

Chitterne Chitterne is a village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, in the south west of England. The village lies in the middle of Salisbury Plain, about east of the town of Warminster. The Chitterne Brook, a small tributary of the River Wyly ...

Mere Mere may refer to: Places * Mere, Belgium, a village in East Flanders * Mere, Cheshire, England * Mere, Wiltshire, England People * Mere Broughton (1938–2016), New Zealand Māori language activist and unionist * Mere Smith, American televisi ...

Chapmanslade Chapmanslade is a village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, in the southwest of England. The parish is on the county border with Somerset and includes the hamlets of Huntenhull Green, Short Street and Thoulstone. The village lies abo ...

Corsley Corsley is a hamlet and Civil parishes in England, civil parish west of Warminster in Wiltshire, England. The parish is on the county border with Somerset; the Somerset town of Frome is about to the northwest. The largest settlement in the pari ...

, and

Horningsham Horningsham is a small village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, on the county border with Somerset. The village lies about southwest of the town of Warminster and southeast of Frome, Somerset. The parish forms part of the Longleat es ...

History

The newspaper's founder, Benjamin Walter Coates, was a son of the Rev. John Coates, master of

King James's School, Almondbury King James's School is a coeducational secondary school located in Almondbury in the English county of West Yorkshire. History King James's Grammar School was founded as chantry school in 1547 and received its name and a royal charter in 160 ...

. B. W. Coates moved to Warminster in the 1860s and in 1876 bought an existing printing and stationery business. Coates was interested in running a newspaper, but Warminster already had the ''Warminster Herald'', founded in 1857. A

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

and a loyal member of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, in 1881 Coates finally launched the ''Warminster and Westbury Journal and Wilts County Advertiser'' as a weekly

broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of . Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper format), ta ...

, after a substantial investment in new staff and machinery. The first issue was dated Saturday 19 November 1881, and for twelve years the new paper was in competition with the ''Warminster Herald''. In 1884, both newspapers were published weekly and priced at one

penny A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is t ...

, and the ''Journal'' was noted as having a Conservative affiliation, while the ''Herald'' was non-aligned. The ''Herald'' ceased publication in 1893. Coates retired as editor in 1898 and was succeeded by his 28-year-old younger son Alfred Coates, who edited the ''Journal'' for sixty years. In 1900, Samuel Hillier Parker, originally from

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

, joined the firm as an assistant. When he married in 1903, he gave his occupation as bookseller’s assistant. In 1912, Alfred Coates made him a partner. Apart from a single year beginning during the First World War, the paper has appeared weekly since 1881. Due to key staff leaving to join the armed forces, publication was suspended in April 1918 and did not begin again until 15 August 1919. However, the firm's business as stationers continued. The issue of the ''Journal'' of 4 July 1903 announced a forthcoming one-night visit to Westbury by

Buffalo Bill William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, Bison hunting, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa, Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but ...

's show "Wild West and Rough Riders of the World". The paper of 18 July 1903 said this was due to Westbury's improved railway service. Samuel Parker died in 1935, and Alfred Coates continued the newspaper, printing and stationery business until 1958, when he retired, selling Coates & Parker to Charlie Mills. Mills died in 1970, leaving the business to his wife and daughter, Elsie and Gladys Mills. As of 2021, his grandchildren Ray Shorto and Diana Watkins are joint editors of the newspaper. The circulation was stated in 1989 as 5,600.''Benn's Media Directory'', Part 2 (1989), p. 212: "Warminster Journal, Fri, Coates & Parker Ltd, 36 Market Place, Warminster, Wilts BA12 9AN Tel: 0985 213030, 212945 Circ: 5,600."

References

External links

* {{Official website Newspapers published in Wiltshire Newspapers established in 1881 Warminster Weekly newspapers published in the United Kingdom 1881 establishments in England