''Berrow's Worcester Journal'' is a weekly

freesheet Free newspapers are distributed Gratis versus libre, free of charge, often in central places in cities and towns, on public transport, with other newspapers, or separately door-to-door. The revenues of such newspapers are based on advertising. T ...

tabloid newspaper, based in

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

, England. Owned by

Newsquest Newsquest Media Group Limited is the second largest publisher of regional and local newspapers in the United Kingdom. It is owned by the American mass media holding company Gannett. It has 205 brands across the UK, publishing online and in pr ...

, the newspaper is delivered across central and southern

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

History

16th century printing press

was one of the earliest locations in Britain to have a printing press where its first press was established in 1548 and set up by John Oswin who printed several books on it between 1548 and 1553.

Stephen Bryan

The first established records of a Worcester newspaper date from 1690 when Stephen Bryan founded the ''Worcester Post-Man'', which has been published ever since, although its name changed to the ''Worcester Journal'' and then to the current name ''Berrow's Worcester Journal'', thus laying claim to being the oldest newspaper in the world in continuous and current production. Local news was relatively rare in the first decade of publication and it was published irregularly from 1690 until 1709, the period following the deposing of James II (& VII) after the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

of 1688 which had seen the beginning of a free press in the country. After about 1720 Bryan began to include more local items. In the time that Bryan owned the paper it was published on Fridays.

Berrow family

In April 1748, Bryan sold the paper to Harvey Berrow who changed its name to ''The Worcester Journal'' and its publication day to Thursday. From 11 October 1753 the paper was published as ''Berrow's Worcester Journal''. This final name change was prompted when a competitor, Richard Lewis, tried to profit from the success of the ''Worcester Journal'' by launching the similar-sounding ''New Worcester Journal''. Lewis's other efforts to take market share from the older paper included publishing on Wednesdays (the day before Berrow) and circulating a report in

Bewdley Bewdley ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District in Worcestershire, England, on the banks of the River Severn. It is in the Severn Valley, and is west of Kidderminster, north of Worcester and southwest of Birmingham. It ...

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a market town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester, England, Worcester. Located north of the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour and east of the River Severn, in th ...

and

Stourbridge Stourbridge () is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Situated on the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour, the town lies around west of Birmingham, at the southwester ...

that Berrow's newsmen had left his service. Berrow was the third son of Capel Berrow (died 1751), a clergyman, and younger brother of Capel Berrow the writer, and was an

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is an Early Modern English, archaic English term for a medicine, medical professional who formulates and dispenses ''materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons and patients. The modern terms ''pharmacist'' and, in Brit ...

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

. This was not unusual during this time as early newspaper proprietors would sell medicines alongside their newspapers. Berrow promoted in his paper his elixir for

dropsy Edema (American English), also spelled oedema (British English), and also known as fluid retention, swelling, dropsy and hydropsy, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may inclu ...

and his powder for

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of pain in a red, tender, hot, and Joint effusion, swollen joint, caused by the deposition of needle-like crystals of uric acid known as monosodium urate crysta ...

. The paper was sold for 2½d every week with five pages. Harvey Berrow carried on the ''Journal'' until his death on 16 August 1776, when his eldest son, also Harvey Berrow, continued the publication until his death in the following year, on 11 June 1777. The newspaper's ownership was succeeded by his sister, Elizabeth Berrow, whose name appeared upon the ''Journal'' until 23 December 1779, after which her name is superseded by that of John Tymbs, to whom she was married on 23 September 1779.

Present era

In 1982 ''Berrow's Worcester Journal'' was taken over by

Reed International RELX plc (pronounced "Rel-ex") is a British multinational information and analytics company headquartered in London, England. Its businesses provide scientific, technical and medical information and analytics; legal information and analytics; ...

. The style of the newspaper changed on 26 June 1987 when it became a

free newspaper Free newspapers are distributed Gratis versus libre, free of charge, often in central places in cities and towns, on public transport, with other newspapers, or separately door-to-door. The revenues of such newspapers are based on advertising. T ...

. Newsquest subsequently acquired the Reed newspapers and is the current parent of ''Berrow's Worcester Journal''. In 1990, the newspaper celebrated its tercentenary (1690–1990) and to mark the occasion, specially commissioned china was produced by Royal Worcester Porcelain at its nearby city factory. Although the Berrow family have long ceased to have any connection with the paper, their name has perpetuated and the paper continues to be published weekly. Alongside free doorstep delivery, the newspaper is accessible as a free and unsubscribed online edition. , ''Berrow's Worcester Journal'' is one of a number of Newsquest's newspapers using AI-assisted journalism.

Citations

References

* Cooper, Margaret, ''The Worcester Book Trade in the Eighteenth Century'', Occasional Paper Number 8, Worcester Historical Society, Worcester, 1997. * Green, Valentine
''History and Antiquities of the City and Suburbs of Worcester'' (2 vols.)
Bulmer, London, 1796. * Wiles, R yM

Keen Keen, Keen's, or Keens may refer to: People * Keen (surname) * Thomas Keens (1870-1953), British politician Music and song * "Keen" (song), a single by That Petrol Emotion * Keen Records, American record label * Keening, traditional Irish la ...

br>''Freshest Advices: Early Provincial Newspapers in England''
Ohio State University Press, 1965.

External links

''Berrow's Worcester Journal'' website

at the Ohio State University Press website.

from copies from Mr Berrow {{Authority control Newspapers published in Worcestershire Newspapers published by Newsquest 1690 establishments in England Culture in Worcester, England History of Worcester, England Publications established in 1690