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The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History

NEWSPAPERS

PLYMOUTH WEEKLY JOURNAL, OR GENERAL POST

Plymouth's first locally produced newspaper was The Plymouth Weekly Journal, or General Post.  It was printed by Mr E Kent, in Southside Street, 'near the New Key'.  Its selling price was 1½d. 

It must be noted that in those times there was very little effort put into gathering any local news.  All this and other "local" newspapers used to do was reprint the items from the London newspapers.

The British Library, Burney Collection, hold the earliest edition still in existence.  It is numbered "No. 36" and dated September 5th 1718, so the first issue must have been published on January 3rd 1718. 

Plymouth Proprietary Library has a copy of the issue dated March 12th 1725.

Sources:

[1]

 

©  Brian Moseley, Plymouth, UK

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