Liverpool & South West Lancashire FHS - Forum

I thought a list of newspapers and the dates they were active would be useful. Please feel free to add to the list, especially with other local areas.

Thanks to a Liverpool Record Office leaflet I note that they hold microfilms of the following and they hold a list of Liverpool newspapers 1756 to 1989 at the desk.

Liverpool
Began 1756 Williamson's Liverpool Advertiser, Billinge's Liverpool Advertiser then Liverpool Times until 1856.
1765 - 1875 Liverpool General Advertiser
The above were weekly and concentrated mainly on shipping and London news with some Liverpool happenings

1827 The Liverpool Mercury cost 7 pence
11 June 1855 Daily Post first daily penny newspaper
Daily Post merged with the Liverpool Mercury in 1904

Evening Express 1870 to 1958
Liverpool Daily Courier 1808 to 1929
Liverpool Echo started 1879 to date
Liverpool Mercury started 1811 to 1904 (merged with
the Daily Post above) Indexed half yearly to 1824/5.
Liverpool Telegraph Shipping Gazette May 1846 to 1887

By 1940 there were only three main Liverpool newspapers left
Daily Post with a Welsh edition from 1961
Liverpool Echo
Evening Express until October 1958

Journal of Commerce, a shipping paper from Oct. 1861 - 1974 microfilm at Liverpool RO June 1939-1974 and incomplete bound copies from 1914-1974

Liverpool Catholic Herald, 1899-1934

Prescot & Huyton Reporter, 1961 to June 1979
Walton Times and North Liverpool Times, 1953-1955, 1962-3, 1972-76, 1978 (July-Dec), 1979-June 1980
West Derby Reporter, 1961 to April 1965
Garston & Woolton Reporter, 1888-1920 and Garston and Woolton Weekly News 1913-1950.

British Newspaper Library, Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5HE closed in November 2013.

Also held at the Liverpool Record Office is a large selection of cuttings under various subject headings, eg Housing, War, Hospitals etc. Some are bound and others microfilmed including Biographical Notices and Obituaries of Liverpool Worthies 1879-1923 (Eq3301-429).

More recent cuttings, including a separate series of biographical cuttings, are filed by subject and should be requested at the Enquiry Desk in the Search Room.

There is also a useful series of Town Clerk’s Department cuttings 1867-1967 at 352 CLE/CUT

Some websites that might have snippets/transcribed obituaries/death notices etc.

http://www.old-liverpool.co.uk/
http://www.old-merseytimes.co.uk/
http://www.blacksheepancestors.com/

Thanks to a lovely lady, Vivien, from the St Helens Local History & Archives Library who has given us a list of the newspapers available in St Helens Library.

All except those starred are available on microfilm.

Dromgoole's St Helens Newspaper & Advertiser March 1862 - July 1863
Prescot Reporter & General Advertiser November 1859 - October 1868
Prescot Reporter & St Helens General Advertiser October 1868 - May 1888
St Helens & District Gazette 1952 and June 1954
St Helens Chronicle (only 27 July 1888 and 25 October 1889 have survived)
St Helens Examiner (Only 4 April 1885 and 26 October 1889 have survived)
St Helens Intelligencer December 1855 - December 1859
St Helens Lantern January 1887 - May 1893
St Helens Leader, the journal of the St Helens Y.M.C.A. September 1877 - September 1878
St Helens Leader August 1983 - 7 March 1991 (unbound) *
St Helens Newspaper and Advertiser August 1863 - November 1980
St Helens Reporter June 1888 to date
St Helens Standard July 1865 - November 1877
St Helens Star November 1973 to date * (1995 onwards on microfilm)
St Helens Weekly News and Advertiser June 1861 - March 1862
St Helens Weekly News & General Advertiser September 1860 - May 1861
Wigan Gazette September 1836 - February 1842

And again another lovely lady, Hilary, from the Local History Department of Huyton Library has given us a list of the newspapers held there, on film.

Prescot Reporter November 1859 - September 1985
Prescot Weekly Times March 1907 - July 1916
Kirkby Reporter 9th December 1955 - 6th July 1979
Liverpool Echo 1991 - 1994
Ormskirk Advertiser 1857 - December 1979

They also hold many Gores Directories from 1814 onwards.

Sefton Library Services

At Crosby on microfilm

 Bootle Times from 1878
 Crosby Herald from 1895
 Ormskirk Advertiser (covers Maghull) 1855 - 2001
 Southport Guardian 1883 -1919, 1921 -1959
 Southport Journal 1934 -1946, 1948 -1965
 Southport Visiter 1844 – date

Note - title of the paper is Southport Visiter!

Ed Officer

PS I believe Southport Library has some original copies BUT you can't see them!

PPS For both World Wars Southport Local History section went through all the newspapers cutting out all the references to anything to do with the War. These were photocopied and bound into books. One volume covering one year. As far as I'm aware each library has a reference set and a lending set. They are absolutely fascinating and marvellous for finding out about people who went to war or stayed at home. Each volume has an elementary index but it is nowhere near a complete index.

Warrington Library have just updated me with their holdings.

Here is a list of the newspapers we hold at Warrington Library. They are all on microfilm.
Warrington Guardian Apr 1853 - to date
Warrington Examiner Apr 1875 - Mar 1959
Warrington Standard 1858 - 1862
Warrington Observer Jul 1885 - Aug 1914
Warrington Borough Press Oct 1891- Oct 1892
Warrington Evening Post May 1877- Dec 1880
Warrington Advertiser 1862 - 1889
Warrington Times Apr 1902 - Apr 1904
Warrington Review Apr 1904 - Jan 1921
Warrington and District Labour News Apr 1928 - Jun 1954
It is all the same set of newspapers in Newsbank.

Held at Skelmersdale Library
Ormskirk Advertiser 1857 – 1988. Microfilm.
Skelmersdale Advertiser November 1968 -. Microfilm.; current year also in original format.
Skelmersdale Champion 1997-. Microfilm; current year also in original format.
Skelmersdale Reporter 1963 - 11 July 1979. Microfilm.