As tweeted a few days ago, the Norwich Mercury has joined many years of the Norfolk Chronicle now searchable at www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
According to the site you can now view and search the following years:
1727; 1846-8; 1851-1896; 1899-1904.
The collection within these years appears to be fairly comprehensive (issued Wednesday and Saturday). 213 issues were added just today, so those dates may be subject to change.
Other local papers noted in previous blogs include:
The Ipswich Journal
Bury and Norwich Post
Norfolk News
Framlingham Weekly News
Diss Express
Suffolk Chronicle
Visit the website for further details. Remember, if you don’t have a subscription, you can access these, and the rest of the site, free of charge at your local library.
Archant publications the EDP and Evening News are notable exceptions to the titles available, but having the alternatives above digitised means you can very often find the date of an event more easily in another paper. This date can then help you find the alternate report in person at Norfolk Heritage Centre without browsing through several months.
Of course, that doesn’t work for more recent events as most (though not all by any means) digitised issues are a century of so old, but certainly it’s helpful for Victorian stories.
Titles missing or unclear on the website may be found at NHC on microfilm or in print where microfilm is unavailable. See the Newsplan website (http://newsplan.liem.org.uk/) or contact heritagecentre@norfolk.gov.uk for availability outside the British Library.
