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End of an era as Scottish newspaper leaves home of seven decades

Staff at a Scottish weekly have said goodbye to the home of their newspaper for the past seven decades.

The Arbroath Herald team is now settling into new premises in the centre of the east Scotland town.

The town’s former Brothock Mill housed the newspaper from 1936 but a year ago new landlords secured planning permission to turn the building into 40 flats.

Editor Brian Stormont said: “We were only occupying a small part of it – the printing works were part of the operation but they closed down when Johnston Press bought the Arbroath Herald.

“This move has been discussed for a long, long time.

“Everything is going really well. They’re smaller premises but we’re fitting in nicely.

“We’re in the centre of town, a stone’s throw from the court house and close to the police station.

“From our point of view it’s a great move – we’re all the more accessible to the public.”

  • The Arbroath Herald’s first home where the paper lived until its move to the Brothock Mill in 1936.
  • The Arbroath Herald was founded by John Brodie who was born in Selkirk in 1846.

    In his native town he served an apprenticeship with a local printer where the Southern Reporter was published and in 1877 became manager of the Aberdeen University Press.

    He stayed in the city for around two years before moving to Arbroath in 1880, later printing the first Herald in February 1885.

    The Arbroath Herald is carrying a full feature detailing the newspaper’s interesting history on its website.