An historic newspaper dating back to the early 1880s has been discovered during renovations to a National Trust cottage in Norfolk.
The perfectly preserved copy of the Eastern Daily Press dated Saturday, April 16, 1881 was found tucked behind a timber panel in the 250-year-old cottage near Aylsham.
It is thought to have been placed there when the building’s original attic was converted into a second storey in the 1880s.
The newspaper’s content included:
The discovery was made by Trevor Musgrave, a site agent overseeing revenovations on the property.
“We often find sheets of old newspapers or old cigarette boxes when we are working in old buildings, however, this is definitely the oldest copy of a newspaper I’ve ever found and it’s in such good quality; normally our finds just crumble away,” he told the EDP.
The street collision reported in the paper resulted in the occupants of the carriage being thrown forward with one of the ladies landing into the doorway of Mr Wales’ grocery shop.
The paper also contained an advert for tooth extractions costing one shilling – “or sixpence for the working class.”
Comments
Mike Giggler (25/05/2010 11:54:30)
The sooner we have speed painters installed beside our byways, the sooner we will be able to bring to book these reckless horse and cart scoundrels who clearly have no regard for public safety.
Beano Bob (25/05/2010 16:58:28)
We have a newspaper where I live only marginally less exciting than this. It’s called the Kentish Gazette and it’s very absorbant.
JH (25/05/2010 18:01:29)
Nowdays this would be reported a week later as no reporters go searching for stories,merely lift from websites somewhere. Hence the sorry state of local press.
A certain publisher who has ther hq in Norwich do this amongst there own titles!!!!
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