Editions of a UK local newspaper dating back nearly 300 years have gone online as part of a major digitisation project by the British Library.

The Belfast-based News Letter is believed to be the world’s oldest English-language general daily newspaper still in publication, having first been printed in September 1737.

Now a selection of old editions of the title have been digitised in a joint project between the British Library, the Northern Ireland Office and DC Thomson-owned ancestry website Findmypast.

They include the oldest surviving edition of the newspaper, published on 3 October 1737, which leads on clashes between government troops and ‘infidels’ in imperial Russia.

The oldest surviving edition of the News Letter. Photograph: British Library Board/Northern Ireland Office

Stories in the inside pages include a reward being offered for a missing horse – described as “13 hands high” and “mealy mouthed” – near Stoneyford, and the arrival of an “exceeding good” consignment of millstones at “The White House near Belfast.”

More recent editions from the 1950s and 60s include reports of CND marches and the Border Campaign – a series of raids by the IRA.

The News Letter’s current editor Ben Lowry said the old editions had many of the ingredients of the modern-day newspaper.

“They look so severe that they’re like a reminder of an almost ancient age of poverty and hangings. But actually, you see the genesis of newspapers in them. They’re full of fun. They have gossip. They have salacious stories,” he said.

The archive is available online via the websites British Newspaper Archive and Findmypast but requires a paid-for subscription to view them – though the option of a week-long free trial is also available at the latter site.

They can also be viewed for free in person at the British Library, or at any library which has a subscription.

Beth Gaskell, lead curator of news and moving image at the British Library, said: “The News Letter is considered the world’s oldest English language general daily newspaper still in circulation and it offers valuable insight into centuries of life, politics, and culture in Northern Ireland and beyond.

“The newly digitised pages provide a unique perspective of the turbulent and changing political situation in Ireland from the mid 18th to the early 19th centuries. They also fill critical gaps in the mid-20th century record, making all known surviving copies of the historic Belfast title accessible online for the first time.

“The British Library cares for one of the world’s largest news archives, comprising over 60 million newspaper issues dating back to the 1600s, alongside growing collections of broadcast and digital news.

“By digitising and preserving these invaluable documents, the British Library ensures that this vital piece of heritage is safeguarded for future generations and made available to researchers around the world.”