The ''Sheffield Iris'' was an early weekly

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sport ...

published on Tuesdays James Montgomery, John Holland and James Everett, ''Memoirs of the Life and Writings of James Montgomery'' in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. The first newspaper to be published in Sheffield to see any degree of success was the ''Sheffield Weekly Journal'' in 1754. This was bought out in 1755 by the ''Sheffield Weekly Register'', and was thereafter published in

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated i ...

.J. E. Vickers, ''A Popular History of Sheffield''

''Sheffield Register''

The ''Sheffield Register'' was the next newspaper to be established in the town. It was founded by

Joseph Gales Joseph Gales Jr. (June 15, 1786 – July 21, 1860) was an American journalist and the ninth mayor of Washington, D.C., from 1827 to 1830. He was the only Mayor born outside the United States or the American colonies. Early life Joseph Gales Jr ...

, a

Unitarian Unitarian or Unitarianism may refer to: Christian and Christian-derived theologies A Unitarian is a follower of, or a member of an organisation that follows, any of several theologies referred to as Unitarianism: * Unitarianism (1565–present ...

, who supported various

Radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics * Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe an ...

causes, advocating

religious tolerance Religious toleration may signify "no more than forbearance and the permission given by the adherents of a dominant religion for other religions to exist, even though the latter are looked on with disapproval as inferior, mistaken, or harmful". ...

, Parliamentary reform and the

abolition of slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

, and opposed

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

and

bull-baiting Bull-baiting is a blood sport involving pitting a bull against dogs. History England Crowds in London during the Royal Entry of James VI and I in March 1604 were entertained by bull-baiting. During the time of Queen Anne, bull-baiting wa ...

."Gales, Joseph", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' In June 1787, he began publishing the ''Sheffield Register'', initially in partnership with David Martin,

R. E. Leader Robert Eadon Leader (2 January 1839 – 18 April 1922) was a journalist, Liberal activist, and historian. He published many books on the history of the Sheffield area. He was the son of Robert Leader, Alderman and Town Trustee, and proprietor of ...

,
Reminiscences of Sheffield
' from offices in Hartshead. James Montgomery denied that he or Joseph Gales met Thomas Paine at this time (Holland, John, and James Everett. Memoirs of the life and writings of James Montgomery. 7 vols. London: Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, 1854-56.1:79; 1:156n). The newspaper focussed on reporting local news, and on reprinting tracts by reformers such as Paine and

Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted e ...

. This was a novelty, as most provincial newspapers of the day simply reprinted stories from the London press. In 1789, Martin left the partnership. Gales' politics became more prominent, and the newspaper celebrated the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

and acted as the mouthpiece of the

Sheffield Society for Constitutional Information Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

, an artisan-based political organisation established by Gales in 1791 which called for radical reforms. The ''Register'' was extremely popular in the early 1790s, selling up to 2,000 copies of each issue. Gales established a companion fortnightly political journal, ''The Patriot'', in 1792. The same year, the poet James Montgomery was appointed as clerk and bookkeeper for the newspaper offices."Montgomery, James", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' In 1794, the Government began arresting leaders of the Corresponding Societies, and Gales wrote articles decrying this. Gales was suspected of writing a letter offering to sell

pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus o ...

s to the London society, but was on business in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gain ...

when troops arrived to arrest him.Marjorie Bloy
The Sheffield Corresponding Society
/ref> Alarmed as to his safety, Gales published his final issue of the ''Register'', before fleeing to

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. His wife Winifred remained behind to sell the ''Register'' to Montgomery, who relaunched the newspaper as the ''Sheffield Iris'' and adopted a less radical editorial line. Montgomery initially used capital supplied by the Unitarian minister Benjamin Naylor.

''Sheffield Iris''

Despite moderating the newspaper's line, Montgomery was prosecuted for sedition in 1795 for publishing a poem on a handbill which celebrated the fall of the

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stor ...

, and was sentenced to three months in prison. On his release, he negotiated Naylor's withdrawal and became sole proprietor. In August, he wrote a report offering mild criticism of an incident in Norfolk Street, where a popular protest was attacked by a

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non- professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, resulting in two deaths. He was again prosecuted, this time for malicious

libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defi ...

, and was imprisoned for six months. While he was in prison,

John Pye-Smith John Pye-Smith (25 May 1774 – 5 February 1851) was a Congregational minister, theologian and tutor, associated with reconciling geological sciences with the Bible, repealing the Corn Laws and abolishing slavery. He was the author of many ...

took over as editor, and kept the paper running. On Christmas Eve 1816 the paper published Montgomery's carol, "

Angels from the Realms of Glory "Angels from the Realms of Glory" is a Christmas carol written by Scottish poet James Montgomery (poet), James Montgomery.Bradley, Ian. ''The Penguin Book of Carols''. Penguin (1999), p27–29. . It was first printed in the ''Sheffield Iris'' ...

", which was to become one of the most popular Christmas carols sung in England. The ''Iris'' remained a successful newspaper, but Montgomery developed other interests and, in the face of increased competition, from the '' Sheffield and Rotherham Independent'' and the '' Sheffield Mercury'', he sold it in to local bookseller John Blackwell in 1825. Blackwell appointed the poet John Holland as editor, and despite frequently expressing his dislike for the role, Holland spent much of the rest of his life as a newspaper editor.J. H. Stainton,
The Making of Sheffield, 1865–1914
' (1924) The ''Iris'' ceased publication in 1848. A ''Sheffield Iris'' newspaper was briefly revived in 1855, following the removal of

stamp duty Stamp duty is a tax that is levied on single property purchases or documents (including, historically, the majority of legal documents such as cheques, receipts, military commissions, marriage licences and land transactions). A physical rev ...

, but lasted only until the following year.

References

{{Authority control Publications established in 1787 Publications disestablished in 1848 Defunct newspapers published in the United Kingdom Mass media in Sheffield 1787 establishments in England