''The Kentish Post: or the Canterbury News-Letter'',

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

's first newspaper, published between 1717 and 1768,R. M. Wiles, ''Freshest : early provincial newspapers in England'', Ohio State University Press, 1965, p. 397. is the predecessor of the present-day ''

Kentish Gazette The ''Kentish Gazette'' is a weekly newspaper serving the city of Canterbury, Kent. It is owned by KM Group and published on Thursdays. It's Canterbury and Whitstable editions are the only local papers covering that area. History The newspaper ...

''. The original imprint of the ''Post'' was ''Canterbury: Printed by Thomas Reeve, in Castle street, for the Proprietors'', but the name of the printer/proprietor very soon changed to

James Abree James Abree (1691?–1768) was an 18th-century English printer, publisher, and bookseller. Abree was the son of William Abree of Winchester.John Gough Nichols (ed.), ''The Topographer and Genealogist'', (London, 1846), 449. He was apprenti ...

, who had set up as a printer in Canterbury in 1717, presumably with the intention of producing a newspaper.David J. Shaw and Sarah Gray, ‘James Abree (1691? – 1768) : Canterbury’s first "modern" printer’, in: ''The Reach of print : Making, selling and reading books'', ed. P. Isaac and B. McKay, Winchester, St Paul’s Bibliographies, 1998. Pp. 21–36. Originally appearing on Wednesdays, by 1721 the ''Kentish Post'' had become a bi-weekly, appearing every Wednesday and Saturday. In 1764 the now elderly Abree took on an assistant,

George Kirkby George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Preside ...

, the son of a Canterbury vicar, who was completing an apprenticeship with a London printer. In 1768 Abree announced that he was retiring in favour of his young colleague Kirkby. However, in May of the same year another young recent printing apprentice from Canterbury, James Simmons, started to publish a rival twice-weekly paper called the ''Kentish Gazette''. A trade war between the two newspapers ensued. After four weeks, Kirkby gave in and the two papers merged, to appear under joint management as the ''Kentish Gazette, or Canterbury Chronicle''. The firm of Simmons and Kirkby prospered, remaining in existence as an important regional printer and publisher until 1791. The ''

'' is still in existence (As of March 2015) as Canterbury's principal weekly newspaper. The retail network of the ''Kentish Post'' stretched throughout Kent, using booksellers in the major towns as outlets and as agents for advertisements. The main towns served by the newspaper were Ashford, Chatham, Cranbrook, Dover, Faversham, Folkestone, Maidstone, Margate, Ramsgate, Rochester, Sandwich and Sittingbourne, as well as some London coffee houses. In addition to the usual contents (national and international news from the London papers, local commodity prices, shipping news, and advertisements), the ''Kentish Post'' was an early example of the practice of serialisation of novels. In 1722/1723 Abree followed the example of the ''London Post'' by serialising the scandalous new novel ''

Moll Flanders ''Moll Flanders'' is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1722. It purports to be the true account of the life of the eponymous Moll, detailing her exploits from birth until old age. By 1721, Defoe had become a recognised novelist, wi ...

'', shortly after its first publication in book form.David J. Shaw, ‘Serialisation of ''Moll Flanders'' in ''The London Post'' and ''The Kentish Post'', 1722’. ''The Library'', 7th series, 8, no. 2 (June 2007) 182–192. (online version: 1744-8581).

References

{{Authority control Newspapers published in Kent Publications established in 1717 History of Canterbury Publications disestablished in 1768 1717 establishments in England Culture in Canterbury