Sherborne Mercury
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The ''Sherborne Mercury'' is a defunct regional newspaper, published in
Sherborne Sherborne is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited on the River Yeo (South Somerset), River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The parish include ...
,
Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
,
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. It began publication in 1737, predating the national ''
Times Time is the continued sequence of existence and events, and a fundamental quantity of measuring systems. Time or times may also refer to: Temporal measurement * Time in physics, defined by its measurement * Time standard, civil time specificat ...
'' by nearly a half century, and, after merging with the ''Western Flying Post'' in 1749, was published as late as 1867, when it further merged into the ''
Western Gazette The ''Western Gazette'' is a regional newspaper, published every Thursday in Yeovil, Somerset, England. The newspaper and digital operation is based at the Yeovil Innovation Centre. History The ''Western Gazette'' was founded in 1863 in Yeov ...
''.


History

The ''Sherborne Mercury'' was first issued in February 1737, published by Henry Bettinson in
Sherborne Sherborne is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited on the River Yeo (South Somerset), River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The parish include ...
, a town in
Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
. Another newspaper, the ''Western Flying Post'', was first issued issue in 1743, founded by
Robert Goadby Robert Goadby (1721–1778) was an English printer and publisher in Sherborne, Dorset. He was a Whig supporter, and influential through his newspaper, the '' Sherborne Mercury''. He also made available the standard version of the supposed autobio ...
in
Yeovil Yeovil () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England. It is close to Somerset's southern border with Dorset, west of London, south of Bristol, west of Sherborne and east of Taunton. The population of the bui ...
, a town in
Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
. In 1749, the publications merged, with the resulting newspaper printed in Sherborne—the first combined issue was dated January 30. Subsequently, it was published under a series of names, as outlined in a below section. In 1867, the newspaper (then operating under ''Western Flying Post'' naming) merged with the ''
Western Gazette The ''Western Gazette'' is a regional newspaper, published every Thursday in Yeovil, Somerset, England. The newspaper and digital operation is based at the Yeovil Innovation Centre. History The ''Western Gazette'' was founded in 1863 in Yeov ...
'', which had been founded in 1863 in Yeovil. The merged result was initially known as ''The Western Gazette and Flying Post'', but eventually came to be known simply as the ''Western Gazette'' again. The ''Sherborne Mercury'' was a hugely influential newspaper, particularly as its news coverage and distribution went well beyond that of the boundaries of Dorset. Before any newspaper was published in
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
, the ''Sherborne Mercury'' had many subscribers and distribution throughout Cornwall, as far west as
Penzance Penzance ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the westernmost major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated in the ...
, It covered many Cornish news items, and was read by key businessmen and members of the professional class in the county. The hawkers, news boys and news carriers were known as Sherbornes. This name was also applied to hawkers and carriers of other regional and local newspapers in the
West Country The West Country is a loosely defined area within southwest England, usually taken to include the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Bristol, with some considering it to extend to all or parts of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and ...
. Archive copies of this local paper can be found in the County Archives offices of the aforementioned Dorset and Cornwall, along with
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...
and
Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
, testament to its historical importance as a newspaper of record in the West Country. It remains a popular source for
genealogists Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...
and local historians. The
Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. It is owned by The ...
archive site also includes many editions of the paper.


Naming

Names of the newspaper, starting in 1749 when the ''Sherborne Mercury'' and ''Western Flying Post'' merged, included the following (bold text indicates prominent wording of the masthead): * ''The Western Flying-Post; or, Sherborne and Yeovil Mercury'' (1749, Mondays) * ''The Western Flying-Post; or, Sherborne and Yeovil Mercury: and General Advertiser'' (1765, Mondays) * ''The Sherborne Journal'' (1774, Thursdays) * ''The Sherborne Journal, and Western Advertiser'' (1780, Thursdays) * ''The Dorchester and Sherborne Journal, and Western Advertiser'' (1791, Fridays) * ''The Western Flying Post, Sherborne and Yeovil Mercury, and General Advertiser for Dorset, Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall'' (1827, Saturdays) * ''The Western Flying Post, Sherborne Mercury and Yeovil Times. General Advertiser for Somerset, Dorset, Wilts, Devon, and Cornwall'' (1851, Tuesdays) * ''The Western Flying Post, Yeovil Times and Sherborne Mercury. General Advertiser for Somerset, Dorset, Wilts, Devon, and Cornwall'' (1856, Tuesdays) * ''The Western Flying Post, Yeovil.'' — flanked by ''Yeovil and Somerset Times.'' and ''Sherborne and Dorset Mercury.'' (1857, Tuesdays) * ''Western Flying Post, Yeovil.'' — flanked by ''Yeovil and Somerset Times.'' and ''Sherborne and Dorset Mercury.'' (1859, Tuesdays) * ''The Western Flying Post, Yeovil and Somerset Times, Sherborne and Dorset Mercury, Yeovil'' (1860, Tuesdays)


Notes


References

{{Authority control Newspapers published in Dorset Defunct newspapers published in the United Kingdom Organisations based in Dorset Publications established in 1737 1737 establishments in England Sherborne