North-East Paper Plans Digital Archive

One of the UK’s oldest independent newspapers is to make thousands of past editions open to the public through an online archive project.

Issues of the Teesdale Mercury dating back to the mid-nineteenth century will be uploaded to the digital store, as the newspaper plans to make over 5,000 editions available online.

Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund to the tune of £35,000, the Teesdale Mercury Access Project will produce a searchable archive which can be accessed by people from around the world.

Speaking to HoldtheFrontPage.co.uk, project chairman Roy Tranter said the initiative would preserve the newspaper for future generations.

“The Teesdale Mercury has played such an important role over the years in documenting Teesdale life and events that have happened, it would be an awful tragedy if those records were lost.”

The Teesdale Mercury began publication in 1854.

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