What the Regency newspapers say

The Newspaper by Thomas Rowlandson (1808)

In Regency England news was passed by word of mouth, by private letter and in the newspapers. This meant newspapers were highly prized as a source of printed information.

As today, a wide variety of newspapers were published. Most were distributed locally, although some found their way across the country and even abroad. Copies were passed from reader to reader, each of whom would avidly devour the contents even if it was a few months old.

Newspapers are an excellent resource for historians and writers wanting to learn more about the late Georgian and Regency era. They offer a wealth of detail about the period, from stories of international events through to snippets of insight into everyday life.

Not all newspapers have survived, and it must be remembered that then, as now, they weren’t always reliable. A number of well-known Regency personalities were amused to hear their deaths being reported as facts. 

Three Regency newspapers compared

I thought it would be an interesting exercise to compare three Regency newspapers, all published on the same day. I decided to take one from London, one from a fashionable resort and one from a more distant part of the country—in this case, Scotland.

The papers are:

●     London Courier and Evening Gazette

●     Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette

●     Perthshire Courier

I selected the 7 February 1811, the day after the Prince of Wales was sworn in as Prince Regent, following the passing of the Regency Act. 

George, Prince Regent, by Sir Thomas Lawrence
c1814 © National Portrait Gallery

Differences between Regency and modern newspapers

Regency newspapers look unfamiliar to the modern eye. They lack bold headlines, have very few images, and news stories often flow in quick succession with little separation.

Pictures didn’t regularly appear in newspapers until the 1830s. There are three tiny illustrations in the Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette, but none are representations of news stories.

The front page of the newspaper is mostly advertisements and notices. While each newspaper does have some marked sections (such as ‘Naval Intelligence’), there’s a sense that much of the content was added as it arrived.

Consistent features between all three newspapers

Reading one Regency newspaper is fascinating. Looking at three in close succession reveals some distinct similarities between them.

All three newspapers relied heavily on other publications and letters as the source of their material, and they revealed these sources. There’s little of what we could consider to be journalism.

Both the London and Perthshire newspapers gave considerable space to the Regency, which came into effect on 5 February 1811, two days before publication. The Perthshire news only went up to 1 February. There’s no surprise it was behind the London papers, given that it’s over 400 miles north of the capital city.

All three newspapers give space to announce births, deaths and marriages. There are no announcements of engagements or betrothals. I’m unsure when it became the fashion to announce these, but I’ve never seen examples in Regency newspapers.

The state lottery features in the Bath and Perthshire newspapers, with an identical announcement headlined ‘The Regent’s Procession’. The next line follows on from the heading: 

...is at this crisis interesting to the country; and this memento is at this time interesting to ourselves: for if the New Administration adopt the expected new measures, there will be No More LOTTERIES; therefore the ONLY opportunity we may ever have to gain an independent Fortune by the risk of a small Sum of Money, is the Present STATE LOTTERY.

The lottery is also advertised in the London newspaper, but without the announcement.

Lottery Drawing, Coopers Hall
from The Microcosm of London Vol 2 (1808-10)

Read another Regency newspaper for free

All three newspapers I’ve mentioned here are in The British Newspaper Archive, an online resource containing hundreds of papers. Many are protected by copyright, meaning you need a subscription to get access and you can’t publish screenshots.

All three papers I’ve chosen are copyright protected (links in the notes below). However, you can read other papers from 7 February 1811 for free, because they are not subject to copyright.

You can open a free account at The British Newspaper Archive and read papers such as  The General Evening Post.

Newspapers that can be read for free are marked as being in the Public Domain. However, you still can’t publish screenshots because the photos of the newspapers are also copyright protected.

Stories that caught my eye

 

From London Courier and Evening Gazette

An advertisement: NERVOUS DISORDERS - Doctor FOTHERGILL’s NERVOUS CORDIAL DROPS have been the happy means of restoring thousands from the following Disorders: Lowness and Nervous Affections, Consumption, Hypochonoriaism, Hysterics, Spasms, Palsy, Apoplexy, Loss of Appetite, Bilious Complaints, Convulsions and Fits attending Pregnancy proceeding from a disordered state of the Stomach, and Indigestion accompanied by Sick Head aches, Heartburns, &c &c.

From Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette

A curate of a parish in Sussex was, on Friday, committed to the county gaol, under the charges of writing a threatening incendiary letter to Mr R Jenner, of Maresfield, and of setting fire to his house, with the view of defrauding the Union Fire-Office.

From the Perthshire Courier

Thursday, a young man, a wright, having failed in an attempt to split a piece of hard wood, blew it up with gun-powder; but unfortunately was struck with so much violence by the splinters, on the head and breast, as to occasion his death the next morning.

A fun insight into how the newspapers collected some of their news (or in this case, didn’t):

We are obliged to our “Reader,” in Dunkeld, for his desire to acquaint us with the transactions of his neighbourhood. He should however, have subscribed his letter, that we might thus have been more able to conjecture, whether it was the wish of the parties to have their names, offices and success in the “Curling Match,” communicated to the public. He should also have paid the postage.

A Man of Fashion's Journal by Thomas Rowlandson (1802)

A summary of each newspaper

 

London Courier and Evening Gazette

This is a 4-page newspaper. The first page header reads ‘The Courier’, dated Thursday February 7, 1811. It’s issue number 4,911 and the price is six pence halfpenny.

This was a daily newspaper.

The four pages are dense with text, arranged into four columns of equal width.

Page 1

Articles about an intended canal, an appeal to support British prisoners of war in France and a mix of advertisements ranging from the state lottery to sale of cucumber seeds.

What we would consider to be the headline item, top left of the page, is about a meeting to object to a proposed canal in a town more than 80 miles from London. There is no headline to inform the reader what the piece is about. The article reads as minutes of a meeting.

Page 2

There’s much more news on this page, opening with information about Spain and Portugal. These were areas of interest because of the Peninsular War being fought against the French. Much of the information is cited as coming from Spanish newspapers and private letters.

The second two columns of this page deal with events in the British parliament. There’s a detailed report of the ceremony of installation for the Prince Regent, which occurred the day before.

Page 3

Information about the installation continues, along with a bulletin headlined ‘The King’. It simply reads: ‘Windsor Castle Feb 7, His Majesty seems to be making gradual progress towards recovery.’

This is followed by a number of short items relating to the war. Again, these are drawn from other sources, such as letters and other newspapers. The page continues with political news and opinion.

The final column is headed ‘Naval Intelligence’. It includes more information about the war, and ends with the story of a man stealing from various hotels.

Page 4

Unlike modern newspapers, sport does not occupy the back pages. The varied mix of content continues, with political and legal news. These are followed by announcements of births, marriages and deaths, and then more advertisements.

Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette

This is also a 4-page newspaper. The first page header reads ‘The Bath Chronicle’, dated Thursday February 7, 1811. It’s issue number 2,554 in volume 54, and the price is six pence halfpenny. There’s a detail that the price is broken into Stamp Duty of three and a half pence, with paper and print being what looks like 8C.

The four pages comprise five columns of text. There are a couple of small illustrations—effectively logos—at the top of advertisements.

Page 1

The first column is headlined as ‘Friday and Saturday’s Posts’, indicating that it’s news from London, from about a week earlier. This news, in turn, opens with items from American newspapers from late January.

The opening news items are followed by a host of adverts and public notices, including the ‘Rates for Carrying Soldiers’ Baggage’.

Page 2

This follows a similar pattern to page 1, being headlined ‘Sunday and Tuesday’s Posts’. This is a mix of items about the war, a summary of the short bulletins about the King’s health, and about politics in the light of the new Regency.  

There’s a note about ‘Ladies fashions for February’ and notice of a marriage and a death. A section headed ‘Market Chronicle’ gives prices for grain, flour, hops and other goods.

The rest of the page is given over to more advertisements and notices.

Page 3

Yet more news gleaned from London newspapers, more marriages, births and deaths, notices of concerts and plays in Bath, and—the most essential item for the fashionable—a list of the recently arrived in the city. Yet more advertisements.

Curiously, a short section on horse races opens: ‘Nothing can be more dull and unedifying than the accounts of sports and pastimes of the present day.’

Page 4

This opens with political news, then it’s back to military updates and sundry other news items. Yet more births, marriages and deaths, and a list of bankruptcies. This back page concludes with another couple of columns filled with advertisements.

Perthshire Courier

Again, this newspaper covers 4 pages. The first page header reads ‘Perth Courier’, dated Thursday February 7, 1811. It’s issue number 157, and the price is sixpence.

It seems to have been a weekly newspaper, published on a Thursday.

The four pages comprise five columns of text. Unlike the other two papers, the front page has a headline that stands out: ‘The Regent’s Procession’, which I mentioned above.

Page 1

The government or state lottery features heavily at the top of this page, with two advertisements from brokers promoting the lottery. The rest of the page is given over to adverts and notices.

Page 2

This page is packed with news. It’s headed ‘Foreign Intelligence’ and comprises extracts from official dispatches and private letters relating to the Peninsular War in Spain and Portugal. There’s a short section about America and Mexico.

Under ‘Domestic Intelligence’ it shares information from the London Gazette, from late January. There’s a section on the average prices of British corn, then a report from the ‘Imperial Parliament’ about the Regency Bill, dated 28 January.

Page 3

The Regency Bill discussions in Parliament take up half of this page, following its progress until 1 February. There’s a section on the health of King George III and further discussion about the Regency.

All this is followed by short news items about deaths and a shoplifting incident in London. The page ends with various news items from the Royal Navy.

Page 4

This page includes news from Scotland and Perth—typically short reports about crimes or unfortunate deaths. A reasonable number of births, marriages and deaths are listed.

The page concludes with more notices, prices of grain and other commodities, and finally  the ‘State of the barometer and thermometer taken at nine o’clock morning’ each day. This tells us that for the last week, it’s been cold with snow and rain.

Rachel Knowles writes faith-based Regency romance and historical non-fiction. She has been sharing her research on this blog since 2011. Rachel lives in the beautiful Georgian seaside town of Weymouth, Dorset, on the south coast of England, with her husband, Andrew, who wrote this blog.

Find out more about Rachel's books and sign up for her newsletter here.

If you have enjoyed this blog and want to encourage us and help us to keep making our research freely available, please buy us a virtual cup of coffee by clicking the button below.

Note:

All three newspapers are available to read if you subscribe to The British Newspaper Archive.

You can find the copies I looked at here:

London Courier and Evening Gazette

Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette

Perthshire Courier 

How Captain Wentworth got rich on prizemoney

A Captain in the Navy from
A book explaining the ranks and dignities
of British Society by C Lamb (1809)

You knew your place in Regency society. Whether you were born into a hovel or a grand house, you were likely to end your life in a similar situation. Changing your rank in a society governed by rigid rules of precedence was highly unusual. When it happened, it was normally through unconventional means.

Unless you were an officer in the Royal Navy. Through Captain Wentworth, Jane Austen’s fictional hero in her novel Persuasion, we glimpse a long-established and accepted practice that allowed young men to usurp the usual rules of birth and rank.

That practice was the Royal Navy tradition of prizemoney. It allowed men to acquire huge sums of money relatively quickly, and entirely legitimately. With that money came prestige and power.

Breaking through the ranks of Regency society

Sir Walter Elliot, father of Austen’s heroine in Persuasion, and a committed believer in the principle of rank being fixed by birth, had two complaints about the Navy:

First, as being the means of bringing persons of obscure birth into undue distinction, and raising men to honours which their fathers and grandfathers never dreamt of; and secondly, as it cuts up a man’s youth and vigour most horribly.₁

His second complaint had some merit. Life at sea was dirty, dangerous and often disfiguring, as demonstrated by Lord Horatio Nelson, who lost an arm and an eye in battle. But many men risked the perils of life at sea, because it might bring them those honours which their fathers and grandfathers never dreamt of. These honours included cash prizes.

The many wars against France meant Jane Austen’s lifetime was a particularly rich period for Royal Navy prize captures.

Old Sir Archibald Drew and his grandson 
by H Thomson (1897)
From Persuasion by Jane Austen (1897 edition)

A naval career for ‘persons of obscure birth’

Unlike the army, a naval officer could not purchase a commission. They had to start at the bottom of the officer hierarchy, and they had to start young.

Jane Austen doesn’t tell us when Wentworth joined the Navy, but we should assume he was in his early teens, perhaps younger. Two of Jane’s brothers joined the Navy, Francis and Charles, beginning their careers aged about 12. Horatio Nelson also joined at 12. Most officers joined no later than age 13.

The Austens, Nelson and many others were born into large middle-class families of no particular distinction, and no great income. They were ‘persons of obscure birth’ who needed to become self-sufficient as soon as possible.

The Navy attracted many such men, or rather, boys. Through connections, of family or friendship, they were taken on board ship as a captain’s servant or midshipman. This secured their spot on the lowest rungs of the Navy career ladder. It also entitled them to a share of prizemoney.

We can assume Wentworth’s family background was not dissimilar to that of Jane and her siblings. Frederick Wentworth has a brother who is a curate—again the lowest rung on a career ladder. The implication is that their family is middle-class—perhaps their father was a churchman like Jane Austen’s.

No prizes for a captain without a ship

HMS St Vincent 1815 Portsmouth Harbour
by Charles Edward Dixon (1872-1934)

According to Jane Austen, in 1806 the newly-appointed Captain Wentworth is in Somersetshire, without a ship. Here he falls in love with and proposes to Anne Elliot.

Her father considers the match “degrading”. Her friend, Lady Russell, thinks it “most unfortunate”.

Part of the reason, Jane tells us, is that:

Captain Wentworth had no fortune. He had been lucky in his profession; but spending freely, what had come freely, had realised nothing.

Wentworth is 23 years old and has been in the Navy for around a decade. To become a captain he’s risen from being a cabin boy or midshipman, through to lieutenant and then to captain.

Through all those ranks he was entitled to receive prizemoney. He’s been lucky, implying he’s enjoyed success in naval actions, in making good connections and with earning money.

He’s also been spending freely. As a result, in 1806 the captain has no ship, no fortune and therefore, no Anne Elliot.

How the prizemoney system worked

For hundreds of years it had been customary for sailors to be given a share of the value of a captured ship. The ship and its cargo were sold, and the cash shared out.

The prizemoney was split across all the ships at the scene of the action.

This process was enshrined in English law through various acts of Parliament. When Wentworth joined the Navy in around 1796, the rules of the prize allocation had been in place for almost one hundred years.

Allocation was based on dividing the total value of a prize by eight. Two eighths were shared between all the seamen, that is, the lowest ranks on a ship. However, as there were perhaps two or three hundred men, the amount each man received was small.

As a midshipman and then a lieutenant, Wentworth would have done better. Both these ranks had a share of one eighth of the prize value. There being less officers at these ranks, his individual share would have been greater.

Let’s turn that into numbers. The average value of a prize was around £2,300. One eighth of this is £288.

Captains made the most money from the prize system. A captain was entitled to at least two eighths of a prize, perhaps more depending on the circumstances.

So while the £288 was shared between all the lieutenants and others of equal rank, the captain’s share was at least double that—£576. Remember that if more than one ship was at the scene, this would be shared between all the captains.

It could take months, even many years, before prizemoney was finally agreed. Then it was paid in the form of a promissory note. Lower ranks often sold this at a discount, in order to get cash.

Jane Austen implies that Captain Wentworth did well in his first decade in the Navy, including financially. Unfortunately, he spent as much as he earned. As such, his rank in the Navy meant little to the likes of Sir Walter Elliot.

At this stage in his career, Captain Wentworth:

…had nothing but himself to recommend him, and no hopes of attaining affluence, but in the chances of a most uncertain profession, and no connexions to secure even his farther rise in the profession.

Becoming the gallant Captain Wentworth

Sloop USS Peacock capturing British brig Nautilus June 1815 

By the time Captain Wentworth returns to England in 1814, he has amassed a fortune of £25,000—more than enough to impress Sir Walter Elliot.

How did he improve his financial situation so dramatically? Through prizemoney.

On leaving Somersetshire in 1806 he got command of the Asp, a sloop based in the West Indies. A sloop is a small ship, often with a crew of less than 50. Despite its size, Wentworth was able to take “privateers enough to be very entertaining”, meaning he captured a number of enemy ships. Each capture brought him prizemoney.

His next command was the Laconia:

“How fast I made money in her. A friend of mine and I had such a lovely cruise together off the Western Islands.”

A year later saw Wentworth cruising in the Mediterranean “when I still had the same luck”.

It took Captain Wentworth just seven years to convert his fortunes. Penniless in late 1806, he returned to Somersetshire in 1814 a very wealthy, and eligible, man. Most, if not all, of that money came from naval prizes.

The majority of naval captains could expect to earn a little over £300 a year. On average, they could expect to earn several times that amount in addition through prizemoney, every year. Jane Austen implies that Wentworth’s earnings were above what many of his contemporaries enjoyed—after all, he enjoyed a fair amount of luck.

And, of course, he won the greatest prize of them all—Anne Elliot.

Captain Wentworth leaves a letter for Anne
by H Thomson (1897)
From Persuasion by Jane Austen (1897 edition)

Rachel Knowles writes faith-based Regency romance and historical non-fiction. She has been sharing her research on this blog since 2011. Rachel lives in the beautiful Georgian seaside town of Weymouth, Dorset, on the south coast of England, with her husband, Andrew, who wrote this blog.

Find out more about Rachel's books and sign up for her newsletter here.

If you have enjoyed this blog and want to encourage us and help us to keep making our research freely available, please buy us a virtual cup of coffee by clicking the button below.

Note

1. All quotes from Austen, Jane, Persuasion (1817).

Sources used include:

Austen, Jane, Persuasion (1817)
Benjamin, Daniel K, Golden Harvest: The British Naval Prize System 1793-1815 (2009)
Lavery, Brian, Nelson's Navy (1989)

The First Celebrities: Five Regency Portraits by Peter James Bowman - book review

We all instinctively know what a celebrity is. They’re talked about. They’re a character. They stand out from the crowd.

Arguably, celebrities are as old as humanity. There have always been those who attract the majority of attention. Bowman’s title challenges this, positioning five Regency characters as among the first true celebrities. He opens the book with almost sixty pages justifying his claim, and he makes a good case.

In simple terms, celebrity is about being known for who you are. Fame is about being known for what you’ve done. It’s also of the moment. Byron was a celebrity. The Duke of Wellington is famous.

Celebrity, argues Bowman, also requires a sophisticated media. The media is the stage on which the lives of celebrities can be paraded, discussed, ridiculed and dissected in print and in pictures. The rise of the British press in the late eighteenth century, and the freedom it enjoyed, presented new opportunities for individuals to be promoted to celebrity, and indeed, for them to promote themselves.

Celebrity involves a relationship between an individual and their audience. The public are hungry for personal details of someone’s life, and the object of their attention has to choose how much to share. Give away too much and reputation is at risk. Reveal too little and there’s a danger of being overlooked.

Bowman has selected five individuals to wear the mantle of the first celebrities. They are:

●     Harriot, Duchess of St Albans

●     Princess Dorothea Lieven

●     Richard Grenville, Duke of Buckingham and Chandos

●     Lady Charlotte Bury

●     Sir Thomas Lawrence

The book tells their stories, with an emphasis on their relationship with the media and, thereby, with the public.

Bowman has clearly researched his subjects in detail, from letters, diaries, memoirs and particularly, newspapers. Their stories are engaging and entertaining, written in a style that keeps you thinking and occasionally has you reaching for the dictionary. He treats them sympathetically, even the feckless Duke of Buckingham.

Harriot, Duchess of St Albans

Harriot, Duchess of St Albans
from Memoirs of Harriot, Duchess of St Albans
by Mrs Cornwell Baron-Wilson (1840)

Harriot Mellon is the ultimate rags-to-riches tale. The possibly illegitimate daughter of a wardrobe assistant in an Irish theatre troupe, she became the richest woman in England. Wealth does not lead automatically to celebrity. It was her manner of obtaining it that provoked public interest and scandalised gossip.

In 1815, aged 37, she married a banker over forty years her senior. Having secured a fortune, she then achieved an aristocratic title. This came on her second marriage, this time to a man much younger than herself.

Harriot maintained her public profile through her generosity. As she and her husband travelled the country, church bells announced their arrival to excited crowds. The Brighton Patriot stated:

The liberality and benevolence of the Duchess made her presence at all times desired by all classes.₁

Harriot Mellon is one of the twelve women Rachel profiled in What Regency Women Did For Us. Bowman’s book tells her fascinating story in more detail.

Princess Dorothea Lieven

The only non-British celebrity portrait shared by Bowman is that of the wife of the Russian ambassador, Count Lieven. He arrived in London, with his elegant young bride, in 1812. During his two decades in post he became a prince.

In 1834, on the news that the Tsar was withdrawing his ambassador, The Times stated:

The recall of Prince Lieven, or, rather of Madame la Princesse, is an ‘event’.₂

This statement summed up how many perceived the Princess. She was effectively the ambassador for Russia, because she’d developed such close relationships with many British politicians. But she was no pawn in the male-dominated game of politics.

Rather, she entranced men into feeling so comfortable that they opened up to her, allowing her to play a significant part in the shaping of Europe once the Napoleonic wars were over.

Countess Lieven was one of the patronesses of Almack’s Assembly Rooms.

Richard Grenville, Duke of Buckingham and Chandos

Buckingham, says Bowman, gave the world something to talk about for thirty years, but achieved remarkably little. Inheriting a fortune, including the palace at Stowe, he enjoyed an annual income not far short of £100,000 a year.

His life encompassed politics, the military, mistresses and a Grand Tour in the 1820s. All this was against a background of extravagant living. His massive income wasn’t enough to support his even larger appetite for spending.

The press loved to follow the details of Buckingham’s life. Of a visit to Scotland The Edinburgh Observer stated:

Had the King himself been in the party, his motions could hardly have been more minutely dwelt on.₃

Lady Charlotte Bury

Born in 1775, the young Lady Charlotte was considered the epitome of female beauty, giving her an early celebrity status. Bowman’s biography then charts her decline in status and the alteration of her celebrity, through two marriages and her transition into a novelist.

Charlotte enjoyed the confidence of royalty—the Prince Regent and his estranged wife, Princess Caroline—and mixed with the cream of society. But the high regard in which she was held was slowly stripped away over the 86 years of her long life.

Sir Thomas Lawrence

Sir Thomas Lawrence
from The Life and Correspondence of Sir Thomas Lawrence
by DE Williams (1831)

Of the five biographies in this book, that of artist Sir Thomas Lawrence feels the least like the tale of a celebrity. Deeply talented from childhood, and celebrated well before he was ten years old, the son of an innkeeper went on to become the leading portrait artist of the Regency.

Lawrence’s story, like all the others, is well presented. It describes his commitment to his work, his entanglements with the daughters of actress Sarah Siddons, and his inability to manage his finances. While the newspapers of the day were interested in what Lawrence was up to, there’s less of a sense that the public were hungry to hear it.

You can read our profile of Sir Thomas Lawrence here. 

Note

All quotes are from The First Celebrities by Peter James Bowman which is available from Amberley books here.

Read a review of another of Peter James Bowman's books, The Real Persuasion

Rachel Knowles writes faith-based Regency romance and historical non-fiction. She has been sharing her research on this blog since 2011. Rachel lives in the beautiful Georgian seaside town of Weymouth, Dorset, on the south coast of England, with her husband, Andrew, who wrote this review.

Find out more about Rachel's books and sign up for her newsletter here.

If you have enjoyed this blog and want to encourage us and help us to keep making our research freely available, please buy us a virtual cup of coffee by clicking the button below.