London Gazette
Encyclopedia
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record
of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published. The London Gazette claims to be the oldest surviving English newspaper and the oldest continuously published newspaper in the UK, having been first published on 7 November 1665 as the Oxford Gazette. This title is also claimed by the Stamford Mercury
and Berrow's Worcester Journal
, because the Gazette is not a conventional newspaper offering general news coverage. It does not have a large circulation.
Other official newspapers of the UK government are the Edinburgh
and Belfast Gazette
s, which, apart from reproducing certain materials of nationwide interest published in the London Gazette, also contain publications specific to Scotland
and Northern Ireland
, respectively.
In turn, the London Gazette not only carries notices of UK-wide interest, but also those relating specifically to entities or people in England. However, certain notices that are only of specific interest to Scotland
or Northern Ireland
are also required to be published in the London Gazette.
The London, Edinburgh and Belfast Gazettes are published by TSO
on behalf of Her Majesty's Stationery Office. They are subject to Crown Copyright
.
s. Notices for the following, among others, are published:
Her Majesty's Stationery Office has digitised all issues of the Gazette, and these are available online.
The official Gazettes are published by The Stationery Office
.
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The London Gazette was first published as the Oxford Gazette on 7 November 1665. Charles II
and the Royal Court had moved to Oxford
to escape the Great Plague of London
, and courtier
s were unwilling to touch, let alone read, London newspapers for fear of contagion. The Gazette was "Published by Authority" by Henry Muddiman
, and its first publication is noted by Samuel Pepys
in his diary
. The King returned to London as the plague dissipated, and the Gazette moved too, with the first issue of the London Gazette (labelled No. 24) being published on 5 February 1666. The Gazette was not a newspaper in the modern sense: it was sent by post to subscribers, not printed for sale to the general public.
In 1812 an officer of the London Gazette named George Reynell established the first advertising agency
.
Her Majesty's Stationery Office took over the publication of the Gazette in 1889. Publication of the Gazette was transferred to the private sector, under government supervision, in the 1990s, when the bulk of HMSO was sold and renamed simply The Stationery Office
.
The phrase "gazetted fortune hunter" is also probably derived from this. Notices of engagement and marriage were also formerly published in the Gazette.
s. They are available at the National Archives.
Newspaper of record
Newspaper of record is a term that may refer either to any publicly available newspaper that has been authorized by a government to publish public or legal notices , or any major newspaper that has a large circulation and whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered professional and...
of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published. The London Gazette claims to be the oldest surviving English newspaper and the oldest continuously published newspaper in the UK, having been first published on 7 November 1665 as the Oxford Gazette. This title is also claimed by the Stamford Mercury
Stamford Mercury
The Stamford Mercury based in Stamford, Lincolnshire claims to be "Britain's oldest newspaper". Berrow's Worcester Journal and London Gazette also claim this honour...
and Berrow's Worcester Journal
Berrow's Worcester Journal
Berrow's Worcester Journal claims to be "the oldest surviving newspaper in the World", It is owned by Newsquest, the second largest publisher of regional and local newspapers in the United Kingdom.The common belief that Berrow's Worcester Journal, or its...
, because the Gazette is not a conventional newspaper offering general news coverage. It does not have a large circulation.
Other official newspapers of the UK government are the Edinburgh
Edinburgh Gazette
The Edinburgh Gazette, along with the London Gazette and the Belfast Gazette, is an official newspaper of the United Kingdom government...
and Belfast Gazette
Belfast Gazette
The Belfast Gazette, along with the London Gazette and the Edinburgh Gazette, is an official newspaper of the United Kingdom government. It is published by The Stationery Office , on behalf of Her Majesty's Stationery Office in Belfast, Northern Ireland.The Belfast Gazette was first published on...
s, which, apart from reproducing certain materials of nationwide interest published in the London Gazette, also contain publications specific to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, respectively.
In turn, the London Gazette not only carries notices of UK-wide interest, but also those relating specifically to entities or people in England. However, certain notices that are only of specific interest to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
or Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
are also required to be published in the London Gazette.
The London, Edinburgh and Belfast Gazettes are published by TSO
The Stationery Office
The Stationery Office is a British publishing company that was created in 1996 when the publishing arm of Her Majesty's Stationery Office was privatised. TSO is the official publisher and the distributor for legislation, command and house papers, select committee reports, Hansard, and the London,...
on behalf of Her Majesty's Stationery Office. They are subject to Crown Copyright
Crown copyright
Crown copyright is a form of copyright claim used by the governments of a number of Commonwealth realms. It provides special copyright rules for the Crown .- Australia :...
.
Today
The London Gazette is published each weekday, except for Bank HolidayBank Holiday
A bank holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom or a colloquialism for public holiday in Ireland. There is no automatic right to time off on these days, although the majority of the population is granted time off work or extra pay for working on these days, depending on their contract...
s. Notices for the following, among others, are published:
- Granting of Royal AssentRoyal AssentThe granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
to bills of the Parliament of the United KingdomParliament of the United KingdomThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
or of the Scottish ParliamentScottish ParliamentThe Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament... - The issuance of writWritIn common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court...
s of election when a vacancy occurs in the House of CommonsBritish House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members... - Appointments to certain public offices
- Commissions in the Armed Forces and subsequent promotion of officers
- Corporate and personal insolvencyInsolvencyInsolvency means the inability to pay one's debts as they fall due. Usually used to refer to a business, insolvency refers to the inability of a company to pay off its debts.Business insolvency is defined in two different ways:...
- Granting of awards of honoursBritish honours systemThe British honours system is a means of rewarding individuals' personal bravery, achievement, or service to the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories...
and military medals - Changes of namesDeed of Change of NameA deed of change of name is a legal document in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, which enables a single person or a family to officially change his or her name...
or of coats of armsHeraldryHeraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"... - Royal Proclamations and other Declarations
Her Majesty's Stationery Office has digitised all issues of the Gazette, and these are available online.
The official Gazettes are published by The Stationery Office
The Stationery Office
The Stationery Office is a British publishing company that was created in 1996 when the publishing arm of Her Majesty's Stationery Office was privatised. TSO is the official publisher and the distributor for legislation, command and house papers, select committee reports, Hansard, and the London,...
.
History
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
and the Royal Court had moved to Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
to escape the Great Plague of London
Great Plague of London
The Great Plague was a massive outbreak of disease in the Kingdom of England that killed an estimated 100,000 people, 20% of London's population. The disease is identified as bubonic plague, an infection by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, transmitted through a flea vector...
, and courtier
Courtier
A courtier is a person who is often in attendance at the court of a king or other royal personage. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...
s were unwilling to touch, let alone read, London newspapers for fear of contagion. The Gazette was "Published by Authority" by Henry Muddiman
Henry Muddiman
Henry Muddiman was an English journalist and publisher active after the restoration of the monarchy, in 1660....
, and its first publication is noted by Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
in his diary
Diary
A diary is a record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. A personal diary may include a person's experiences, and/or thoughts or feelings, including comment on current events outside the writer's direct experience. Someone...
. The King returned to London as the plague dissipated, and the Gazette moved too, with the first issue of the London Gazette (labelled No. 24) being published on 5 February 1666. The Gazette was not a newspaper in the modern sense: it was sent by post to subscribers, not printed for sale to the general public.
In 1812 an officer of the London Gazette named George Reynell established the first advertising agency
Advertising agency
An advertising agency or ad agency is a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients. An ad agency is independent from the client and provides an outside point of view to the effort of selling the client's products or services...
.
Her Majesty's Stationery Office took over the publication of the Gazette in 1889. Publication of the Gazette was transferred to the private sector, under government supervision, in the 1990s, when the bulk of HMSO was sold and renamed simply The Stationery Office
The Stationery Office
The Stationery Office is a British publishing company that was created in 1996 when the publishing arm of Her Majesty's Stationery Office was privatised. TSO is the official publisher and the distributor for legislation, command and house papers, select committee reports, Hansard, and the London,...
.
"Gazetted"
- In time of war, dispatches from the various conflicts are published in the London Gazette. People referred to are said to have been mentioned in despatches. When members of the armed forces are promoted, and these promotions are published here, the person is said to have been “gazetted”.
- Being "gazetted" (or "in the gazette") sometimes also meant having official notice of one's bankruptcy published, as in the classic ten-line poem comparing the stolid yeomen of 1722 to the lavishly spending faux-genteel farmers of 1822
- Man to the plough;
- Wife to the cow;
- Girl to the yarn;
- Boy to the barn;
- And your rent will be netted.
- Man tally-ho;
- Miss piano;
- Wife silk and satin;
- Boy Greek and Latin;
- And you'll all be Gazetted.
The phrase "gazetted fortune hunter" is also probably derived from this. Notices of engagement and marriage were also formerly published in the Gazette.
Colonial gazettes
There are equivalent government gazettes for the following current and former colonies or protectorateProtectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
s. They are available at the National Archives.
- Canada GazetteCanada GazetteThe Canada Gazette is an official publication by the government of Canada that publishes all laws and Orders in Council issued by the government. It also contains other information on things such as hearing and tribunals, proposed changes and any thing else the government feels should be told to...
- Ontario GazetteOntario GazetteThe Ontario Gazette is the official publication of the Government of Ontario, Canada, first published in 1868. Publications are available online, as far back as January 2000. Prior publications are found at the Archives of Ontario and depository librariesand published every Saturday....
- Ontario Gazette
- The Gazette of IndiaThe Gazette of IndiaThe Gazette of India is an authorised legal document and official journal of Government of India containing the mode of operations under the law of the land...
- Government Gazette of South AfricaGovernment Gazette of South AfricaThe Government Gazette is the Gazette of record of South Africa. It is the "official organ of Government". University of Cape Town, The Government Gazette is used by the government as an official way of communicating to the general public....
- The New Zealand GazetteThe New Zealand GazetteThe New Zealand Gazette - Te Kahiti o Aotearoa is the official newspaper of the Government of New Zealand. It is published every Thursday, and a Customs Edition is published each Tuesday. Special editions are published twice a year to cover the New Year Honours and Queen's Birthday Honours....
- Hong Kong Government GazetteHong Kong Government GazetteHong Kong Government Gazette is the official publication of the Government of Hong Kong and publishes laws, ordinances and other regulations. It is managed under the Government Logistics Department...
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See also
- History of British newspapersHistory of British newspapersDuring the 17th century, there were many kinds of publications, that told both news and rumours. Among these were pamphlets, posters, ballads etc. Even when the news periodicals emerged, many of these co-existed with them. A news periodical differs from these mainly because of its periodicity...
- London Gazette Index
- Belfast GazetteBelfast GazetteThe Belfast Gazette, along with the London Gazette and the Edinburgh Gazette, is an official newspaper of the United Kingdom government. It is published by The Stationery Office , on behalf of Her Majesty's Stationery Office in Belfast, Northern Ireland.The Belfast Gazette was first published on...
in Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west... - Boletín Oficial del EstadoBoletín Oficial del EstadoThe Boletín Oficial del Estado , Spanish for Official Bulletin of the State, is the official gazette of the Government of Spain. It publishes the laws of the Cortes Generales and the dispositions of the Autonomous Communities...
in Spain - Edinburgh GazetteEdinburgh GazetteThe Edinburgh Gazette, along with the London Gazette and the Belfast Gazette, is an official newspaper of the United Kingdom government...
in ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the... - Iris OifigiúilIris OifigiúilIris Oifigiúil replaced the former Dublin Gazette on 31 January 1922 as the official newspaper of record of the Irish Free State, the state which has since become known as Ireland....
(which replaced the Dublin GazetteDublin GazetteThe Dublin Gazette was the Gazette, or official newspaper, of the Irish Executive, Britain's government in Ireland based at Dublin Castle, between 1705 and 1922...
) in Ireland - Official Journal of the European UnionOfficial Journal of the European UnionThe Official Journal of the European Union is the official gazette of record for the European Union . It is published every working day in all of the official languages of the member states. Only legal acts published in the Official Journal are binding.It was first published on 30 December 1952 as...
- Diário da RepúblicaDiário da RepúblicaDiário da República is the official gazette of Portugal. Before 1976, it was called Diário do Governo.It is published by Imprensa Nacional and comprises two Series. Laws, Decree-laws, decisions of the Constitutional Court and other relevant texts are published in the I Series. Regulations, public...
in PortugalPortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the... - Federal RegisterFederal RegisterThe Federal Register , abbreviated FR, or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains most routine publications and public notices of government agencies...
in the United States - Gazzetta UfficialeGazzetta UfficialeThe Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana is the official journal of record of the Italian government...
in ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... - Journal Officiel de la République FrançaiseJournal Officiel de la République FrançaiseThe Journal Officiel de la République Française is the official gazette of the French Republic. It publishes the major legal official information from the national Government of France.-Publications:...
- Post- och Inrikes TidningarPost- och Inrikes Tidningar-External links:* ***...
in SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... - The Gazette of IndiaThe Gazette of IndiaThe Gazette of India is an authorised legal document and official journal of Government of India containing the mode of operations under the law of the land...
- The Royal Gazette (Thailand)The Royal Gazette (Thailand)The Royal Thai Government Gazette, frequently abbreviated Government Gazette or Royal Gazette is the public journal, or newspaper of record of Thailand...
- OpenPSI for the OpenPSI project which provides RDFResource Description FrameworkThe Resource Description Framework is a family of World Wide Web Consortium specifications originally designed as a metadata data model...
and SPARQLSPARQLSPARQL is an RDF query language; its name is an acronym that stands for SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language. It was made a standard by the RDF Data Access Working Group of the World Wide Web Consortium, and considered as one of the key technologies of semantic web...
end point of Gazette notice data