The Westmorland Gazette
Encyclopedia
The Westmorland Gazette is a weekly newspaper
published in Kendal
, Cumbria
, England
. It covers "South Lakeland
and surrounding areas" and derives its name from the historic county of Westmorland
.
The paper is now owned by the Newsquest
group, within which it forms part of Westmorland Gazette Newspapers, which includes the weekly freesheet South Lakes Citizen and other titles. It has an office in Ulverston
, in addition to its Kendal base. Its circulation is about 30,000. It changed from broadsheet
to compact
format in August 2009.
. His editorship lasted from July 1818 to November 1819, when he resigned. It has been suggested that his interests were too esoteric for the readership, but the main reason for his leaving seems to have been concern regarding his reliability: the proprietors had complained in July 1819 of "their dissatisfaction with the lack of ‘regular communication between the Editor and the Printer’".
William Wordsworth
wrote many letters for publication in the paper, and had been invited to be its editor; other notable letter-writers included John Ruskin
and Beatrix Potter
.
The newspaper was the first publisher of Alfred Wainwright
's Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells
, until the books were taken over by Michael Joseph.
In 2007 The Times
reported that a minor news story in the Westmorland Gazette, describing the fire brigade's attendance to extinguish a burning chair, had received much commentary. The editor, Mike Glover, was quoted as saying: This is not the most crime-ridden or busiest of areas, and it’s difficult to get much material from calls to the police and fire brigade. We took attitude that local news sells local newspapers. People will have wondered what the fire brigade were doing.”
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
published in Kendal
Kendal
Kendal, anciently known as Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish within the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, England...
, Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It covers "South Lakeland
South Lakeland
South Lakeland is a local government district in Cumbria, England. Its council is based in Kendal. It includes much of the Lake District.The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972...
and surrounding areas" and derives its name from the historic county of Westmorland
Westmorland
Westmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...
.
The paper is now owned by the Newsquest
Newsquest
Newsquest is the third largest publisher of regional and local newspapers in the United Kingdom with 300 titles in its portfolio. Newsquest is based in Weybridge, Surrey and employs a total of more than 5,500 people across the UK...
group, within which it forms part of Westmorland Gazette Newspapers, which includes the weekly freesheet South Lakes Citizen and other titles. It has an office in Ulverston
Ulverston
Ulverston is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria in north-west England. Historically part of Lancashire, the town is located in the Furness area, close to the Lake District, and just north of Morecambe Bay....
, in addition to its Kendal base. Its circulation is about 30,000. It changed from broadsheet
Broadsheet
Broadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages . The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of material, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet...
to compact
Compact (newspaper)
A compact newspaper is a broadsheet-quality newspaper printed in a tabloid format, especially one in the United Kingdom. The term is used also for this size came into use in its current use when The Independent began producing a smaller format edition for London's commuters, designed to be easier...
format in August 2009.
History
The newspaper was founded in 1818, and among its early editors was Thomas de QuinceyThomas de Quincey
Thomas Penson de Quincey was an English esssayist, best known for his Confessions of an English Opium-Eater .-Child and student:...
. His editorship lasted from July 1818 to November 1819, when he resigned. It has been suggested that his interests were too esoteric for the readership, but the main reason for his leaving seems to have been concern regarding his reliability: the proprietors had complained in July 1819 of "their dissatisfaction with the lack of ‘regular communication between the Editor and the Printer’".
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
wrote many letters for publication in the paper, and had been invited to be its editor; other notable letter-writers included John Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
and Beatrix Potter
Beatrix Potter
Helen Beatrix Potter was an English author, illustrator, natural scientist and conservationist best known for her imaginative children’s books featuring animals such as those in The Tale of Peter Rabbit which celebrated the British landscape and country life.Born into a privileged Unitarian...
.
The newspaper was the first publisher of Alfred Wainwright
Alfred Wainwright
Alfred Wainwright MBE was a British fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator. His seven-volume Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, published between 1955 and 1966 and consisting entirely of reproductions of his manuscript, has become the standard reference work to 214 of the fells of the...
's Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells
Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells
A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells is a series of seven books by A. Wainwright, detailing the fells of the Lake District in northwest England...
, until the books were taken over by Michael Joseph.
In 2007 The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
reported that a minor news story in the Westmorland Gazette, describing the fire brigade's attendance to extinguish a burning chair, had received much commentary. The editor, Mike Glover, was quoted as saying: This is not the most crime-ridden or busiest of areas, and it’s difficult to get much material from calls to the police and fire brigade. We took attitude that local news sells local newspapers. People will have wondered what the fire brigade were doing.”