History factfile

• The first ever Melton Mowbray Times was published on August 16 1859 in Westgate, Grantham. It was intended as a sister paper for the Grantham Times.

• The history of the paper is hazy, partly due to the legendary cleaner of days gone by who used archive copies of early editions to light the boiler.

August 16, 1859 saw the first Melton Mowbray Times hit the streets – published in Westgate, Grantham, to be precise as it was intended as a sister paper of the Grantham Times.

That first issue cost a penny and its front page was jam-packed with advertisements. ‘The attention of the public is called to our stock of cheese and bacon’ – that was the message from Geeson, the grocer of High Street, Grantham, while

Whatever these traders had on offer, it wasn’t enough to satisfy the public for the Melton Mowbray Times ceased only 15 months later – at least it had lasted longer than the Melton Recorder, which was discontinued in the 1840s after just 10 issues.

The title was revived on March 19 1887 and the British Museum records the imprint as saying ‘printed and published for the proprietors of the Melton Mowbray Times Company at their offices, No. 1, Chapel Street, Melton Mowbray’.

According to the Newspaper Press Directory, the proprietor was Henry Towell, although a James Morley and Nat Brown are also believed to have been directors at about this time.