Reynolds News, 12 October 1879

During Victorian times there was no National daily press as we know it, but rather a lot of local newspapers (many weekly) with some papers in London having a more general circulation. As a result many local papers devoted more space to national, parliamentary and international news than to strictly local news. This can mean that an "interesting" Hertfordshire news story was often widely reported - and because of the British Newspaper Archives the story can be quickly found online.

The story as given in these cuttings was undoubtedly reported in much more  detail in Hertfordshire papers such as the Watford Observer - which are not yet available online - but the main facts can be gathered by the short reports reproduced here.

Morning Post, 13 October 1879

For more about Charles Bradley and his shop see BRADLEY, 173-175 High Street Watford, 1870s

The York Herald, 15 October 1879

Reports in

The Times, October 11

Sheffield & Rotherham Independent, October 11

Morning Post (London), October 11

Reynolds News (London), October 12

Aberdeen Weekly Journal, October 13

Morning Post (London), October 13

Bury & Norwich Post, October 14

York Herald, October 15

Berrow's Worcester Journal, October 18th

Blackburn Standard, October 18

Graphic (London), October 18

Leicester Chronicle, October 18

Preston Guardian, October 18

and undoubtedly at least 50 more as the British Newspaper Archive is currently a small percentage of the papers it is planned to have online.