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UCLan historian to host LOST Lecture on Preston’s 19th century newspaper industry

Posted on - 6th March, 2024 - 7:00pm | Author - | Posted in - Friargate, History, Preston City Centre, Preston News, What's On in Preston
Andrew Hobbs
“My friends might say I’m always lecturing them in bars, but this time I’ve actually been asked.”

A University of Central Lancashire senior lecturer will be lecturing in a bar as part of a series of free talks in Preston.

Journalism historian Dr Andrew Hobbs will be discussing Preston’s newspaper industry in the 19th century as part of the ongoing LOST Lectures series.

Read more: LOST Lectures set to showcase interesting Preston experts and businesses

His talk – entitled When Fishergate was Preston’s Fleet Street – will look at the time when up to six newspapers were published from Preston’s high street, all in competition with each other.

They were among more than 50 newspapers and magazines published in the then town during the 1800s.

Football News front page 17 Sept 1887
The front cover of a Preston newspaper from the 19th century

Andrew is a senior lecturer in journalism and a former reporter himself. His prize-winning 2018 book on 19th century local newspapers and their readers, A Fleet Street in Every Town, is now the standard reference work on the topic.

He said: “My friends might say I’m always lecturing them in bars, but this time I’ve actually been asked.

“Local newspapers were a big part of Preston’s history, and there are a lot of stories attached to them. Some readers responded to what was printed very strongly – one publisher had a cannon fired at his premises, and the editor of another paper was shot at through his window. There was also intense rivalry and skulduggery between the papers.”

Andrew’s talk on When Fishergate was Preston’s Fleet Street will take place at 7.30pm on Wednesday 13 March.

The free LOST Lectures are hosted by LOST Bar and Pizzeria in Market Street West. To find out more, visit the LOST website.

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