Harrow Observer
Encyclopedia
The Harrow Observer is a paid-for local weekly tabloid newspaper covering stories from the London Borough of Harrow
. It has separate editions for Pinner, Harrow and Stanmore. It has a 24-hour website at www.harrowobserver.co.uk made up of a newspaper companion site with local news and a series of hyperlocal sites for Stanmore, Pinner & Hatch End, South Harrow and Wembley.
and free Leader titles. The titles are part of the Trinity Mirror Southern group which is part of The Trinity Mirror Group which publishes the Daily Mirror and the Sunday Mirror
among other titles. It is produced in the Harrow office, in Lyon Road, Harrow.
It began life as the four-page, two pence The Harrow Monthly Gazette and General Advertiser.
The paper first hit newsstands on April 1, 1855, fulfilling the dream of local estate agent and civic leader William Winkley Junior, who published it from a small shop in High Street, Harrow on the Hill.
By the 1880s, the publication had grown into a broadsheet and the cover price had risen by half a penny.
The Gazette lost its monopoly in April 1895 when non-conformist Robert A Smith launched the alternative Wealdstone, Harrow and Wembley Observer.
In 1921, Sir Oswald Mosley, then MP for Harrow, took over as editor of the Harrow Observer and under his command the two rivals merged.
After several changes of owner, the newspaper came into the hands of Westminster Press, under whose tenure a 20-page midweek edition was published in 1967.
The sister free paper, the Leader series, came into existence in 1983 and three years later the Harrow Observer switched from a broadsheet to tabloid format.
A large swathe of the photographic negatives archive was destroyed in a fire in 1992 and dark room developing became extinct when digital photography was introduced in 1998.
Trinity Mirror, the UK’s largest publisher, acquired the title in 2002 after a takeover and the editorial team now work from their sixth home in Lyon Road, Harrow.
The circulation figures have been falling gradually in recent months, and they have now relaunched their website in a bid to improve the fortunes of the paper.
London Borough of Harrow
The London Borough of Harrow is a London borough of north-west London. It borders Hertfordshire to the north and other London boroughs: Hillingdon to the west, Ealing to the south, Brent to the south-east and Barnet to the east.-History:...
. It has separate editions for Pinner, Harrow and Stanmore. It has a 24-hour website at www.harrowobserver.co.uk made up of a newspaper companion site with local news and a series of hyperlocal sites for Stanmore, Pinner & Hatch End, South Harrow and Wembley.
Related titles
The Harrow Observer also publishes the paid-for Wembley Observer Series, covering the London Borough of BrentLondon Borough of Brent
In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough had a total population of 2,022. This rose slowly throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 5,646 in the middle of the century. When the railways arrived the rate of population growth increased...
and free Leader titles. The titles are part of the Trinity Mirror Southern group which is part of The Trinity Mirror Group which publishes the Daily Mirror and the Sunday Mirror
Sunday Mirror
The Sunday Mirror is the Sunday sister paper of the Daily Mirror. It began life in 1915 as the Sunday Pictorial and was renamed the Sunday Mirror in 1963. Trinity Mirror also owns The People...
among other titles. It is produced in the Harrow office, in Lyon Road, Harrow.
History
The Harrow Observer has documented every kind of event over the years, from rail crashes to royal visits, court cases to council estates.It began life as the four-page, two pence The Harrow Monthly Gazette and General Advertiser.
The paper first hit newsstands on April 1, 1855, fulfilling the dream of local estate agent and civic leader William Winkley Junior, who published it from a small shop in High Street, Harrow on the Hill.
By the 1880s, the publication had grown into a broadsheet and the cover price had risen by half a penny.
The Gazette lost its monopoly in April 1895 when non-conformist Robert A Smith launched the alternative Wealdstone, Harrow and Wembley Observer.
In 1921, Sir Oswald Mosley, then MP for Harrow, took over as editor of the Harrow Observer and under his command the two rivals merged.
After several changes of owner, the newspaper came into the hands of Westminster Press, under whose tenure a 20-page midweek edition was published in 1967.
The sister free paper, the Leader series, came into existence in 1983 and three years later the Harrow Observer switched from a broadsheet to tabloid format.
A large swathe of the photographic negatives archive was destroyed in a fire in 1992 and dark room developing became extinct when digital photography was introduced in 1998.
Trinity Mirror, the UK’s largest publisher, acquired the title in 2002 after a takeover and the editorial team now work from their sixth home in Lyon Road, Harrow.
The circulation figures have been falling gradually in recent months, and they have now relaunched their website in a bid to improve the fortunes of the paper.