Kentish Post
Encyclopedia
The Kentish Post: or the Canterbury News-Letter, Canterbury
's first newspaper, published between 1717 and 1768, is the predecessor of the present-day Kentish Gazette
.
The original imprint of the Post was Canterbury: Printed by Thomas Reeve, in Castle street, for the Proprietors, but the name of the printer/proprietor very soon changed to James Abree
, who had set up as a printer in Canterbury in 1717, presumably with the intention of producing a newspaper.
Originally appearing on Wednesdays, by 1721 the Kentish Post had become a bi-weekly, appearing every Wednesday and Saturday.
In 1764 the now elderly Abree took on an assistant, George Kirkby, the son of a Canterbury vicar, who was completing an apprenticeship with a London printer. In 1768 Abree announced that he was retiring in favour of his young colleague Kirkby. However, in May of the same year another young recent printing apprentice from Canterbury, James Simmons
, started to publish a rival twice-weekly paper called the Kentish Gazette. A trade war between the two newspapers ensued. After four weeks, Kirkby gave in and the two papers merged, to appear under joint management as the Kentish Gazette, or Canterbury Chronicle. The firm of Simmons and Kirkby prospered, remaining in existence as an important regional printer and publisher until 1791. The Kentish Gazette
is still in existence (2009) as Canterbury's principal weekly newspaper.
The retail network of the Kentish Post stretched throughout Kent, using booksellers in the major towns as outlets and as agents for advertisements. The main towns served by the newspaper were Ashford, Chatham, Cranbrook, Dover, Faversham, Folkestone, Maidstone, Margate, Ramsgate, Rochester, Sandwich and Sittingbourne, as well as some London coffee houses.
In addition to the usual contents (national and international news from the London papers, local commodity prices, shipping news, and advertisements), the Kentish Post was an early example of the practice of serialisation of novels. In 1722/1723 Abree followed the example of the London Post by serialising the scandalous new novel Moll Flanders
, shortly after its first publication in book form.
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
's first newspaper, published between 1717 and 1768, is the predecessor of the present-day Kentish Gazette
Kentish Gazette
The Kentish Gazette is a weekly newspaper serving the city of Canterbury, Kent. It is owned by the KM Group and is published on Thursdays.-History:The newspaper claims to be the second oldest surviving newspaper in the United Kingdom....
.
The original imprint of the Post was Canterbury: Printed by Thomas Reeve, in Castle street, for the Proprietors, but the name of the printer/proprietor very soon changed to James Abree
James Abree
James Abree was an 18th-century Canterbury printer, publisher and bookseller.Abree was the son of William Abree of Winchester.He was apprenticed to the London printer Ichabod Dawkes from 1705 to 1712....
, who had set up as a printer in Canterbury in 1717, presumably with the intention of producing a newspaper.
Originally appearing on Wednesdays, by 1721 the Kentish Post had become a bi-weekly, appearing every Wednesday and Saturday.
In 1764 the now elderly Abree took on an assistant, George Kirkby, the son of a Canterbury vicar, who was completing an apprenticeship with a London printer. In 1768 Abree announced that he was retiring in favour of his young colleague Kirkby. However, in May of the same year another young recent printing apprentice from Canterbury, James Simmons
James Simmons
James Simmons was a poet, literary critic and songwriter from Derry, Northern Ireland.-Biography:He was born into a middle-class Protestant family in Derry in 1933 and attended Campbell College in Belfast before moving to the University of Leeds to read for a degree in English...
, started to publish a rival twice-weekly paper called the Kentish Gazette. A trade war between the two newspapers ensued. After four weeks, Kirkby gave in and the two papers merged, to appear under joint management as the Kentish Gazette, or Canterbury Chronicle. The firm of Simmons and Kirkby prospered, remaining in existence as an important regional printer and publisher until 1791. The Kentish Gazette
Kentish Gazette
The Kentish Gazette is a weekly newspaper serving the city of Canterbury, Kent. It is owned by the KM Group and is published on Thursdays.-History:The newspaper claims to be the second oldest surviving newspaper in the United Kingdom....
is still in existence (2009) as Canterbury's principal weekly newspaper.
The retail network of the Kentish Post stretched throughout Kent, using booksellers in the major towns as outlets and as agents for advertisements. The main towns served by the newspaper were Ashford, Chatham, Cranbrook, Dover, Faversham, Folkestone, Maidstone, Margate, Ramsgate, Rochester, Sandwich and Sittingbourne, as well as some London coffee houses.
In addition to the usual contents (national and international news from the London papers, local commodity prices, shipping news, and advertisements), the Kentish Post was an early example of the practice of serialisation of novels. In 1722/1723 Abree followed the example of the London Post by serialising the scandalous new novel Moll Flanders
Moll Flanders
The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders is a novel written by Daniel Defoe in 1722, after his work as a journalist and pamphleteer. By 1722, Defoe had become a recognised novelist, with the success of Robinson Crusoe in 1719...
, shortly after its first publication in book form.