Pontypool Free Press

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The Pontypool Free Press
Pontypool Free Press Jun 11 1859.jpg
Pontypool Free Press front page 11 June 1859
TypeWeekly newspaper
Format Tabloid
Owner(s) Newsquest
Founder(s)David Walkinshaw
PublisherNewsquest Media (Southern) Ltd
Deputy editorNicole Garnon
Managing editorKevin Ward
Founded1859
HeadquartersCardiff Road, Maesglas, Newport NP20 3QN
Circulation 1,808(as of 2022) [1]
Sister newspapers South Wales Argus, Penarth Times, Barry & District News
ISSN 1757-3076
OCLC number 500055627
Website Free Press

The Pontypool Free Press is an English language weekly regional newspaper that was originally published in Pontypool, as the Pontypool Free Press and Herald of the Hills, in 1859 and is circulated in Pontypool and the surrounding area of Torfaen, in south-east Wales.

Contents

History

The Pontypool Free Press and Herald of the Hills was established in 1859, with the first edition on 5 March 1859. [2] [3] It was printed and published in Pontypool, in English, by the proprietor David Walkinshaw. [2] [lower-alpha 1] In 1877 Henry Hughes Junior agreed to purchase the paper, along with the Pontypool Local Register and the Pontypool Almanack, for £1,000 from Walkinshaw. [5] [lower-alpha 2]

The name of the newspaper changed on 5 July 1879, to The Pontypool Free Press, and on 2 April 1909 to The Free Press of Monmouthshire. [3]

In the 1980s, Don Touhig, later to become the Member of Parliament for Islwyn and a life peer, was editor of the newspaper. [8] [9] Touhig worked on the paper from 1968 to 1994, starting as a journalist, and ending as general manager of the Free Press Group. [10]

An edition covering Chepstow was added in 1980, with other editions added later, giving four titles produced by the Free Press Group: [11]

In 1997 the Bailey Newspaper Group, the then owners of the Free Press Group, was bought by Southern Newspapers, based in Southampton. [12] In 1998 Southern Newspapers changed its name to Newscom and, in 2000, was bought by the Newsquest Media Group. [13]

Current owners

Former offices of the Pontypool Free Press Henry Hughes House, Pontypool (geograph 4328667).jpg
Former offices of the Pontypool Free Press

In November 2008 Newsquest Media (Southern) Ltd merged the Abergavenny, Chepstow, and Monmouth editions into one edition covering Monmouthshire called The Free Press. The Pontypool Free Press continued as a separate edition. [11]

In November 2011 Newsquest moved the editorial staff to its regional headquarters, at the offices of the South Wales Argus, in Newport, closing its offices in Pontypool and Chepstow. [14] Soon after, Torfaen County Borough Council offered the paper an office at the Pontypool Civic Centre, and journalists now use the office as a drop-in centre every Friday. [14] [15]

The paper maintains a close relationship with the local rugby club, Pontypool RFC, as "Official Media Partner". [16]

The paper is part of a group of papers covering some of south-east Wales, including the South Wales Argus, Penarth Times , and the Penarth & District News. The papers are all based at Cardiff Road, Maesglas, Newport NP20 3QN, with Kevin Ward as Regional Managing Editor and Nicole Garnon as Deputy Editor. [17] The paper is currently released as a tabloid and in 2013 had an average circulation of 5,022 (including The Free Press) with a cover price of £0.40. [18]

Archives

Paper, and microfiche, archives of the Pontypool Free Press and The Free Press of Monmouthshire are held at Gwent Archives, Ebbw Vale and Newport Central Library. [3] [19]

An online digital archive of the paper (1859–1869 and 1872–1893) is available from Welsh Newspapers Online. [20]

Notes

  1. Walkinshaw is commemorated as the founder of the paper in a stained glass window in the Church of St Michael and All Angels, New Inn. [4]
  2. In 1870, Hughes had built a printing works, the Griffin Press, which remained in operation until 1988 when it was converted into flats. [6] [5] . The former offices of the paper are now known as Henry Hughes House. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abersychan</span> Town in Wales

Abersychan is a town and community north of Pontypool in Torfaen, Wales, and lies within the boundaries of the historic county of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cwmbran</span> Human settlement in Wales

Cwmbran is a town in the county borough of Torfaen in South Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torfaen</span> County borough in Wales

Torfaen is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. Torfaen is bordered by the county of Monmouthshire to the east, the city of Newport to the south, and the county boroughs of Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent to the south-west and north-west. It is within the boundaries of the historic county of Monmouthshire, and between 1974 and 1996 was a district of Gwent, until it was reconstituted as a principal area in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monmouthshire</span> County in Wales

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monmouthshire (historic)</span> Historic county in Wales

Monmouthshire, also known as the County of Monmouth, is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales and a former administrative county. It corresponds approximately to the present principal areas of Monmouthshire, Blaenau Gwent, Newport and Torfaen, and those parts of Caerphilly and Cardiff east of the Rhymney River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Touhig</span> British politician

James Donnelly Touhig, Baron Touhig, known as Don Touhig, is a British politician and life peer who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Islwyn from 1995 to 2010. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties, he served in government as an Assistant Whip from 1999 to 2001 and a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State from 2001 to 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pontypool</span> Human settlement in Wales

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cwmavon, Torfaen</span> Human settlement in Wales

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References

  1. "Free Press Monmouthshire & Pontypool". Audit Bureau of Circulations (UK). 22 February 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Pontypool Free Press and Herald of the Hills". Welsh Newspapers Online . National Library of Wales . Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 "Gwent Archives Newspapers". Archives Network Wales . National Library of Wales . Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  4. Cadw. "Church of St Michael and All Angels (Grade II*) (3114)". National Historic Assets of Wales . Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  5. 1 2 "Papers of Henry Hughes and Pontypool Free Press Newspaper". Gwent Archives. 'Pontypool Free Press' Newspaper Acquisition. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  6. Parry, Claire (26 July 2011). "Griffin Press, Osbourne Road, Pontypool". National Monuments Record of Wales (NMRW). Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW). NPRN 54621. Retrieved 29 September 2016 via coflein (online database of the NMRW).{{cite web}}: External link in |via= (help)
  7. "Explore Past and Present Pontypool" (PDF). Gwent Archives. 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  8. "Lord Touhig". UK Parliament Website. UK Parliament . Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  9. Ruddock, Joan (14 June 2016). "Chapter 4: CND". Going Nowhere: A Memoir. Biteback. ISBN   9781785900389. OCLC   951608839 . Retrieved 28 September 2016 via Google Books.
  10. "Former Gwent MP to become a peer". South Wales Argus . Newsquest Media (Southern) Ltd. 31 May 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  11. 1 2 "Free Press of Monmouthshire". British Newspapers Online. 8 March 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  12. Barber, Chris (1999). "The Afon Llwyd (example)". Eastern Valley - The Story of Torfaen (1st ed.). Llanfoist, Gwent: Blorenge Books. p. 16. ISBN   1-872730-23-X. OCLC   43459623.
  13. "History of British Newspapers". News Media Association. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  14. 1 2 "Pontypool Free Press offered Torfaen council office". BBC. 6 January 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  15. "Council provides free office space to local newspaper". Torfaen County Borough Council. 6 January 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  16. "Pontypool Free Press extend Pooler agreement". Pontypool RFC. 26 August 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  17. "Contact Us". Newsquest Media (Southern) Ltd . Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  18. "Circulation Certificate - Free Press - Monmouth (Series)" (PDF). Audit Bureau of Circulations (UK). p. 1. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  19. "Newport Reference Library Monmouthshire newspapers in stock, Nov.1980". Gwent Local History (50): 46. Spring 1981. Retrieved 26 March 2018 via Welsh Journals Online at the National Library of Wales.
  20. "Welsh Newspapers Online". National Library of Wales. 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2016.