| Type | Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Tabloid |
| Owner(s) | Coates & Parker Ltd |
| Founded | 1881 |
| Headquarters | Warminster |
| Circulation | unaudited |
| Website | www |
The Warminster Journal is a weekly newspaper published in Warminster, Wiltshire in South West England. The paper serves the west Wiltshire towns of Warminster and Westbury as well as the villages of the Wylye Valley, Chitterne, Mere, Chapmanslade, Corsley, and Horningsham.
The newspaper's founder, Benjamin Walter Coates, was a son of the Rev. John Coates, master of King James's School, Almondbury. B. W. Coates moved to Warminster in the 1860s and in 1876 bought an existing printing and stationery business. Coates was interested in running a newspaper, but Warminster already had the Warminster Herald, founded in 1857. [1]
A Conservative and a loyal member of the Church of England, in 1881 Coates finally launched the Warminster and Westbury Journal and Wilts County Advertiser as a weekly broadsheet, after a substantial investment in new staff and machinery. The first issue was dated Saturday 19 November 1881, and for twelve years the new paper was in competition with the Warminster Herald. [1] In 1884, both newspapers were published weekly and priced at one penny, and the Journal was noted as having a Conservative affiliation, while the Herald was non-aligned. [2] The Herald ceased publication in 1893. Coates retired as editor in 1898 and was succeeded by his 28-year-old younger son Alfred Coates, who edited the Journal for sixty years. [1] In 1900, Samuel Hillier Parker, originally from Sunderland, joined the firm as an assistant. [1] When he married in 1903, he gave his occupation as bookseller’s assistant. [3] In 1912, Alfred Coates made him a partner. [1] Apart from a single year beginning during the First World War, the paper has appeared weekly since 1881. [4] Due to key staff leaving to join the armed forces, publication was suspended in April 1918 and did not begin again until 15 August 1919. However, the firm's business as stationers continued. [1]
The issue of the Journal of 4 July 1903 announced a forthcoming one-night visit to Westbury by Buffalo Bill's show "Wild West and Rough Riders of the World". [5] The paper of 18 July 1903 said this was due to Westbury's improved railway service. [6]
Samuel Parker died in 1935, and Alfred Coates continued the newspaper, printing and stationery business until 1958, when he retired, selling Coates & Parker to Charlie Mills. Mills died in 1970, leaving the business to his wife and daughter, Elsie and Gladys Mills. In 2021, his grandchildren Ray Shorto and Diana Watkins were joint editors of the newspaper. [1]
The circulation was stated in 1989 as 5,600. [7]
In December 2024, the paper ceased publication, then was sold to Wiltshire Publications who stated "The company is hoping to resume publishing the Warminster Journal in March". [8] [9]
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to the west. The largest settlement is Swindon, and Trowbridge is the county town.
Warminster is a historic market town and civil parish in south-west Wiltshire, England, on the western edge of Salisbury Plain. The parish had a population of 18,173 in 2021.
West Wiltshire was a local government district in Wiltshire, England, between 1974 and 2009, when it was superseded by the new Wiltshire unitary area.
Melksham is a town and civil parish on the River Avon in Wiltshire, England, about 4.5 miles (7 km) northeast of Trowbridge and 6 miles (10 km) south of Chippenham. At the 2021 census, the parish had a population of 18,113.
The A350 is a north–south primary route in southern England, that runs from the M4 motorway in Wiltshire to Poole in Dorset.
Westbury is a market town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England. The town lies below the northwestern edge of Salisbury Plain, about 4 miles (6 km) south of Trowbridge and a similar distance north of Warminster.
Westbury was a parliamentary constituency in Wiltshire from 1449 to 2010. It was represented in the House of Commons of England until 1707, and then in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and finally in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until 2010.
The Wessex Main Line is the railway line from Bristol Temple Meads to Southampton Central. Diverging from this route is the Heart of Wessex Line from Westbury to Weymouth. The Wessex Main Line intersects the Reading to Taunton Line at Westbury and the West of England Main Line at Salisbury.
The Wiltshire Times is a weekly newspaper published in Trowbridge, Wiltshire in South West England. The paper serves the western Wiltshire towns of Bradford on Avon, Trowbridge, Corsham, Chippenham, Warminster, Westbury and Melksham, and their surrounding rural areas.
Maiden Newton railway station is a railway station serving the village of Maiden Newton in Dorset, England. The station is located on the Heart of Wessex Line, 154.12 miles from the zero point at London Paddington, measured via Swindon and Westbury.
Westbury railway station serves the market town of Westbury in Wiltshire, England. The station is managed by Great Western Railway.
Melksham railway station serves the town of Melksham in Wiltshire, England. It is 100 miles 13 chains measured from London Paddington, on the TransWilts Line between Chippenham and Trowbridge that was originally part of the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway, absorbed in 1850 by the Great Western Railway.
Dorset & Wilts 3 North was an English Rugby Union league, forming part of the South West Division, for clubs primarily based in Wiltshire, sitting at tier 10 of the English rugby union system. Promoted teams tended to move up to Dorset & Wilts 2 North and there was no relegation. The league was created in 2005 and was disbanded after the 2019–20 season.
Dorset & Wilts 2 North is an English rugby union league, forming part of the South West Division, for clubs primarily based in Wiltshire, sitting at tier 8 of the English rugby union system. Originally consisting of one league, Dorset & Wilts 1 split into north and south regional divisions in 2004. It had even had teams based in Berkshire participating until 2001, at which time they left to join the Buckinghamshire & Oxon leagues.
The Westbury Hill Fair, or Westbury Hill Sheep Fair, was an annual fair which took place on the first Tuesday in September on high ground at Westbury, Wiltshire, England, near the north-western corner of Salisbury Plain. The main business was the sale of sheep. The fair was well-established by the mid 19th century and had come to an end by 1942.
Wiltshire Publications Ltd is a family-owned newspaper publisher with titles in west Wiltshire and east Somerset, England. It owns the Melksham Independent News in Melksham, White Horse News in Westbury, Frome Times in Frome and Warminster Journal in Warminster.
Lacock Halt was a minor railway station on the Chippenham–Trowbridge section of the former Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway (WSWR), which opened as far as Westbury on 2 September 1848. This connected to the Great Western Main Line at Thingley Junction and was incorporated into the Great Western Railway in March 1850 after the WSWR ran into financial difficulties.
