The History of The Yorkshire Post & Where it is Now
What is The Yorkshire Post?
The Yorkshire Post is a daily newspaper that is available throughout Yorkshire. It can be found in Yorkshire, places that were historically in Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Lincolnshire.
Find out the history of one of the biggest names in British journalism.
Page Contents:
- The Beginning of The Yorkshire Post
- How The Yorkshire Post became what it is today
- Where is The Yorkshire Post Now?
The Beginning of The Yorkshire Post
Griffith Wright was the son of a clerk. His father worked at St John’s Church on Briggate in Leeds.
On Tuesday the 2nd of July in 1754, Griffith printed his first copy of the Leeds Intelligencer. He did this from their premises in Lower Head Row.
Originally, it was written as a weekly newspaper which had four pages and three columns. These were a mix of news from the London dailies and advertising.
The newspaper cost a total of 2d and was extremely popular despite their rival being around longer than them. Their rival, The Leeds Mercury, were founded in 1718.
In 1755, Griffith moved to a new building on New Street End. Within the same year, he married a lady called Mary Pullen and soon after they had a son called Thomas.
For over 50 years, Griffith edited the newspaper himself. In 1785, he was ready to retire and decided to pass his business down to his son.
During this time, the government imposed taxes on newspapers. This caused the business to increase their prices to 3d in 1777.
Thomas remained the editor of the newspaper until his death in 1805. During his time as editor, he saw another price increase to 4d in 1793 which was again due to taxes.
Both Thomas’ father Griffith and his son Griffith Jnr outlived him. After Thomas died, the role of editor was passed down to his son.
During the election in 1807, the newspaper backed the Tory candidate Lord Lascelles. This cemented their conservative viewpoint in the eyes of the public.
In 1809, they changed the company’s name to Wright’s Leeds Intelligencer. Two years later, the paper printed their first full ‘Supplement’.
Overtime, the business had eventually saved enough money to purchase a Stanhope press. In total this cost them £50 which is roughly £4,300 today.
In 1815, a man called George Mudie became the editor of the newspaper. He printed the occasional ‘Second Edition’ to cover news stories such as the 1817 Manchester Riots.
Due to his grandfather’s death, Griffith Wright Jnr decided it was time to sell up. In 1818 he sold the Intelligencer.
During this time, Mudie formed a close partnership with William Headley. Together, they created the Leeds Independent.
Over the next few decades, the paper saw many changes. This first started with the takeover of a business called Gawtress & Co.
The takeover happened in 1819. This led them to change the name of the newspaper to The Leeds Intelligencer and Yorkshire General Advertiser.
Three years later in 1822, the newspaper was sold. Two men called Joseph Ogle Robinson and John Hernaman bought it.
They moved the paper onto Commercial Street where they shared the Leeds Library building. In 1826, the newspaper absorbed Mudie’s Leeds Independent.
When the paper first started out, it was only available in select places. These were Yorkshire, Lancashire, and strangely London.
At the time, it took up to three days for the paper to arrive in the capital. Even when coaches were improved, it would still take up to 23 hours.
With the new coach company, The Intelligencer became a daily paper. They called it The Yorkshire Conservative Newspaper Co Ltd.
In 1866, they changed their name again, this time to the familiar Yorkshire Post. They also produced a regional evening paper in 1890 called The Yorkshire Evening Post.
This paper put a slant on the day’s news. It also provided extensive coverage of both local and regional sports teams.
This changed the way the day’s news was seen. The newspaper provided their readers with extensive coverage of not only the local sports teams but also regional sports teams.
How The Yorkshire Post became what it is today
In 1923, the newspaper was in a very good position. They bought out their long time rival The Leeds Mercury and continued to publish alongside its existing ones.
13 years later, in 1936, The Yorkshire Post was put in a fantastic position. They were given the chance to prove that they were the top national newspaper.
Editor Arthur Mann was the first journalist to break the story of Edward VIII’s affair with Mrs Simpson following a speech by the Bishop of Bradford. This led to the monarch’s abdication.
The outbreak of World War two had a big impact on The Yorkshire Post. It resulted in a shortage of newsprint.
This led to the Yorkshire Post and The Leeds Mercury to merge together. In 1963, the paper was also able to absorb its rival evening paper, the Yorkshire Evening News.
Over the years, many top journalists have cut their teeth at the Yorkshire Evening Post. Along with surprising names such as Dire Straits frontman, Mark Knopfler, and actor Peter O’Toole.
In 1967, United Newspapers Ltd merged to become Yorkshire Post Newspapers Ltd. This saw the company move to a brand new £5 million premises on the banks of the River Aire in 1970.
In more recent times, digital technologies have risen while reading papers has declined. Johnston Press, who now own the papers, decided to move the printing to Sheffield.
In 2012, Johnston press decided that they needed to cut costs. The Yorkshire Post then merged with the Yorkshire Evening Post.
The old iconic Yorkshire Post building located at the bottom of Wellington Street was set to be demolished in 2014. Two years earlier, staff moved to new offices on Whitehall Road.
Where is The Yorkshire Post Now?
The tower, complete with thermometer, has become a Leeds landmark. It survived bulldozers and the empty space left by the old concrete building is to be converted.
It’s now become an apartment building called The Headline. The ground floor pays homage to its original use and is decorated with typewriters and cameras.
In total, there are 242 apartments. Tenets are able to use work spaces, a gym, wellness studio, meeting room/office spaces, and a sky lounge for free.
The Yorkshire Post is one of Britain’s oldest newspapers. To this day it continues to command respect throughout the journalism world.