Northampton Mercury

It was originally founded (as The Northampton Mercury, or the Monday’s Post) as long ago as 1720, making it one of the world’s oldest newspapers (some sources quote it as the world’s tenth-oldest). In 1931 it merged with the 100-year-old Northampton Herald, becoming the Mercury & Herald in the process, and kept that name until 1988, when it became the Northampton Mercury & Herald. EMAP Newspapers acquired it in 1992, and subsequently sold it along with its other local and regional newspapers to the Johnston Press group of regional newspaper publishers in 1996.

In recent years it was named the Northampton Mercury & Citizen and run in parallel with a freesheet for northern and eastern Northamptonshire, the Kettering-based Northants Mercury & Citizen. It reverted to its present title in 2011. The Northants Mercury & Citizen became the Northants Citizen at the same time.

It’s published by Northamptonshire Newspapers Ltd (a Johnston Press subsidiary company) as a companion to their paid-for weekly for the area, the Northampton Chronicle & Echo, whose editorial offices in Northampton it shares.

It has no website of its own; the link below is to the Chronicle & Echo‘s website.

It comes out on Thursdays.