Romford Recorder

It’s published by Archant London, a division of the Archant media group. The editorial offices are at Archant London’s offices in Ilford.

It was founded some time in the 1890s, although its history is a little obscure before 1934, when it was known as the Romford Recorder and Hornchurch & Upminster Standard. Two years later it was renamed simply The Recorder and kept that name until 1955, when it became the Romford Recorder. In 1957 it absorbed the Brentwood Review launched only the previous year and became the Romford Recorder and Brentwood Review.

Three name changes in six months in 1964 saw it become first the Romford Recorder, Havering Recorder and Brentwood Review and then the slightly less long-winded Romford, Havering Recorder and Brentwood Review before expanding again to the Romford, Havering, Hornchurch Recorder and Brentwood Review. Then in 1966 it dropped Romford and Hornchurch from the title and became the Havering Recorder and Brentwood Review. In 1973 that situation was reversed so that the new title was the Romford, Hornchurch Recorder and Brentwood Review. The Brentwood Review went its separate way in 1985, leaving the Romford Hornchurch Recorder.

For three years from 1992 it reverted to the Romford Recorder, only to become the Romford, Hornchurch, Upminster Recorder in 1995. It settled on its present title again in 2008.

Until 2008 there were two local sub-editions for the Essex parts of the circulation area: the Brentwood Recorder and the Thurrock Recorder. However, publication of both ceased in that year, although the Brentwood Recorder was revived as a freesheet in 2010. The Thurrock Recorder was mentioned in the Romford Recorder‘s masthead (“Incorporating the Thurrock Recorder”) for a while afterwards, but by the end of March 2011 even that mention had been dropped. The tagline “The Heartbeat of Havering” disappeared at the same time.

It has a freesheet companion, the tabloid quarter-fold Romford & Havering Post.

It’s published on Fridays. An e-edition’s also available free on the website.