Mid Beds Times & Citizen

Its roots lie in the Bedfordshire Times, which was first published in 1845 as the Bedford Times and was the first newspaper regularly published for the county. in 1995 the Times merged with another local title, the Bedford Citizen, which had been founded in 1982 as the Bedford & Kempston Express.

In the meantime, though, the Times had absorbed or amalgamated with two other rivals. The first was the Bedfordshire Independent, founded in 1857. The two papers amalgamated in 1859 as the Bedford Times and Bedfordshire Independent, continuing from 1872 as the Bedfordshire Times and Independent. The other was the Bedfordshire Standard (established 1883), which amalgamated with the Times in 1939 as The Bedfordshire Times and Bedfordshire Standard and eclipsed the Independent at the same time; in turn it disappeared from the masthead at the end of 1964, leaving the Bedfordshire Times to continue alone from the beginning of 1965.

It’s now published by Premier Newspapers Ltd, a branch of regional newspaper giant Johnston Press‘s Midlands division, and is one of two titles in their Bedfordshire Times & Citizen group along with the Bedford Borough Times & Citizen. The editorial offices are in Bedford.

It comes out on Thursdays.