You can surf Victorian news (From The Oxford Times)

You can surf Victorian news

6:38pm Tuesday 23rd June 2009 in

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THE news that was making the headlines in Oxford more than 100 years ago has been made available online for the first time.

Two Oxford papers are among 49 19th century publications to be uploaded on to the British Library website.

Now people will be able to search the pages of Jackson’s Oxford Journal, between January 1, 1800 and May 28, 1898, and the Oxford Journal & County News from June 4, 1898, to September 3, 1898.

The stories were previously only available by examining hard copies in the British Library’s reading rooms.

Head of product development Simon Bell said: “There’s a huge appetite for wider online access to this kind of resource.”

“The new service will enable users across the UK who don’t wish to travel to our reading rooms in London or Yorkshire to delve into this unrivalled online resource.”

In all, two million pages of digitised newsprint are available and can be searched by date, publication and key word.

Some of the Oxford papers make grim reading. On November 11, 1871, Jackson’s Oxford Journal printed details of a “horrible murder” involving a woman said to be of “loose habits” who was found with her head half-severed from her body.

The papers also show a marked change in attitudes.

In the February 12, 1870, edition, a report on the North Oxford Working Men’s Club told that the North Oxford Negro Melodists would be providing entertainment the following week.

As well as offering a glimpse into the 19th century, organisers believe it will be useful to those researching their own family histories.

The site can be searched for free, with fees to download articles.

fbardsley@oxfordmail.co.uk To download, including articles from the two Oxford papers, people can buy passes from £6.99. Visit the website newspapers.bl.uk/blcs for more information.