Prize Quiz

Hampshire Library Service has an excellent new online reference resource: 19th Century British Library Newspapers

Our questions for the mini-quiz this month are based on newspapers in this collection

There are 5 questions in all, with one point for every correct answer.
All entries will be put into the draw, and there are some book prizes.

Competition closes at midnight on 30 May 2008, and the winners will be notified by email (or phone if preferred) by 6 June 2008

19th Century British Library Newspapers will help you with your answers! (link will open in a new window)
If you are accessing this in a Library or Discovery Centre please use the Reference Online PN version

19th Century British Library Newspapers contains full runs of 48 influential national and regional newspapers representing different political and cultural segments of the 19th century British society.

[Useful tip: if you have any trouble reading the images – the size of the image can be increased from the standard 33% to 50 or 75% to make it larger. Use the % dropdown box located just above where your image appears on the page]

  1. Hampshire/Portsmouth Telegraph
    Established on 14 October 1799 as Portsmouth Telegraph; or, Mottley's Naval and Military Journal, the newspaper changed its title twice more, before the name Hampshire Telegraph and Sussex Chronicle was adopted in July 1803. In 1801, the population of Portsmouth was 33,000. This grew to nearly 195,000 by 1901. The newspaper provided a chronicle of events for the busy naval port of Portsmouth.

    Hampshire Telegraph and Sussex Chronicle
    “That it is the opinion of this meeting that the formation of a Railway in the Island, would be prejudicial to the general interest of the inhabitants, and therefore the project should meet with every opposition, the more especially as her Majesty has selected the Island as a place of retirement”.

    The public meeting to discuss railways on the Isle of Wight was reported on 28th June 1845.
    In which town was the meeting held?


    [Hint: Try “isle of wight railways” in the search box, and limiting your search to the specific date and publication]

  2. The Charter
    Before the introduction of the uniform Penny Post in 1840, it was very much a postal (!) lottery as to how many pence (d) a town paid for delivery of letters.

    Look at the article in The Charter for Sunday April 28th, 1839 on the uniform Penny Post.
    Alton and Hythe had just been given a reduction in their rates.
    How many pence were they then going to have to pay?



  3. The Belfast News-Letter
     On June 17th 1879, it was reported that three of the survivors of Rorke’s Drift had arrived at Netley Hospital.
    Who were those survivors?



  4. Daily News
    “New ready at all the libraries. Jane Eyre. An Autobiography. Edited by Currer Bell. 3 vols” reads the advertisement on the front page of the Daily News of 21st October 1847.
    What was its price?


    [Remember, when looking at the page, your search term will be highlighted]

  5. The Illustrated Police News
    The notorious burglar and murderer Charles Peace featured in the Illustrated Police News of 1st February 1879 under the heading “Escape and recapture of Peace”
    How did he make his escape?


    [Try using "escape and recapture of peace" as your search term]



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