A relative of mine, Edwin Crew, created a small local newspaper called the Chorley Weasel. As far as I know, it only ran during the 1880s but it sounds like it would be a curious title to add to the BNA website, especially for Edwins reports on local campaigns.

As local historian Andrew Alston writes, "Edwin started a newspaper, the “Chorley Weasel, a local political and social journal of current events”. The Weasel’s content was mostly local politics, but presented in a humorous fashion. Some of the jokes in there are still doing the rounds. The rest of the paper was made up of fiction serials, international news, scandal, syndicated stories, items lifted from other publications (common practice at the time) and advertising.

In 1882 there was a strike in cotton spinning, because the local employers paid less than those in Bolton. The Weasel printed both sides of the dispute, but took up the cudgels on behalf of the innocents who were coerced by the strikers. Each issue mentions the campaign for Chorley to have its own free library. Edwin campaigned for rights of access to the countryside, and in particular to “The Nab”, a hill to the east of Chorley frequented by generations in their desire for recreation."

Having online access to the Chorley Weasel should help Lancashire local historians to further their research. And as a keen family history writer (at http://auntiemabel.org) I'd hope to use it as the source for a series of articles.

After time in Chorley, Edwin Crew moved to Leicester where he became editor of the Midland Free Press. He was a remarkable character, driven by social causes, and co-founded the Wycliffe Society for the Blind and pioneered health insurance long before the advent of the NHS. The Chorley Weasel will provide insights into his early journalistic career.

Graham Barker