First ever printed British newspaper is up for sale

A rare copy of the first ever newspaper printed in Britain is to be auctioned nearly 350 years after it came off the press.

The Oxford Gazette was published on November 7, 1665, at a time when London was in the grip of the devastating bubonic plague.

It was the first newspaper in the world to be printed in English.

The two-page first edition contained an eclectic mix of news including military and naval engagements, debates in the House of Commons and overseas dispatches.


Its front page story was about the Reverend Dr Walter Blandford's election as the Lord Bishop of Oxon.

There was also the news of a group of MPs' possible impeachment for treason, and the edition ends with a story noting 1,050 people had died from the plague.

The Oxford Gazette was so named because at the time Charles II had removed his court to the university city from London, which was being ravaged by the plague.

The Gazette was published by journalist Henry Muddiman, and its first publication is noted by Samuel Pepys in his diary.

Charles returned to London as the plague dissipated, taking the Gazette with him.

It was renamed the London Gazette and the first issue under the new name was published on February 5, 1666.