Is this the oldest copy of the Macclesfield Courier and Herald in circulation?
Shirley McGill, 83, of Gawsworth, unearthed this copy of the newspaper, dated Saturday, January 20, 1894, after spotting our appeal for historical editions to help celebrate our 200th anniversary.
Grandmother-of-one Shirley said: "My parents ran the Rising Sun in Gawsworth in 1933 and this was in the bottom of a drawer.
"I don't know why they kept it, but I haven't got the heart to throw them out – I’m a hoarder and I like antiques."
Shirley says she still looks at the old paper to have a read through the stories. "I do find it interesting. I like having it."
Help us celebrate 200 years of your Express
Shirley's edition would have cost the reader 2d – the equivalent of about 50p today – when it was published.
The front page is filled with adverts, including one for Arighi, Bianchi and Co. and local tutors, with most of the news stories coming from London and Manchester. One local tale which makes it to the page is about an escaped cow on its way to slaughter in Poynton.
It reads: "The butcher was bringing it to the village for slaughter, when it began to play some singular freaks at Newton, running madly across gardens and other private property, and doing considerable damage.
"For about an hour and a half the butchers and others were busily engaged chasing the animal hither and thither, but were unable to bring it into anything like subjection and they were ultimately compelled to obtain a gun, twice with pellets, and afterwards with bullets."
Other stories include the sudden death of a Poynton man while he slaughtered a pig, and the ‘generosity of Miss Gaskell’, who donated bed quilts, blankets, coal, tea and coffee to the poor.
Have you got an even older copy of the paper? Let us know at 0161 211 2985 or email macclesfieldexpress@menmedia.co.uk
