Ertach Kernow - Thomas Flindell the Father of Cornish news
Thomas Flindell remembered - Cornish heritage embraces a huge range of subjects and interests. I am a strong advocate of local and regional newspapers and it is so important that quality local journalism is encouraged and supported especially with the advances of fake news and the need to hold politicians and other in authority to account. Happily newspapers have evolved and although paper versions may see falling circulation access via online digital versions and articles grow in popularity.
Whilst people often complain that their local regional paper does not contain all their town news they must remember they are part of a wider Cornish community. Regional newspapers and smaller local publications help create communities and groups with an important social function by sharing events and activities that bring people together. Quality journalism also helps educate people and hopefully improve their reading and language abilities. Sadly there is often a race to the bottom simplifying writing rather than stretching peoples abilities and improving their language skills.
Today historian and researchers in general are thankful to journalists from a bygone age for their work in sharing the news of their day. With lack of images in early publications there was much more text and factual information, although there was as today bias towards political views and parties. Cornwall’s regular newspaper and media history began in 1801 with the publication of the ‘Cornwall Gazette and Falmouth Packet’ which ran from 7th March 1801 for 85 editions until 1802. This article remembers the man who founded this paper and laid the foundations for many other Cornish regional newspapers to this very day.
The ancestry of the Flindell family is shrouded in mystery. A Thomas Flindell described as a sojourner, a person not of that parish, married Alice Williams from a long standing Manacan family on 10th December 1757. Their son Thomas gave his year of birth as 1767 in Helford, with further children, sisters to Thomas also born in Manacan parish. He said of himself he was ‘bred an illiterate half-seaman’ perhaps providing an indication of his father’s origins, possibly from eastern England. Thomas’ route to a newspaper career began by being apprenticed to a printer. Following the death of his employer in 1790 Thomas then aged twenty-three travelled to Doncaster to work for the ‘Doncaster Gazette’. This appears to be an earlier incarnation of a later newspaper of the same name.
As always click the images for larger view
Although far from Cornwall his work at the Doncaster Gazette helped make his name. In the 1790’s The government of William Pit had set on dealing with radical left-wing opposition and over thirty radicals were arrested. The charge of high treason was brought against three of these in particular including a Thomas Hardy and John Horne Tooke. The audacity of Thomas Flindell was to anticipate and publish the not guilty verdict prior to announcement by the jury in November 1794. It was whilst working in Doncaster that Thomas met and married Mary Brunton on 7th July 1794.
About 1798 Thomas returned to Cornwall and set up his own printing business the ‘Stannary Press’ in Helston. Described as a large undertaking for a provincial press during at this time, was the publication by Flindell at the Stannary Press of what became known as the Cornish Stannary or Helston Bible. This bible contains the Old and New Testaments and the Apocrypha and was produced ‘Under the Direction of the Clergyman of the Church of England’ in sixty fortnightly parts. A full work of what was published is very rare but very occasionally come up for sale at auction. He published the work of some eminent Cornish clients including the Reverend Robert Stephen Hawker’s somewhat rare first edition of ‘Zion's pilgrim’ in 1801 and Reverend Richard Polwhele’s extensive ‘History of Cornwall’ in 1803.
Thomas Flindell was it seems an ambitious man. Moving to Falmouth in 1800 on 7th March 1801, backed by some local businesspeople he launched the Falmouth based newspaper ‘Cornwall Gazette and Falmouth Packet’. This ran for eighty-five editions until 16 October 1802, when it folded through the bankruptcy of his partners and with Thomas ending up in debtors prison in Bodmin. During the late 18th century the most established newspaper read in Cornwall by professional and businesspeople was the Dorset based Sherborne Mercury established in 1737. It’s dominance of potential Cornish newspapers was through offering a greater amount of tightly packed information over its four pages making it difficult for any newcomers to the sector for some time.
It was reported later that ‘Flindell possessed abundant energy and a vigorous style of composition’. It was perhaps this along with better funding and a move to Truro that saw the first publication on 2nd July 1803 of the Royal Cornwall Gazette which flourished where his earlier venture had failed. A group of Cornish landowners had raised subscriptions and with Flindell offering his services as publisher and printer the new newspaper came into being. The subscribers besides landowners were doctors, bankers and lawyers. Wider publicity and distribution to inns and guest houses encouraged advertisers making the paper more commercially viable.
In 1805 there was a legal dispute between Flindell and his former partners in the Falmouth based ‘Cornwall Gazette and Falmouth Packet’ regarding that newspapers failure. This led Flindell to defend his position saying, ‘they now object to is that of £6 per week for editing, printing, etc. after the paper was enlarged to the size of the Sherborne paper, since the first agreement was only for £3 10/- a week, but the paper was very small when begun we soon, however, found that it was impossible to establish our paper without removing the preponderating ascendancy the Sherborne paper had obtained here.’ This event followed the earlier establishment by him of the successful Royal Cornwall Gazette. He added ‘my success has since proved that had they but duly nursed the paper in its infancy, the returns before this period would have recovered the whole sum sunk, and double that sum at the back of it - But what better could be expected from three inn-keepers, a shop-keeper, and a custom-house clerk!’
Gradually the Royal Cornwall Gazette became even more politically influenced by the Tory party. This led to increased pressure from others to establish a competitor, the Whig (later Liberal) party led newspaper ‘West Briton’ in 1810. In a letter dated November 1812 it seems Flindell and the editor of the new West Briton newspaper Edward Budd had a previous friendly relationship. This had soured and by the autumn of 1812 Flindell wished to leave Cornwall and offered to transfer to Mr Drew his entire concern as ‘political discussion was now so far from his ordinary train of thinking’. The offer of the Royal Cornwall Gazette to Samuel Drew the well-known Cornish writer, historian and theologian was refused as Drew was fully engaged with his own works. In December 1813 Thomas Flindell transferred his proprietorship of the Royal Cornwall Gazette to Peter Nettleton junior who ran it until his death in 1817.
Thomas moved to Exeter where he then set up the ‘Western Luminary’ in competition to two other well-established newspapers. He worked hard at establishing his new publication by encouraging subscribers. Flindell differentiated his newspaper from the others with a smaller format, the largest possible without incurring stamp duty, and doubled the number of pages to eight. Was this the forerunner of the 20th century tabloids? By 1815 circulation was around 1,700 papers a month, so very successful. Sadly his outspoken views landed him in hot water when he was accused of libel against Queen Caroline, which he admitted. Found guilty he was sentenced to eight months imprisonment, which he considered harsh given others were also widely sharing similar views. The newspaper endured and he continued to write throughout his incarceration. His popularity was confirmed with a subscription launched to pay for the expenses of the trial with a local alderman being treasurer of the fund. This raised over £418, a huge sum for that time, many donations coming from eminent people.
Due to the period of imprisonment Thomas’ health suffered and he fell ill eventually dying on 11th July 1824 aged fifty-seven. The Exeter Flying Post ran the short obituary ‘Sunday night, after a protracted illness, aged 57, Mr. Thomas Flindell, late proprietor of the Western Luminary, and formerly of the Royal Cornwall Gazette. He was a man of great talent as an Editor by which he rendered himself conspicuous in the political affairs of this country. A large family is left to lament the irreparable loss they have sustained by his demise’ Richard Polwhele wrote of Flindell 'A man of strong understanding, though by no means polished or refined.' Some of Thomas and Mary’s children emigrated to Australia with many descendants. Thomas was buried at St Sidwell churchyard in Exeter. The original church of Thomas’ time was destroyed in World War II and sadly no memorial to him is known to exist.
Virtually forgotten today Thomas Flindell should be celebrated for introducing the first truly Cornish weekly regional newspaper to Cornwall. Over the next two hundred years many newspapers in Cornwall would rise, fall and merge all sharing Cornish news including this one. Perhaps this article will better bring to mind Thomas Flindell an ordinary man from the small village of Helford who perhaps should be named the father of the Cornish newspaper.
Heritage Column
