The
Western Morning News was founded on 3 January 1860, by
William Saunders and Edward Spender, father of Sir
Wilfrid Spender. It has been published continuously since the first edition, including throughout the
1926 General Strike and the
Plymouth Blitz. By 1920, the Devon newspaper market was getting cramped, with all papers running into financial difficulties. In the same year, Sir
Leicester Harmsworth acquired the
Western Morning News; from 1 February 1921, the
Western Daily Mercury and
Western Evening Herald were also taken over, with the papers continuing to be published from the old
Mercury offices in Frankfort Street, Plymouth. Shortly before
World War II, new offices were constructed on the same site after the demolition of the previous premises; the modern construction allowed the offices to survive the Blitz and publishing continued there until a move in 1993 to a purpose-built building in Derriford, Plymouth, designed by architect
Nicholas Grimshaw. In 2013, the Western Morning News and sister title
The Herald (Plymouth) moved into offices in Millbay Road in the centre of the city. On 8 February 1997, the
Western Morning News followed most local newspapers in the UK and changed format from
broadsheet to
tabloid. In 2012,
Local World acquired the ownership of Northcliffe Media from
Daily Mail and General Trust, The paper had a Sunday edition from June 2014 until January 2016. In November 2015, Trinity Mirror purchased Local World. In 2018 Trinity Mirror rebranded as Reach Plc.
Reach Plc is one of Britain's biggest newspaper groups. Previous editors of the Western Morning News include Colin Davidson, Barrie Williams, Alan Qualtrough, Bill Martin and Philip Bowern. ==Readership and website==