The Macclesfield Express today celebrates 200 years in print with a bumper 96-page edition and a free supplement charting the history of the paper.
The 16-page supplement is the first of five looking back at the history of the paper from its Georgian beginnings to the present day.
The 13,000 circulation weekly is published by Trinity Mirror and is part of the MEN Media stable of titles which was sold by Guardian Media Group in February 2010.
The supplement was compiled by MEN Media communities editor Dave Lafferty (a former Macclesfield Express editor) and communities reporter Bethany Abbit.
Judy Gordon, editor of the Macclesfield Express, said: “The supplement is a real celebration of the newspaper, the town and the people it has served for 200 years.
“The next ones will look at the growth of the town, the impact of two world wars and the personal stories of people who have worked on the paper through many decades of change.”
Canalside Radio is today having a Macc Express Day and the anniversary also coincides with the opening of a new Macclesfield Express office in the town.
The Macclesfield Express office was closed by GMG in 2009 amid a wave of cost-cutting as journalists from MEN Media’s various weekly newspaper titles were centralised into the main MEN office.
Macclesfield Express journalists will be able to toast their anniversary with a special beer brewed locally by the Bollington Brewery Company called Bicentenniale.
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