Sheffield Iris
Despite moderating the newspaper's line, Montgomery was prosecuted for sedition in 1795 for publishing a poem on a handbill which celebrated the fall of the Bastille, and was sentenced to three months in prison. On his release, he negotiated Naylor's withdrawal and became sole proprietor. In August, he wrote a report offering mild criticism of an incident in Norfolk Street, where a popular protest was attacked by a militia, resulting in two deaths. He was again prosecuted, this time for malicious libel, and was imprisoned for six months. While he was in prison, John Pye-Smith took over as editor, and kept the paper running. On Christmas Eve 1816 the paper published Montgomery's carol, "Angels from the Realms of Glory", which was to become one of the most popular Christmas carols sung in England.
The Iris remained a successful newspaper, but Montgomery developed other interests and, in the face of increased competition, from the Sheffield and Rotherham Independent and the Sheffield Mercury, he sold it in to local bookseller John Blackwell in 1825. Blackwell appointed the poet John Holland as editor, and despite frequently expressing his dislike for the role, Holland spent much of the rest of his life as a newspaper editor. The Iris ceased publication in 1848.
A Sheffield Iris newspaper was briefly revived in 1855, following the removal of stamp duty, but lasted only until the following year.
Read more about this topic: Sheffield Iris