The Farley family of Somerset were British media proprietors among the first newspaper publishers in Bristol, Bath, Exeter and Salisbury. The family produced three notable media proprietors, namely Samuel Farley, Edward Farley II and Felix Farley. They were known for their Jacobite sympathies and were often at odds with the censor in the 17th and 18th centuries before dispersing abroad.
With the rise of news media, the British government came to regard provincial newspapers as auxiliaries of the leading opposition papers in London. In 1726, the Comptroller of the Post Office was granted funds to establish a system of surveillance, purchasing copies of all Irish, Scottish and provincial newspapers for examination by the Treasury Solicitor. Thus began the 'print wars' between early media and the government, in which Edward Farley II was a first casualty.
Samuel Farley
Samuel Farley was a media proprietor and publisher. He notoriously published the ‘Hague Letter’ in his Farley’s Bristol Journal. He kept the publication in circulation despite arraignment by the Comptroller. The case for censorship collapsed in 1731 and with it the government lost their precedent for restricting further reprinting by provincial newspapers. After 1731, the government ceased intervention in provincial newspapers until 1736.
Edward Farley II
Edward Farley II was a media proprietor and publisher. He published the Jacobite ‘Persian Letters’ in Farley’s Bristol Newspaper in the 1720s. Farley kept this publication in circulation despite the Comptroller and he was imprisoned for high treason. He petitioned Queen Caroline for his release. In turn, the Attorney-General Philip Yorke recommended a pardon for Farley, but he had an untimely death in gaol at age 24.
Felix Farley
Felix Farley was a media proprietor and publisher. He was known for publishing Felix Farley's Bristol Journal and Felix Farley, Rhymes: Latin and English. He notably published the works of John Wood the Elder, foremost The Origin of Building: Or, The Plagiarism Of The Heathens Detected, In Five Books. The Origin of Building gave the Britishpublic a unique insight into masonry, which was otherwise guarded at the time for the sake of trade secrets.
