This magnificent bunch of local historians has transcribed excerpts from many years of local newspapers from East Anglia, and cover the years 1740-1952. especially in the ealy years, there are fascinating reports from America (the shootings at Lexington proved to be a false rumour), minor and major tragedies and injustices, a child of 10 sentenced to death for killing his playmate (perhaps the sentence wasn't carried out), women transported for stealing a little property, a "sodomite" murdered by the mob while standing in the pillory, men of 75 marrying girls of 17, deserters flogged and shot, wives sold (and sold back for a greater price the next week), marriages, multiple births (including conjoined twins), deaths tragic and comic, cricket matches, riots, starvation, acts of kindness and honesty, smuggling and farms for sale.

I ran across the site quite by accident while I was looking for something else.