Though an occasional feature of society and politics prior to the late-seventeenth century, it is only after the Restoration that news became a more permanent aspect of British culture. Through the 1660s to the early 1700s, regular news emerged and developed, consumed enthusiastically by an increasingly-politicised public. Historians of the era and genre have looked to this period to explain how the news press developed its modern characteristics – its periodicity and claim to authenticity; its structure and style. In so doing, the focus of their attentions have overwhelmingly looked to the emergence and development of the print periodical, and its effect on society. The examination of periodical news across the later seventeenth century has taken on a Whiggish perception of print news development, largely neglecting the significance of more ‘traditional’ news forms. Older forms of news dissemination, such as scribal, pamphletary, and oral news, in fact offer an earlier representation of the characteristics that have been attributed to print – and often to a greater extent than their contemporary printed counterpart. Whether it is in terms of accepted accuracy of content, extent of coverage, or contemporaneity, these older forms of news provide a level of stability and modernity that can only rarely be seen in the print papers of the day. As such, their contribution to the development of news is deserving of further consideration. Using a case-study approach to examine specific time-frames and current events within the chosen period, this thesis considers the impact of news on politics and society, and how the ‘traditional’ forms of news, particularly manuscript, offer a comparatively more ‘modern’ approach to the provision of news information across the later-seventeenth century.