The Universe is a weekly newspaper for Roman Catholics in Great Britain and Ireland, published in Berliner format by the Universe Media Group from its offices based at the Guardian Print Centre, Trafford Park in Manchester, England.
Founded in 1860, Archibald Dunn was the first Editor and SVP member, Denis Lane, the printer. The first copies of The Universe were published on Saturday, December 8, 1860 – at a cover price of one penny – from 43 Lamb’s Conduit Street, London WC. The front page announced that “a cheap Catholic newspaper is required – if only to stay the circulation of anti-Catholic weekly newspapers among Catholic families resident in London”.
By selling the paper for just one penny a copy, The Universe said it hoped to be a weekly paper “within the reach of all classes”. The Tablet, by comparison, cost 6d.
By 1910, The Universe was giving news from all over the country, not just from London, and had started to produce photographs, mainly portraits of people mentioned in stories. It had by then also changed its address to 1 Racquet Court, Fleet Street, London EC.\
In the early 1920, the Catholic historian Hilaire Belloc published in "The Universe" a long series of articles sharply criticizing H. G. Wells' historical textbook, The Outline of History. In Belloc's view, Wells' book included "a number of biased statements, intolerant statements and false assumptions" about Christianity in general and the Catholic Church in particular.
Wells responded to Belloc’s articles with a series of six of his own, and offered "The Universe" (and other Catholic magazines) the use of them for no payment - which was declined. Wells responded to the refusal in a letter to the Universe:
A month later, the editor of the Universe offered Wells the opportunity of correcting definite points of fact upon which he might have been misrepresented. The editor added the stipulation that Wells would not be allowed to defend his views or examine Belloc's logic. Rather then accept these restrictions, Wells edited his articles and assembled them into a single volume, his Mr. Belloc Objects to "The Outline of History".