The Inquirer is the longest-lived non-conformist paper, first published on 9 July 1842. The publication was founded as a Unitarian Christian newspaper by Edward Hill, a rather shadowy figure who was probably not a Unitarian and hoped for commercial success. For many years, The Inquirer was published weekly. The cover price was 6d.

Curiously, The Inquirer was not the first paper to bear its name. Another Inquirer, published by a group of Quakers defending the literal truth of the Bible, first saw print on 1 January 1838, but had evidently failed by 1842. The choice of name for the very different, theologically free-thinking Unitarian paper is certainly ironic.

In almost two centuries, The Inquirer has had 20 editors, many of them also Unitarian ministers. The first, Rev. William Hincks, went on to become a Professor of Natural History at Cork and then Toronto. The position was held for the longest period, from 1855 to 1888, by Rev. Thomas Lethbridge Marshall. The first woman editor, between 1927 and 1932, was Laura Ackroyd. With the exception of Gavin Walker, a Quaker who edited the paper between 2003 and 2005, all of the editors have been Unitarians.