[1] The journal has a long history, having been established in 1849 in London;[2] it is now published by Oxford University Press.

The journal was originally subtitled "a medium of inter-communication for literary men, artists, antiquaries, genealogists, etc".

[2] It was founded as an academic correspondence magazine, in which scholars and interested amateurs could exchange knowledge on folklore, literature and history.

[4] Many of the entries in the journal for its first seventy years were only a few paragraphs long, and occasionally as short as a sentence or two.

Walter W. Skeat, one of the most important figures in the field of English etymology, and Eliza Gutch, a founding member of The Folklore Society.

These include a regular "Notes & Queries" feature in The Guardian newspaper, started in November 1989.