New Peterloo Exhibition!

Hugh Hornby Birley, copyright People's History Museum. 

On Tuesday we were very privileged to have a sneak preview of the People's History Museum's new Peterloo exhibition, Disrupt? Peterloo and Protest, which opens tomorrow and runs until 23rd February 2020.


The Museum has acquired some wonderful new Peterloo artefacts for the exhibition, including a portrait of mill-owner Hugh Hornby Birley. Birley was the captain of the Manchester and Salford Yeomanry Cavalry, and long infamous in the city for his role in the massacre.

Mrs's Mabbott's gown, copyright Manchester Art Gallery/Bridgeman Images. 

The 'middling classes' are represented by Mrs Mabbott's silk gown. The Mabbott family had a confectioner's and tea dealership on Bridge Street, and it's said that Mrs Mabbott was accidentally caught up in the day's violence. The gown is made from fawn corded silk, and has a white linen-lined bodice.

Peterloo Glass, copyright People's History Museum. 

Another very rare and fragile artefact is the 'Peterloo glass', which shows the massacre taking place.

Skelmanthorp flag. Copyright Nigel Wilkes.

I was very intrigued by the Skelmanthorpe flag, on loan from the Tolson Museum. This poignant banner would have been a very dangerous object to its owners. They would have kept it well hidden from the authorities in case they were arrested for sedition.

The exhibition also has a 'Protest Lab' space, where activists and campaigners can display their own items or souvenirs of protests or marches they have been involved in.

Do please visit the exhibition if you can. There are also more galleries upstairs with displays on the history of the fight for our democracy, including pioneers like Thomas Paine, Mary Wollstonecraft, and the Chartists.

A big thank you to Clare Short, Sam Jenkins, Kloe Rumsey, and everyone who made us welcome!

Photo: The author with collections officer Sam Jenkins, and conservator officer Kloe Rumsey. Copyright Nigel Wilkes. 

Finally, you can also visit the new Peterloo 1819 website for updates on more upcoming bicentenary events in Manchester. For example, the John Rylands Library, Manchester Art Gallery, the Manchester Histories Festival, and the Working Class Movement Library are all taking part in the Peterloo commemorations.

The Manchester Man

The Manchester Histories Festival is nearly upon us, and if you want a gripping read about the city’s past, see if you can track down a copy of ‘The Manchester Man' by Mrs G Linnaeus Banks. The book covers the time of the Napoleonic Wars, one of the most turbulent times in Manchester’s past, including the Peterloo Massacre. The hero of the story is Jabez Clegg, a foundling rescued from the waters of the River Irk. Jabez is lucky enough to get a place as a Blue-Coat boy at Chetham’s Hospital, then as an apprentice in a cotton mill. His career is contrasted with that of Laurence Aspinall, the cruel son of a wealthy merchant. Aspinall, who joins the Manchester and Salford Yeomanry Cavalry, is Clegg’s rival for the hand of Augusta, daughter of the charity boy’s master. Blood is spilt during a fateful meeting at Peterloo…
There is so much incident in the book, I’m surprised it has never been adapted for TV (at least I don’t think it has), but its high moral tone and relentless body count for little children may be too much for modern audiences to stomach.
But do get hold of a copy if you can; Mrs Banks knew the city and its history inside out.

Image: Chetham’s Hospital, Manchester, Pictorial History of Manchester, 1844.

The Victorians

I finally managed to see Jeremy Paxman’s The Victorians on BBC1 last night, which discussed Britain’s industrial achievements, of which the crowning pinnacle was the Great Exhibition of 1851 . Mr Paxman also looked at the human cost of Britain’s imperial and military conquests. I was pleased he took time to look at Victorian life from the viewpoint of the lower classes as well as that of self-made men such as William Armstrong of Cragside in Northumberland.
And of course, you can discover more about life for workers in places like Manchester, Liverpool and Barrow during late Georgian and Victorian times in my book Narrow Windows, Narrow Lives.

Image: The Great Exhibition of 1851; the Crystal Palace was revolutionary in its use of glass and cast iron for building materials. Engraving by Joseph Swain, Old and New London, Vol. 5, (Edward Walford, c.1894.)

Peterloo memorial

As we approach the Manchester Histories Festival , there’s some very interesting news that a work of art is planned to commemorate the Peterloo victims. This year is the 190th anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre. On 16 August 1819, the Manchester authorities used cavalry to disperse a peaceful crowd of reformers. In the ensuing mayhem, at least 15 people were killed and hundreds injured. (The exact figure has never been ascertained because many of the injured were too scared they’d be arrested if they sought treatment.) In days gone by, Manchester’s civic representatives have tried to draw a polite veil over this blot on the city’s history; it’s good to hear the Peterloo victims may receive some kind of justice at last.

Image of Peterloo Massacre by Cruikshank from Wikipedia.

Manchester Histories Festival

I've just heard news of an exciting one-day event to celebrate Manchester's amazing industrial past. The Manchester Histories Festival will explore many different facets of the city's story, from the cotton industry to politics. There's going to be an exhibition in the Town Hall, including a display on Manchester workers, its scientific community, and its buildings. And of course, you can find out more about the story of Lancashire's industrial past and in particular, workers in towns like Manchester and Liverpool, in my book Narrow Windows, Narrow Lives.

Image: The Portico Library, Manchester. © Sue Wilkes. The library first opened in 1806; it was designed by Thomas Harrison. It was a subscription library - beyond the budget of many ordinary workers.