Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 28 Aug 19 - 12:45 PM

Sounds like one of John's :-)

I always liked his tales ending with a fairish height and peer gynt suite :-D

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: GUEST,Ray
Date: 27 Aug 19 - 12:18 PM

John Howarth always used to refer to Harvey as a “derelict” poet and, when he was awarded his MBE, he said that he would have preferred a Royal Enfield but, thinking about it, he was too old to start keeping chickens.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: GUEST,Starship
Date: 27 Aug 19 - 12:04 PM

Some history of the poem by Kershaw. http://www.oldhamtinkers.com/peterloo.html

Subject: With Henry Hunt We’ll Go (ref Peterloo)
From: GUEST,Bradfordian
Date: 27 Aug 19 - 11:40 AM

With Henry Hunt We’ll Go by Mary Humphries & Anahata
Recent recording

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 06 Mar 19 - 02:03 PM

Our mortgage was once with the Middleton building society. Their offices were right near the Boars Head. The only time I enjoyed doing mortgage stuff as we always called in the pub :-D

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 06 Mar 19 - 11:13 AM

In today's episode (Wednesday) of 'Pubs that Built Britain', the Hairy Bikers visited Middleton and the Old Boar's Head, which claims the title of the oldest original public house in England.

Sam Bamford often frequented the Boar’s Head where he held meetings and recitations of his poems in local dialect. In his book ‘Early Days’ (1849) he writes of his father Daniel fighting at the Boar’s Head in the ‘Thrashing Room’ (Barn). The fight lasted two hours and ended with Daniel’s powerful opponent being carried away by his supporters.

And Jennifer Reid sang Peterloo; words by Harvey Kershaw, set to music by John Howarth.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 16 Feb 19 - 05:31 AM

Out of interest and pure coincidence I am re-reading "Night Watch" by Terry Pratchett. The plot involves armed soldiers killing unarmed civilians during a protest. I didn't notice the similarities last time.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 16 Feb 19 - 05:20 AM

I was not thinking of going, Ray, but I'll ask the boss :-)

Talking of who, I have forwarded that link on to the Mrs, Henry. Thanks.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 16 Feb 19 - 05:10 AM

Peterloo Descendants

"We know that in a number of towns Veterans of Peterloo met in the years after the massacre, but records from the time itself are limited in their nature and in what they reveal. So we are also fascinated to hear from anyone who believes they have a family link to Peterloo.”

Karen Shannon, Chief Executive of Manchester Histories, says, “Our approach to the 200th anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre is to connect and explore the threads of what happened then to the issues and world of today. Peterloo Descendants seems a fitting way to reflect upon the journey of democratic reform and the point that we are at 200 years later.”

If you think that your family had a presence in the events that unfolded on 16 August 1819 and would like to find out more about Peterloo Descendants and how you might get involved or follow the progress, please email Janine Hague (Project Manager for Peterloo 2019) with the details that you have available at [e-mail].

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: GUEST,Ray
Date: 15 Feb 19 - 11:02 AM

Dave, you’re welcome. Are you going to the Stockport Library talk on 28/6? There were 31 (free) tickets left yesterday PM.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 15 Feb 19 - 05:41 AM

Sorry, yes, it should have been John. And reinvesting should have been re-investigating. I blame poverty and old age :-)

Thanks for the info.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: GUEST,Dave
Date: 15 Feb 19 - 05:29 AM

D'you mean John?

As you probably know, there were at least 7 lists of casualties and the bulk of the info comes from the Appendix to the "Manchester Central Committee Appointed for the Relief of Sufferers Report" published in 1820.

You'll find a summary of every report on a person by person basis in "The Casualties of Peterloo" by Michael L Bush (Prof.) Carnegie 2005.

Any large bookshop should have a copy for you to sneak a peek at should you not wish to invest. My copy cost me 15 quid several years ago.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 14 Feb 19 - 02:18 PM

Ray, we found the same details about Thomas but on reinvesting we cannot find James. Where did you get the info?

Oh, and 100 :-)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 14 Feb 19 - 11:34 AM

People's History Museum; Peggy Seeger in conversation with Maxine Peake, Sat 23 March

PHM is delighted to welcome two very special guests for an event to celebrate the opening of our exhibition Disrupt? Peterloo and Protest. Join American folk singer Peggy Seeger and Peterloo film lead actor Maxine Peake in conversation, as they chat about creative protest, the Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp, political songs and more, followed by questions from the audience.

Peggy will also be signing copies of her autobiography, First Time Ever: A Memoir, available to purchase at the event from the museum shop. Booking is required via Eventbrite, £20/£15 concessions (both plus booking fee) per person. The event is co-hosted by Greater Manchester & District Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and PHM.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 03 Feb 19 - 08:01 PM

Fri, 28 June 2019 19:00 – 21:00 BST
Stockport Local Heritage Library, Wellington Road South, Stockport SK1 3RS

Peterloo: From Stockport to Manchester by Margaret Myerscough
An illustrated talk by the expert on Peterloo, Dr Robert Poole, on Peterloo and Stockport's connection to it with new material on both Stockport and Manchester.

Thursday 14 February 2019, 5.30pm - 6.00pm
People's History Museum, Spinningfields, Manchester

Experience a Living History performance from PHM’s inspiring programme and discover the story of the Peterloo Massacre, a major event in Manchester’s history, and a defining moment for Britain’s democracy. Meet James, a naive businessman who wants to find out the truth about the Peterloo Massacre. Join him as he speaks to eye witnesses of the events at St Peter’s Field in 1819 to find out how and why this day went down in history.

Part of PHM’s year long programme exploring the past, present and future of protest, marking 200 years since the Peterloo Massacre; a major event in Manchester’s history, and a defining moment for Britain’s democracy.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: GUEST
Date: 03 Feb 19 - 07:26 AM

Aye - We saw that Ray but thanks anyway. We also figured out that Thomas had moved out of the Stockport address to be apprenticed to one of his uncles as a baker in Manchester. Mrs G is pretty good at things like that :-)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: GUEST,Ray
Date: 03 Feb 19 - 06:49 AM

Dave -

1) Thomas Goodwin was from 11 Pump Street, Manchester and was bruised and trampled on by the crowd for which he received 10/- in relief.

2) John Goodwin was from Carrington Fields, Stockport (aged 28 with one child). His right leg was hurt by being trampled on and he received a violent blow from the butt end of a musket by a foot soldier for which he received £1 in relief

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: GUEST
Date: 03 Feb 19 - 04:35 AM

The high point of Bamford's involvement and influence in radical politics was between 1816 and 1821. The remainder of his long life — after his quarrels with fellow radicals — is perhaps anticlimatic. About 1826 he became correspondent of a London morning newspaper, and having ceased to be a weaver by employment, he incurred some dislike or distrust on the part of his old fellow-workmen. His anti-Chartist attitudes and boundless egotism counted against him with many of his fellows. Yet he always pleaded their cause as opportunity served, even when, as a special constable during the Chartist agitation, he incurred the downright enmity of his own class.

Late in life he became increasingly cantankerous and jealous of his prestige as "the oldest living reformer" and as late as 1861 he believed government spies were keeping him under surveillance for his dangerous politics. By this time he had become one of "the prize platform bores of Lancashire political life", noting bitterly in his diary that someone else had been invited to give a lecture on parliamentary reform in Oldham Town Hall: I was certainly much hurt to see that a young man, a young Parliamentary reformer, should be preferred to give a lecture on that subject whilst an old veteran like myself, who must have large knowledge of the subject from experience, and was on the verge of distress from want of encouragement in the way of lecturing, should be passed by. (May 13th 1861) From http://gerald-massey.org.uk/bamford/

Thus he sung till he deed, an' his soul-stirrin' strains,
    Never failed to encourage an' bless;
For he loved to rejoice wi' thoose hearts 'at rejoiced,
    An' sorrow wi' thoose i' distress.
God bless him, an' iv ther's a spot up aboon,
    Wheer dwell th' noble-minded an' pure,
Wheer th' songsters are gathered to strike up a tune,
    Th' owd brid's perched amongst 'em we're sure!

By Samuel Laycock

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 02 Feb 19 - 02:57 AM

Just found out my wife's 4x great grandfather Thomas Goodwin and his brother John were both injured at Peterloo. Thomas's son James married a lass from Whitby which is odd because the family were all from Stockport and people didn't wander much in those days. I first heard the song at a Whitby folk festival. Life's full of little coincidences:-)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 01 Feb 19 - 11:47 PM

Manchester City News, 19th July, 1924 SAM BAMFORD Romance of a Man of Action

Then Peterloo occurred, with its cuts and bruises inflicted by the swords of the yeomanry. Bamford was present as leader of the Middleton contingent. That was enough for Nadin. The police banged on Bamford's door, which was opened when they said who they were and what they wanted. They entered the dark room, police and soldiers. The drawers were rummaged, his box was explored, and all his books and papers were tumbled into a shawl, to be carried away. Handcuffs were ordered and put on.

This is how Bamford describes the scene: The order was given to move; my wife burst into tears. I tried to console her: said I should soon be with her again. I ascended into the street, and shouted "Hunt and liberty." "Hunt and liberty" responded my brave little helpmate, whose spirit was now roused. One of the policemen, with a Pistol in his hand, swearing a deep oath, said he would blow out her brains if she shouted again." Blow away was the reply. "Hunt and liberty." "Hunt for ever."

The woman's brains remained in their proper place, the procession moved off, and Bamford the Reformist was on his way to gaol again.

This time he found himself a prisoner in Lincoln Castle, where he became came seriously ill. His wife was allowed to visit him, and a room was set apart for their joint accommodation. At the end of the agreed period she returned to Middleton, but as Bamford's health grew worse she returned to Lincoln Castle to nurse him back to health. Under her wifely treatment he soon recovered his wonted strength. When the term of his twelve months' imprisonment ended he was released, and once more recognisances of rood behaviour were entered into. Then it was the open street of a cathedral city, and after that the open country. They were a long way from home, means of travel were not plentiful; but Bamford and his wife were young and of a cheerful spirit. They started to walk home. From http://gerald-massey.org.uk/bamford/

Lines, Addressed To My Wife From The King's Bench Prison, May 15, 1820 by Samuel Bamford

I never will forget thee, love!
Though in a prison far I be;
I never will forget thee, love!
And thou wilt still remember me!

I never will forget thee, love!
When wakes on me the morning light;
And thou shalt ever present be,
When cometh down the cloud of night!

I never will forget thee, love!
When summer sheds her golden ray;
And thou shall be my comforter
Amid the winter's cheerless day!

Oh! They may bind but cannot break,
This heart, so full of thine and thee;
Which liveth only for YOUR sake,
And the high cause of LIBERTY!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: Brian Peters
Date: 01 Feb 19 - 08:02 PM

I've been rehearsing with Pete Coe today for our 'Road to Peterloo' show. As Jim says, there's a wealth of contemporaneous songs and verses about the event, many of which can be found in Alison Morgan's book published last year, 'Ballads and Songs of Peterloo', which has been a very important source for us.

One of the songs was written by a John Stafford, an eyewitness to the massacre, and is full of vivid detail of the events. There are some really biting satirical pieces as well, describing the bravery of the yeomanry in slaughtering unarmed men, women and children, etc.

I'd also recommend Michael Bush's 'The Casualties of Peterloo', if you want some distressing tales of what happened to actual people, as opposed to just an amorphous crowd.

Incidentally, I have the impression that Sam Bamford didn't just decide that violent confrontation was pointless - he took on a new 'respectable' personage, becoming a constable and to some extent rewriting history to downplay his own role as a radical.

Subject: Lyr Add: SHURAT WEAVER'S SONG (Samuel Laycock)
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 31 Jan 19 - 03:36 AM

"Two Cocks on the Dunghill "
Thanks for that Henry - will look it out
Bamford was, of course, a poet hose verses recorded some of the events of the time
SAMUEL BAMFORD'S POEMS
For me the dialect sometimes jars, but they are I believe an import additions to our social history

This is IMO a remarkable commentary on the effect the American Civil War was having on the lives of the Lancashire cotton weavers - it says more about the subject in a few verses as a whole chapter could
Another example of a working man as a song-maker
'Shurat' was the rough, inferior cotton imported from Surat, in India, that tore the weaver's fingers to shreds as they handled it.
Jim Carroll


TH’ SHURAT WEAVER’S SONG. Tune Rory O'More.
BY SAMUEL LAYCOCK,

Confound it! aw ne’er wur woven afore;
Mi back's wolny bracken. mi fingers are sore;
Aw’vo bin starin' an' rootin. among this Shurat,
Till awm very near gotten as hloint as a bat.

Every toimo aw go in wi' mi cuts to owd Joe,
He gi’es me a cursin', an' bates mo an' o’;
Aw've ft warp I’ one loom wi' boath selvedges marr'd,
An't' other's as bad, for he's dressed it to’ hard.

Aw wish aw wur for enough oft', eawl o’ th’ road.
For o' weavrin’ this rubbitch awm getten reet stowd ;
Aw've nowt i' this world to lie deawn on but straw,
For aw've only eight shillin' this fortni't to draw.

Neaw aw Imven't mi family under mi hat,
Aw've a woife au' six ehilder to keep eawt o’ that;
So awm rayther among it, at present, yo see,
If over a fellow wur puzzlcd, it's me !

lv one turns eawt to steal, folk' ’II co' me a thief.
An' aw conno' put th' cheek on to ax for relief;
As aw said i’ owar heawse t’ othor neot to mi woife,
Aw never did nowt o' this soart f mi loifo.

One doe’n’t loike everyone t'know heaw they are,
But we'n suffered so long thro’ this 'Merica war,
'At there’s lots o' factory folk gotten t' fur end,
An* they'll soon be knocked o’er iv these toimes doesn't mendf

Oh dear! iv yond Yankees could only just see
Hoaw they're clammitt’ au' starvin' poor weavers, loike me,
Aw think they'd soon settle their bother, an’ strive
To send us some cotton, to keep us alive.

There’s theawsands o' folk just i' th’ best o' their days,
Wi' traces o' want plainly wen i‘ their face ;
An’ a future afore 'em as dreary an’ dark.
For when th' cotton gets done we shall o' be beawt wark.

We'n bin patient an' quiet as long as we con,
Th' bits o' thiings we had by us are welly o' gone ;
Aw'vo bin trampin' so long mi owd shoon are worn eawt,
Au' mi halliday clooas aro o' on 'em " up th’ spoawt.”

It wur nobbut th' last Monday aw sowd a good bed,—
Nay very near gan it.—to gel us some bread ;
Afore thaw boil toimes cum aw used to be fat,
But neaw, bless yo're life. awm as thin as a lat !

Mony a toime i’ mi loife aw’vo seen things lookin' feaw,
But never as awkard as what they are neaw ;
Iv there isn't some help for us factory folk soon,
Awm sure we shall all be knock'd reet eawt o’ tune.

Come, give us a lift, yo' ’at han owt to give.
An' help yo're poor brothers on’ sisters to live;
Be kind, an* be tender to th' needy an poor.
An’ we'll promise when the toimes ineud we'll ax yo' no moor.

The Shurat Weaver’s Song beautifully, if tragically, describes the infamous Lancashire Cotton Famine of the 1860’s, and its impact on workers and their families. A cry for support in hard times, it speaks of poverty and solidarity within the wider context of a globalised textile trade, war and the cotton industry’s relationship with slavery.

The poem was written in the depths of the American Civil War (1861-1865). At that time Lancashire’s cotton mills were reliant on cotton from the plantations in the American South. The war, and in particular a blockade of the export of cotton by the Union in the North of America - “The Yankees” led by Abraham Lincoln, badly affected the supplies of raw cotton into Lancashire. Many mills attempted to maintain production by importing a replacement cotton from Surat in India. This “shorter” cotton proved unsuitable for the existing machines and conditions in Lancashire Mills. “ It was a nightmare - well nigh impossible to weave as it kept breaking”.

Although in this poem the protagonist asks for the Yankees to end the blockade, in reality despite the mass unemployment endured by communities during the “famine”, many of the Lancashire mill workers came out in solidarity to the Union in the North of America. The Confederates in the south believed that international pressure from countries reliant on their cotton would break the blockade - that economics would prevail and “Cotton is King”. However, this strategy backfired. In 1862 citizens of Manchester famously wrote a letter of support to Abraham Lincoln, “to fight the Confederates, abolish slavery and continue the blockade.”

Samuel Laycock (1826-1893), originally from Marsden, Yorkshire moved to Stalybridge where he worked as a cotton weaver and cloth looker and following the famine as a librarian. His piece maybe inspired by William Billington’s earlier poem “Th’ Surat Weaver’s Song”. Lancastrian Billington also worked in the cotton industry as a doffer and weaver.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 30 Jan 19 - 06:55 PM

Samuel Bamford (28 February 1788 – 13 April 1872), was an English radical and writer, who was born in Middleton, Lancashire.

Bamford was one of five children born to Daniel Bamford, a muslin weaver and part-time teacher, and his wife, Hannah. After his father withdrew him from Manchester Grammar School, Bamford became a weaver, and then a warehouseman in Manchester. In 1817 he was imprisoned in the New Bailey Prison in Salford on suspicion of high treason, on account of his political activities. From there he was taken to London and examined before the Privy Council presided over by Lord Sidmouth as Home Secretary. After promising to be of future good behaviour, he was released and was then able to return to live in his cottage at Middleton with his wife Jemima.

In August 1819, Bamford led a group from Middleton to St Peter's Fields, to attend a meeting pressing for parliamentary reform and the repeal of the Corn Laws. There they witnessed the Peterloo Massacre, and Bamford was arrested and charged with treason. Although the evidence showed that neither he nor any of his group had been involved in the violence, he was found guilty of inciting a riot and sentenced to a year in Lincoln gaol. The experience of the massacre made a deep impression on Bamford, convincing him that state power would always succeed against radical militancy. He came to be seen as a voice for radical reform, but opposed to any activism that involved physical force. From Wikipedia.

Bamford's walk is repeated every year;

To mark the anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre you are invited to join in a commemorative walk from Middleton following the route of Middleton's own Sam Bamford from Barrowfields to St Peter's Field in Manchester as he and 6,000 followers did on 16th August 1819.

We will walk via the old cemetery (with a brief pause at Sam Bamford's grave and monument) before following the route he described in detail in his autobiography 'Passages In The Life Of A Radical' to join other marchers as we approach Manchester, culminating in a solemn commemoration in Albert Square at 1pm.

Meet at 8.45am for a prompt start at 9am from the Blue Plaque marking the original assembly point in Barrowfields by St. Leonards Church. The walk is led by Martin Gittins.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 30 Jan 19 - 06:09 PM

Here's another revealing book about Henry Hunt;

Two Cocks on the Dunghill - William Cobbett and Henry Hunt: Their friendship, feuds and fights by Penny Young; paperback, published by Twopenny Press 2009.

"Two giants dominated English popular politics a couple of centuries ago - William Cobbett and Henry Hunt. Each had a great personality, a colossal ego and a profound sense of self-righteousness. They were allies and rivals."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 30 Jan 19 - 02:56 PM

I did some work for a committee which wa set up to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Peterloo just before I moved down to London - one of the songs I found is above (twice for some reason)
While I was researching I was staggered at the number of songs being written at the time of the events - Manchester Central Library had aa large collection of Chartist Newspapers on Microfilm and many of them had regular columns of songs sent in by the workers
I've come to the conclusion that those songs alongside those in Terry Moylan's massive 'Indignant Muse', the local songs we recorded in Clare and the Traveller-made ones are a strong indication that working people, far from being 'too busy earning a living', were instinctive poets and song makers who found it necessary to capture their experiences in verse, which makes their compositions and important addition to our history and self-knowldge
They weren't by any means 'deathless verse', but many of them carried information that would have otherwise have been lost

I must say that I was more than a little stunned by Mike Leigh's depiction of Henry Hunt as a pig-headed self promoter and his brutal treatment of Sam Bamford - must read Joyce Marlowe's book again
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: GUEST,Ray
Date: 30 Jan 19 - 12:33 PM

Henry Hunt allegedly spent the night at the Red Lion (long since demolished) in Hazel Grove on the way to the Peterloo hustings - maybe my GGGGrandfather met him there?

They had a folk club there at one time. I remember playing it back in the 70s.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 30 Jan 19 - 10:15 AM

Fascinating stuff, Henry. Thank you.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 30 Jan 19 - 10:08 AM

Some comments on; THE YEOMAN’S SONG From: Jim Dixon Date: 09 Sep 18 - 08:28 AM

The Yeoman's Song takes the side of the authorities desperately resisting the demands of the radicals and the masses for political change.

The Manchester and Salford Yeomanry cavalry was a short-lived yeomanry regiment formed in response to social unrest in northern England in 1817. The volunteer regiment became notorious for its involvement in the 1819 Peterloo Massacre. On 16 August 1819, Major Trafford and Lieutenant Colonel Guy L'Estrange, the overall military commander in Manchester, were sent notes by the chairman of the Lancashire and Cheshire Magistrates, local coalowner William Hulton, urging them to dispatch troops to a public meeting on voting reform being addressed by the orator Henry Hunt. "Sir, as chairman of the select committee of magistrates, I request you to proceed immediately to no. 6 Mount Street, where the magistrates are assembled. They consider the Civil Power wholly inadequate to preserve the peace. I have the honour, & c. Wm. Hulton."

The notes were handed to two horsemen standing by. The Manchester and Salford Yeomanry were stationed just a short distance away in Portland Street, and so received their note first. Trafford dispatched 116 officers and men of the Manchester and Salford Yeomanry who immediately drew their swords and galloped towards St Peter's Field. One trooper, in a frantic attempt to catch up, knocked down a woman in Cooper Street, causing the death of her child when he was thrown from her arms; two-year-old William Fildes was the first casualty of Peterloo. From Wikipedia

Verse 4. Shall Cobler Preston[1] mend our cause
Or Watson[2] purge the nation?
Shall Brewer Hunt[3] pollute the laws
With noxious fermentation?

1. [Preston] Probably the author of this book. I have failed to find a concise article about him.
Thomas Preston (1774–1850) was born in London. Preston was apprenticed first to a silversmith and then to a shoemaker. Following Pitt's repressive legislation after the outbreak of the French Revolution, Preston went to Chatham to avoid imprisonment.

As the secretary of the Spenceans, it was he who called the famous meeting at Spa Fields to petition the Prince Regent for relief. James Watson and Arthur Thistlewood played the leading role in organising this meeting. Preston organised support among the unemployed silk-weavers of Spitalfields. At the second Spa Fields meeting on 2 December 1816, Thistlewood, Preston, and Watson's son tried to start an armed rising and led a section of the crowd into the City, where they were soon dispersed. Preston was among those arrested and one of the four charged with high treason, but the acquittal of Watson after the unmasking of an agent provocateur, John Castle, led to the dropping of the charges against the rest.

Watson, Thistlewood, and Preston led a London group of ultra-radicals and revolutionaries. Late in 1819 they were the leaders of what became known as the Cato Street conspiracy to assassinate members of the government. Preston avoided prosecution when the attempt failed in February 1820. http://www.historyhome.co.uk/peel/marjie.htm

2. Probably James Watson
James Watson (21 September 1799 – 29 November 1874) was an English radical publisher, activist and Chartist. In February 1823 Watson was charged with selling a copy of Elihu Palmer's Principles of Nature to a police agent and was sent to Coldbath Fields Prison for a year. In 1832 Watson was arrested, but escaped imprisonment, for organising a procession and a feast on the day the government had ordained a "general fast" on account of the cholera epidemic. In June 1837 Watson was on the committee appointed to draw up the bills embodying the Chartist demands. From Wikipedia

3. Probably Henry Hunt
Henry Hunt ran a brewery at Jacob’s Wells in Bristol, the Clifton Genuine Beer Brewery, from at least 1807 to 1809. Hunt described his subsequent clash with the Excise over Wood’s colouring in his memoirs, written while he was in jail in 1820 for “sedition” after the events at St Peter’s Field. http://zythophile.co.uk/2018/11/22/the-porter-brewer-and-the-peterloo-massacre/

After his rousing speeches at the mass meetings held in Spa Fields in London in 1816, Henry Hunt became known as the "Orator", a nickname attributed to Robert Southey. In 1830 he became a Member of Parliament for Preston, defeating the future British Prime Minister Edward Smith-Stanley (14th Earl of Derby). Preston was unusual - and perhaps unique - at that time in giving the vote to all adult male residents. After his victory, Hunt and an estimated crowd of 16,000 people marched to Manchester and held a meeting at the site of the Peterloo Massacre. In 1832 he presented the first petition in support of women's suffrage to Parliament. From Wikipedia and Spartacus Educational

They were dangerous times! James Watson and Henry Hunt were both imprisoned for their radical activities. Remarkably, Thomas Preston appears to have escaped imprisonment, despite his role in armed uprisings.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 30 Jan 19 - 04:01 AM

I was, Jim. The one mentioned by Henry is the song and, yes Henry, it was that one :-)

Must brush up on the Harvey Kershaw/John Howarth one for airing over this year in particular.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 30 Jan 19 - 02:42 AM

Sorry - I thought Dave Was talking about th Micke Leigh film 'Peterloo'
Ji, Carroll

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 29 Jan 19 - 06:22 PM

From: Dave the Gnome Date: 29 Jan 19 - 12:42 PM
I have not seen the new film yet but I did see Janet Russell last night and she did that song!

I presume you mean St Peter's Fields by Jim Woodland.

I heard the Oldham Tinkers sing Peterloo on Friday night. The late Harvey Kershaw MBE of dialect poetry renown penned this for the Oldham Tinkers. John Howarth added the tune. First published by Topic 1971 Oldham’s Burning Sands TOPIC TSDL206 STEREO.

From the Oldham Tinkers website. An Introduction to The Oldham Tinkers (Topic) now available, together with five LPs digitally remastered on CD.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 29 Jan 19 - 01:29 PM

Digressing slightly, though same place (sometimes) but a little later, if you haven't seen 'Young Karl Marx' don't miss it
The scenes in Manchester are stunning and Engles, as the wealty son of a mill-owner, is brilliant
Best political film ever
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 29 Jan 19 - 01:22 PM

"I have not seen the new film "
Brilliant but let down by a somewhat stilted script
Well worth the trip
Found the solo singing, what there was of it, a little 'folkie'
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: GUEST,Ray
Date: 29 Jan 19 - 01:21 PM

Having read a great deal about the subject - my GGGGrandfather was one of the wounded - I have mixed feelings about the film. The story it told was fairly accurate, as far as it goes. It did however ignore both the events which took place during the evening following the masacre and the attendance of people from many areas surrounding Manchester.

I was also surprised at the lack of gore portrayed during the masacre itself; the amount of which certainly does not correspond with contemoraneous accounts.

I also found some of the filming rather amusing. E.G. There were reports of attendees having drilled on the moors prior to the event. Yes, this activity was portrayed, but the filming was clearly done on high level moors rather than the low level moors which surround the Manchester catchment area.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 29 Jan 19 - 12:42 PM

I have not seen the new film yet but I did see Janet Russell last night and she did that song!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 22 Oct 18 - 04:13 AM

I did mention William Hulton way up the thread. A thoroughly nasty piece of work whose career was ended by his actions that day. He also caused the deaths of 340 boys and men in the Pretoria Pit disaster by refusing to invest in new safety lamps when he owned the mine. As a magistrate, he also sentenced a 12-year-old boy to death. As the article says, he was going for 100% evil!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 21 Oct 18 - 03:48 PM

BBC News 21 October 2018 by Paul Burnell
Peterloo: The man who ordered a massacre

In 1819, a troop of sabre-wielding cavalrymen charged into a huge workers' rights protest in Manchester. The carnage that followed is the subject of a new film starring Maxine Peake. But who was the man who ordered the Peterloo Massacre?

Peterloo

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 19 Oct 18 - 08:45 AM

Visit the national museum of democracy, the People's History Museum in Manchester, and discover the Peterloo Massacre of 1819, where the museum’s story starts. This major event in Manchester’s history and a defining moment in Britain’s democracy is explored in a new blockbuster film by renowned director Mike Leigh – research for which was done using PHM’s collections.

Peterloo – in cinemas Friday 2 November

PHM is marking the bicentenary of Peterloo through a programme of events and exhibitions that will explore the changing face of protest: past, present and future. Commemorations have begun with a collaboration with internationally acclaimed artist Axel Void creating a stunning piece of street art on the museum’s riverside wall in tribute to Peterloo and its continuing relevance today.

PHM are excited to be in partnership with Workers’ Educational Association to offer some fascinating new courses. Explore The Masque of Anarchy, a poem written in response to Peterloo by Percy Bysshe Shelley, with the famous lines ‘Rise Like Lions!’ and ‘We Are Many! They Are Few!’.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 17 Oct 18 - 02:23 PM

Reviewed this week;
Peterloo - The story of the Manchester Massacre
By Jacqueline Riding, the former Palace of Westminster curator who served as a historical adviser on Mike Leigh's film.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE YEOMAN'S SONG (from Bodleian)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 09 Sep 18 - 08:28 AM

The Bodleian Library classifies this song as having the Peterloo Massacre as one of its themes, although the reference is rather obscure: Johnson Ballads fol. 240a:

THE YEOMAN’S SONG.

1. When first I joined the patriot band,
And trimm'd my Yeoman's jacket,
A foreign foe defied the land,
And menac'd to attack it.

CHORUS. Then right and left, and threes about,
We'll boldly meet the danger,
Says I, “I’ll see this business out,
“As Volunteer or Ranger.”

2. By flood and field for many a day,
No welfare e’er was keener,
Till Bony fairly ran away,
To pout at St. Helena.

CHORUS: With right and left, and threes about,
We boldly met the danger,
Says I, “I’ve seen this business out,
“As Volunteer or Ranger.”

3. Once more I mount at duty's call,
(My horse in good condition,)
I will not see old England fall
A martyr to sedition.

CHORUS: Then right and left, and threes about,
We’ll boldly meet the danger,
Says I, “I’ll see this business out,
“As Volunteer or Ranger.”

4. Shall Cobler Preston^[1] mend our cause
Or Watson^[2] purge the nation?
Shall Brewer Hunt^[3] pollute the laws
With noxious fermentation?

CHORUS. No-right and left, and threes about,
We’ll boldly meet the danger,
“I vow to see this business out,
“As Volunteer or Ranger.”

5. I will not grudge my wife her tea,
In spite of all these wise men;
Good ale has still some charms for me,
“Tho' gauged by the excisemen.”

CHORUS. No—right and left, and threes about,
We'll cheerly meet the danger,
Says I, “I’ll see this business out,
“As Volunteer or Ranger.”

6. I’ll keep the way my father trod,
The way that I was born in,
My King, my Country, and my God
I’ll love for all their scorning.

CHORUS. Then right and left, and threes about,
We’ll boldly meet the danger,
Says I, “I’ll see this business out,
“As Volunteer or Ranger.”

Newcastle. Printed by Edw. Walker.

* * *

1. Probably the author of this book. I have failed to find a concise article about him.

2. Probably James Watson

3. Probably Henry Hunt

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 09 Sep 18 - 05:27 AM

I'm really looking forward to the new TV production. Maxine Peake is a great actor and if the trailer is anything to go by it should have some good music too.

Subject: Lyr Add: PETERLOO ("See! see! where Freedom's...")
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 09 Sep 18 - 02:45 AM

Found in Curiosities of Street Literature (London: Reeves and Turner, 1871) page 98:


PETERLOO

See! see! where Freedom's noblest champion stands,
Shout! shout! illustrious patriot band,
Here grateful millions their generous tribute bring,
And shouts for freedom make the welkin ring,
While fell corruption, and her hellish crew
The blood-stained trophies gained Peterloo.

Soon shall fair freedom’s sons their right regain,
Soon shall all Europe join the hallowed strain,
Of Liberty and Freedom, Equal Rights and Laws,
Heaven’s choicest blessing crown this glorious cause,
While meanly tyrants, crawling minions too,
Tremble at their feats performed on Peterloo.

Britons, be firm, assert your rights, be bold,
Perish like heroes, not like slaves be sold,
Firm and unite, bid millions be free,
Will to your children glorious liberty,
While cowards—despots long may keep in view,
And silent contemplate the deeds on Peterloo.


The Bodleian collection contains several broadside copies of this song. I have not compared them in detail:
2806 c.13(64)
Firth b.28(33e)
Firth c.16(18)
Firth c.16(20)
Harding B 11(621)
Harding B 16(203b)

Subject: Lyr Add: THE SONG OF SLAUGHTER (Samuel Bamford)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 06 Sep 18 - 10:04 AM

From Miscellaneous Poetry by Samuel Bamford “weaver of Middleton, Lancashire, lately imprisoned in the Castle of Lincoln” (T. Dolby, at the Britannia Press, 1821), page 82:


THE SONG OF SLAUGHTER
Words by Samuel Bamford; tune: “Sicilian Mariner’s Hymn.”

PART FIRST

Parent of the wide creation,
We would counsel ask of thee,
Look upon a mighty nation,
Rousing from its slavery.

If to men our wrongs are stated,
We are but the faster bound,
All our actions reprobated,
No redress for us is found.

Thou hast made us to inherit
Strength of body, daring mind;
Shall we rise, and in thy spirit,
Tear away the chains that bind?

Chains, but forged to degrade us,
O, the base indignity!
In the name of God, who made us,
We will perish, or be free.

PART SECOND.

Can we e'er forget our brothers,
Cold and gory as they lay?
Can we e'er forgive the others,
For their cruel treachery?

Ah, behold their sabres gleaming,
Never, never known to spare;
See the flood of slaughter streaming;
Hear the cries that rend the air.

Youth and valour naught availed,
Naught availed beauty's prayer,
Even the lisping infant failed
To arrest the ruin there.

Give the ruffians time to glory,
Theirs is but a waning day,
We have yet another story
For the page of history.

Lincoln Castle, July 13th, 1820.

[A version of this, with several misspellings and typos, appeared as a broadside. I suspect there are several other poems in the same book that could be turned into songs.]

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: GUEST,Ray
Date: 03 Sep 18 - 10:53 AM

You "that" old Brian!

Yes, I will, but we're decorating the hall stairs and landing at the moment. Life still goes on.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: Brian Peters
Date: 02 Sep 18 - 05:23 PM

Contact me via my website, Ray? BTW, I remember you from Poynton, never mind the Deanwater!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: GUEST,Ray
Date: 02 Sep 18 - 10:31 AM

We ought to have a chat about this sometime Brian. My GGGGrandfather was compensated to the tune of £5 for the sabre wounds he received to his head and hands. He was a calico printer and ould have staggered all the way back to Hazel Grove (or Bullock Smithy as it was still known then) with them.

Ray (from over the hill in Chapel) - (ex Deanwater days!)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: Brian Peters
Date: 01 Sep 18 - 07:49 AM

That Jim Woodland song is a good 'un too.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: Brian Peters
Date: 01 Sep 18 - 07:36 AM

And look out for 'The Road to Peterloo', a presentation of broadside ballads from the time (many of them newly discovered), featuring Pete Coe, Laura Smyth and Yours Truly, working on material right now and touring in 2019.

Road to Peterloo Facebook page.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: JHW
Date: 01 Sep 18 - 07:01 AM

Thanks for the reminder 'Jim Woodland's song, 'St.Peter's Fields' (sung by Janet Russell), is a modern, but very traditional-sounding song.'
Always intended to learn this by next year.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peterloo Massacre (Harvey Kershaw)
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 01 Sep 18 - 05:25 AM

From the Manchester Evening News;

The first trailer for Peterloo, which tells the story of one of the bloodiest days in the city’s history, has been released ahead of its premiere later this year.

The minute-long preview hints at the difficult conditions faced by Manchester’s spinners and weavers, which culminated in more than 60,000 people gathering in St Peter’s Field for a peaceful protest for reform, on August 16, 1819.

The workers can be heard chanting ‘liberty or death’ before the trailer abruptly ends ahead of the pivotal moment a cavalry charges into the crowd, killing 15 and injuring more than 800 people.

Salford born film maker Leigh has assembled a stellar cast for the film, his first since Oscar nominated Mr Turner biopic in 2014. It features Maxine Peake, as well as Rory Kinnear as radical speaker Henry Hunt, alongside a roster of Manchester born acting talent, including David Bamber, Nico Mirallegro and Pearce Quigley.

To be released on 2nd November