BBC Radio 4 Peterloo: The Massacre That Changed Britain

Episode 1. The Build Up - 11am Friday 2 August Rpt Sunday 4 Aug 22.30
Episode 2. The Aftermath - 11am Friday 9 August Rpt Sunday 11 August 22.30

Guardian Editor-in-Chief Katharine Viner charts the story of the infamous massacre - a devastating event 200 years ago in Manchester, which would have a huge impact on how Britain was run.

In the first of two programmes, Katharine meets descendants of people who were there that day. She examines the background and build-up and hears graphic accounts of the slaughter, death and injury. There are contributions from leading historians as well as dramatic reconstructions of real testimony from the time. Jennifer Reid sings.

In the second of two programmes, Katharine examines what happened in the immediate aftermath of Peterloo. She hears about those who lost their lives, the survivors, the press and public reaction and the attempts at a cover up. She also looks at the impact Peterloo had on British life and politics in subsequent years and decades – how the Government tightened controls on the people but how, gradually, things began to change and the franchise was extended. One of the direct outcomes of the massacre was the establishment of The Guardian newspaper - known then as the Manchester Guardian - just two years later.