Manchester City Centre Accommodation

The struggles against oppression: sculpture at The People's History Museum, The Pump House

A fabulous collection of posters and banners at the People's History Museum, The Pump House.

60-62 Nelson Street, Manchester: the birthplace of the Women's Social and Political Union

In case you thought the slogan was new: discover the history of anti-war movements at the People's

Womens History Labour Pankhurst Suffrage St Peter's Fields Manchester Peterloo Massacre England UK

If you haven't yet discovered the fascinating radical history of Manchester, then there's lots of places to find out more. The People's History museum is a good place to start, moving onto the birthplace of the Women's Social and Political Union at the Pankhurst Centre. If you fancy exploring the many archives on labour history and Manchester's radical past - and present - why not take time to visit the Working Class Movement Library in Salford, or the People's History Museum archive location on Princess Street. Find Manchester Hotels Find Manchester Accommodation Back to Greater Manchester Tourist Information

St Peter's Fields in Manchester, 1819 - The Peterloo Massacre

For those interested in working class politics and women's suffrage, Manchester and it's rich labour and women's history is where to start. If the date the 16th August, 1819 isn't ringing any historical bells - then lets start here with the horrendous attack on a crowd of 50,000 gathering in St Peter's Fields for a mass meeting of radical reformers.

This peaceful protest, against increasing unemployment with the introduction of new machinery and only the aristocracy with power and representation in parliament, was stormed by the Manchester Yeomanry Cavalry, inexperienced, young and apparently drunk soldiers. They hacked they're way through the crowd of men, women and children with sabres, resulting in 11 deaths, 2 or whom were women, and hundreds of injuries. See the Peterloo display in the People's History Museum where you can hear the stories of some of the demonstrators who were there.

Boggart Hall Clough, Rochdale Road, Blackley - Manchester has many parks, but Boggart Hall Clough is most famous for it's associations with Manchester's radical history. At the end of the 19th century The Independent Labour Party met here every Sunday. The parks committee tried to ban them, but they ignored this. ILP speakers were fined and prosecuted, but still they came as meetings got bigger and bigger. Emmeline Pankhurst was one of these speakers through 1896.

The Pankhurst Centre, Manchester

The Free Trade Hall now still stands on the site of the Peterloo Massacre. Here on 13 October 1905 Christabel Pankhurst and Annie Kenney, armed with a banner painted with 'Votes for Women' shouted their question to the Liberals in their meeting - 'Will the Liberal Government give women the vote?' The incident concluded with Christabel and Annie being thrown out, Christabel spitting on a policeman and both of them spending that night in prison.

It was before this pivotal incident however that in October 1903, Emmeline Pankhurst, her daughters Christabel, Sylvia and Adela, Pattie Hall and a small number of other women founded the women only Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) actually in the house which is now a museum and women's centre on Nelson Street. The centenary of the founding of the WSPU is coming up this October, and numerous events are taking place in Manchester over the 4-12th October 2003. Check with the Pankhurst Centre for details.

Recent research has reflected on the roots of the Women's Social and Political Union, and how it evolved out of the Independent Labour Party as part of the drive of organising both middle and working class women for women's rights and suffrage.

The Pankhurst Centre - 60-62 Nelson Street, Manchester, tel: 0161 273 5673

Pankhurst Centre bookshop

In the excellent Pankhurst Centre bookshop you'll find ample literature on the Pankhursts, plus suffrage postcards and ephemera. Here's a few suggestions to get you started in exploring this extraordinary family. They're achievements were indeed great and indeed diverse as with further exploration you'll discover that Sylvia Pankhurst's politics became firmly aligned with the working class in East London, whilst Emmeline and Christabel increasingly became more conservative. Martin Pugh's book also has much unexplored insight into the life and politics of the much forgotten Adela Pankhurst.

Paula Bartley - 'Emmeline Pankhurst. (2002). Routledge, Martin Pugh - 'The Pankhursts' (2000). Penguin, Jill Liddington & Jill Norris - 'One Hand Tied Behind Us' (1978) Virago.

Barbara Winslow - 'Sylvia Pankhurst' (1996). UCL. Sheila Rowbotham - 'Hidden from History' (1973). Pluto Press. Doris Chew - 'Ada Nield Chew. The Life and Writings of a Working Woman' (1982). Virago

Hannah Mitchell. 'The Hard Way Up' (first published 1968, by Faber & Faber/reprint Virago 1977)

The People's History Museum, Manchester

The People's History Museum - Bridge Street, Manchester M3 3ER. Tel: 0161 228 7212 social history brought to life in this museum of working people. Here you'll find a true celebration of people's everyday lives - people like Hannah Mitchell, suffragette and socialist and Alice Partington a mill worker present at the Peterloo Massacre. The museum is located in a former Edwardian pumping house on Bridge Street, off Deansgate, Manchester. Numerous banners are on show, and lots of opportunity to interact in the 1930s Co-op counter. Self guided visits are FREE! Visit the website for a complete picture of forthcoming events, including living history performances by actors. www.phm.org.uk

The museum's bookshop offers a fabulous labour history and ephemera selection, including posters and postcards relating to labour history. The aptly named Clarion Cafe is also on-site. Links of interest for working class history in Manchester and beyond:-

The Working Class Movement Library, Jubilee House, Salford Crescent, Salford www.wcml.org.uk

John Rylands Library, Manchester http://rylibweb.man.ac.uk www.manchester.gov.uk/libraries/central - Manchester Central Library (Hannah Mitchell's papers are here!)

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