Eyewitness Accounts

Place: Manchester
Role: Spectator
Occupation: Calico Printer

To commemorate the 200 year anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre the Peterloo 2019 Ambassadors have worked in partnership with Professor Robert Poole (University of Central Lancashire), author of Peterloo: the English Uprising and the Age of Revolution at University of Kent to compile the 400+ eyewitness accounts which include press reports and petitions.

This is the first time the original accounts have been compiled into an online archive. You can now use the website to search by name, place and role and learn more about the eyewitness accounts from 1819.

James Jacques Eyewitness Account

Brother-in-law to Mr Buxton watched events from Mr Buxton’s house. Testifies that the ground was clear when he arrived, but littered with sticks and stones after the crowd had dispersed. Heard Nadin refuse to deliver the warrant without assistance, and agreed that it would be impossible to do so.