Protest & Peterloo

Sat 18 May 2019 – Sat 2 Nov 2019

Free, no booking required.

In 1819 around 60,000 men, women and children from across the North West, marched peacefully into Manchester to call for parliamentary reforms to secure more rights for themselves. This ended in blood shed as the local magistrates sent in the cavalry to disperse the crowd. 700 people were injured and 18 were killed. This became known as The Peterloo Massacre.

To commemorate the 200th anniversary the museum will be displaying a range of objects from the collection with incredible stories linked to Peterloo, including the only surviving banner that was marched from Middleton by a group led by Sam Bamford. The exhibition will also include a project with the Rochdale Youth Parliament and the Children’s council and props from Mike Leigh’s new film ‘Peterloo’.

Watch out for exciting events and activities around the borough related to the exhibition.

Image courtesy of Peterloo.org