John Boardman

My family on my dad’s side have been in Middleton for generations and are likely to have come down with Sam Bamford from Middleton, though I have no proof. However my grandma who was a Fitton was related by marriage to Sam’s family, so would have known him and were of a similar radical bent.  My grandma was a suffragette and one of the first women to work for the Post Office in Manchester.  

But we also know for certain that my wife Julie’s 4x great grandfather was Thomas Tuke the painter who painted Henry Hunt while he was up in Manchester at Smedley Cottage – we got a surprise when he was in the film – we had known he was a painter but did not know till we saw the film that he was part of the Peterloo story!  My family were either weavers from North Manchester or the Northern Quarter – they used to run the Bay Horse on Thomas Street in Manchester. The Clarkes who married the Tukes came over from Ireland in the Potato famine and ended up in a cellar on Edge Street near Common, the next street to my mum’s family, selling oysters and beer.  Did they know each other? Julie’s family were also in Eyam at the height of the plague – but that’s another story …..

Bay Horse pub on Edge Street (NQ), which my grandmas family ran.

Building on Green Street (NQ) where my Grandad’s family made cheap pianos.