CASE STUDIES

Peterloo 2019 aimed to create a fitting commemoration as part of a once in a lifetime opportunity to mark this significant anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre.

The programme, special projects and engagement strategy were all designed to:

 Create a fitting, meaningful and high-profile response, that reflected the significance of the event 200 years ago

 Raise the profile of the Peterloo Massacre as a key historical event of local and national importance

 Get to the truth of the events - with research and a review of the archives to understand Peterloo today and by building learning tools that act as a legacy for future generations  Invoke the spirit of those who gathered in Peter’s

Field in 1819 and respect and honour those that lost their lives

 Challenge people to assess the health of democratic processes today

 Engage partners, residents, community groups and descendants in the co-creation of a programme that was inclusive and reflected the project values and themes of Protest,

Democracy and Freedom of Speech

With funding support from the National Heritage Lottery Fund and others, Manchester Histories and partners delivered a number of key strands of work.

The following case studies showcase these strands and the impact the work had on the people actively engaged in the Peterloo 2019 programme.

AGE OF REVOLUTION

Age of Revolution is a teaching resource developed by the University of Kent to share information and objects from the UK’s turbulent era of growth and expansion and its impact overseas between 1775 and 1848.

A partnership project was established with University of Kent, Manchester Histories, People’s History Museum, and historian Professor Robert Poole, to support the production of learning materials and archive resources specific to the Peterloo Massacre.

Four students from the University of Kent were selected to work with the Peterloo Ambassadors to help transcribe a vast body of Peterloo Eyewitness Accounts to be hosted as a searchable resource on the peterloo1819.co.uk website.

The students visited Manchester for a walking tour and tutorial with Robert Poole to underpin their knowledge of the Peterloo Massacre and other struggles for reform around this time. They attended the Peterloo Ambassador Saturday workshop sessions to learn about the Eyewitness Accounts and the system of transcribing and uploading the accounts onto the Peterloo website. They continued to upload the accounts remotely.

The collaboration also enabled the production and distribution of a schools’ version of the innovative graphic novel Peterloo: Witnesses to a Massacre (Polyp, Schlunke and Poole).