Designs drawn up by artist Jeremy Deller for a memorial to commemorate the Peterloo massacre have unveiled.
The artist has been commissioned by Manchester City Council to design a fitting memorial to be in place in time for the 200th anniversary of the massacre next year.
Deller’s concept plans for the permanent memorial will be on display for three days in Manchester Central Library from 1 November as part of the council’s pre-planning consultations on the memorial.
Unveiled yesterday the permanent memorial will be a six-foot “hill” constructed of concentric steps made from stone sourced from all regions of the UK and other parts of the former British empire.
The designs will also be available on-line on the council’s website for one week from 1 November to allow anyone who can’t visit the library a chance to view the designs and comment on them.
Karen Shannon, Chief Executive of Manchester Histories, said, “Jeremy Deller’s memorial to the Peterloo Massacre is an important milestone in our history. It will remind us of the ordinary people who fought, died, or were injured in their struggle for representation and democracy, things we still fight for today.
“It is beautifully conceived, so that it’s as much a memorial as a meeting point, where people can come together, orate, reflect on the past, but also look to the future.”
A dedicated Peterloo Network grew out of a Manchester Histories Festival event 5 years ago. Led by Manchester Histories and People’s History Museum and including Manchester City Council, Historic England, University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, various other cultural institutions, historians, campaigners and individuals, the Peterloo Network has continued to meet regularly and work collaboratively towards Peterloo 2019, which will commemorate one of the most significant episodes in the history of Britain’s struggle for universal suffrage.
Also revealed at the meeting was the visual identity for the Peterloo 2019 campaign. Led by Manchester-based creative consultancy Imagine and Fido PR, the development of the Peterloo visual identity involved over 120 people from the Peterloo Network who creatively contributed to the creation of the logo, which anyone hosting events or activities to mark the bicentenary is invited to use.
The overall form of the logo is taken from the shape of the geographic area of St Peter’s Field in central Manchester, site of the Peterloo Massacre. It serves as a reminder that this is where 60,000 people from across Greater Manchester had gathered to demand representation and where 18 were to lose their lives and around 700 were to be injured when local government forces charged the crowd.
The visual is accompanied by a strapline that expresses the core Peterloo 2019 values; Protest, Democracy and Freedom of Speech.
