One hundred and ninety five years ago, eighteen people were killed and over six hundred were injured at Peter’s Fields during a peaceful demonstration for electoral reform.

Local magistrates, watching from a window near the field, panicked at the sight of the large crowd assembled and read the riot act, effectively ordering what little of the crowd could hear them to disperse.
The Yeoman’s guard, allegedly fuelled by drink charged with bayonets fixed into a field of over fifty thousand who had gathered that Monday morning to hear speakers call for parliamentary reform.

The events of that day would inspire Shelley to write his poem which was banned for thirty years, and would be dubbed Peterloo, after the battle of Waterloo four years earlier.

This year the Peterloo Memorial Campaign Group’s commemorative event will be the creation of a public participative artwork in the form of an evocative tapestry.
As well as being a powerful, expressive, absorbing and intriguing object in its own right, the Tapestry will also serve as a formal record of Manchester’s aspirations for what the forthcoming Peterloo Memorial for the 200th anniversary should express.

Manchester City Council have committed to a new memorial to Peterloo, which will be part of the redevelopment of the St Peter’s Square area.

Members of the public will be invited to attach their pre-prepared pieces onto a  4ft x 30ft canvas which was spun and woven on vintage machines at Quarry Bank Mill.

Your contribution to the Tapestry could be a simple written statement, a photograph, a piece of modern or historical political memorabilia, a drawing, an item or fragment of an item from the period, a print of an image from the time, a badge, a suffragette ribbon… 

The only limitations are that each object needs to be as flat, flexible and lightweight as possible, and of a modest size. There’s no minimum size restriction, but maximum size must be no larger than 1ft x 1ft. This gives as many people as possible the chance to participate, and means the objects won’t be damaged when the tapestry is rolled on to its drum. 

The organisers hope the majority of the objects to be added to the tapestry will be prepared beforehand, and represent a huge range of ideas and styles, such as elegant calligraphy, woven text, spray-painted stencils, sculpted pieces etc. 

There will be a preparation room available onsite for adding finishing touches or attachment points to your piece, but for the sake of avoiding congestion and time delays on the day, we strongly recommend that objects arrive prepared and as ready to attach as possible. 

The finished artwork will be a collage of ideas, inspiration, memories and poignant objects which the organiser hope will reflect what the Peterloo Massacre, and other struggles for democracy both past and present, mean to the people of Greater Manchester. 

People wanting to participate are invited to drop in to the Friends Meeting House, 6 Mount Street, Manchester M2 5NS, any time from 1:30pm to 5:15pm this Sunday to add, view, or create your piece in the designated workroom. There will be a final photo call of the finished artwork at 5:30pm, against the period wall of the Meeting House.

The tapestry will be formally unveiled during the Reading of the Names Ceremony at 1pm on Tuesday 16th August 2016, on the Windmill Street side of the Manchester Central forecourt. 

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