The Witness to Peterloo

The Peterloo Massacre of 1819 was a formative event in the development of both Manchester and of modern democracy. Although its causes have been argued over Peterloo was one of the best-documented political events in Manchester's history: over 200 eye-witness accounts survive, some of them well-known, others only recently discovered.

The Peterloo Witness Project is working to collect them all and make them public. This illustrated talk will look at Peterloo through the eyes of the witnesses, including some of the new evidence recovered by volunteers in the festival workshops on 18 and 25 February.