Celebrate the Luddites’ 200th anniversary!
Enjoy a cultural celebration and learn more about Luddites
18 November 2012
Time 13:00 - 17:00
Duration 4 hours
2012 is the 200th anniversary of the Luddites’ uprisings against machinery that was destroying weavers’ livelihoods. Were the Luddites mindless hooligans opposed to progress, or, as EP Thompson suggests, trades unionists fighting for their jobs in desperate conditions? Why were more women so important in the Lancashire and Cheshire riots? What is their legacy for today?
Come and enjoy our cultural celebration and find out more about this fascinating episode of working class history.
Music will be performed by One Accord; a four piece group that performs music and songs which draw on a number of influences including Traditional Music, Church Music and Variety Theatre. All four members sing and play various instruments:
- John Green – recorders, English concertina and vocals
- Linda Green – piano, accordion and vocals
- Alison Whitaker – recorders and vocals
- Peter Bearon – melodeons, duet concertina and vocals
Exhibitions and artwork will be displayed by Westhoughton Local History Group and Kevin Threlfall
Talks will be given by:
- Richard Holland, editor of the Luddites Bicentenary blog, which has been recording the events of the Luddite uprising day by day
- Garth Ratcliffe, a retired lecturer from Manchester Metropolitan University who joined the Westhoughton Local History Group about six years ago. Garth has played a leading part in delivering exhibitions about the centenary of the Pretoria Pit disaster in 2010 and the bicentenary of the Burning of Westhoughton Mill by Luddites in 1812
Organised by the People’ s History Museum and Luddites200 – a network of historians, scientists, artists and activists, which has been organising events to celebrate the Luddites’ 200th anniversary.
Suitable for adults and children aged 12 and above.
Free. Donations to the museum and to Luddites200 gratefully received
Booking Requirements: Booking advised, please contact 0161 838 9190 or info@phm.org.uk
