Tag: West Yorkshire

Labour history news

Bread not bayonets: Chartism and the strikes of 1842 on film

The West Yorkshire town of Halifax was absolutely at the centre of the great strike wave associated with Chartism in 1842. And in the summer of 2022, the 180th anniversary of these strikes for bread and the ballot were commemorated at events backed by Calderdale Trades Council, the Society for the Study of Labour History and others – to great acclaim. Now there is a … Continue reading Bread not bayonets: Chartism and the strikes of 1842 on film

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Commentary, Labour history news

Chartism, the great strike of 1842 and the possibilities of drama

Dramatists have been slow to pick up on the events at the heart of the great strike of 1842 and its complex relationship with Chartism. Michael Crowley, the author of Waiting for Wesley, explains how he went about bringing the story to life on stage Waiting for Wesley is being staged at Calderdale Industrial Museum on Sunday 6 August at 3pm Tickets are available via … Continue reading Chartism, the great strike of 1842 and the possibilities of drama

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Events

Waiting for Wesley: torn between church and rebellion

Set during the events of August 1842 in the Calder Valley, the specially written play Waiting for Wesley is to be performed this summer at Halifax Museum. Commissioned by Heptonstall Museum, written by Michael Crowley and first performed in August 2022 by The Brutish Multitude Theatre Company, the play has since been developed as a result of audience feedback to include the character of Ben … Continue reading Waiting for Wesley: torn between church and rebellion

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Commentary

I don’t know where he gets his fucking language from

Did people in the eighteenth century use the word ‘fuck’ in everyday language? Quentin Outram looks at swear words in BBC Two’s The Gallows Pole: A true story of resistance, and questions their authenticity. ‘Get your fucking hands off me!’ says David Hartley as people struggle to help him and from there on the use of ‘fuck’ and ‘fucking’ rarely stops for more than a … Continue reading I don’t know where he gets his fucking language from

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Labour history news, SSLH news

The Gallows Pole: how a community of weavers nearly crashed the economy

A television drama that tells the extraordinary story of the Cragg Vale Coiners is now on BBC iPlayer. And you may just spot a familiar face in the cast. Even by the standards of the day, life in the Pennines weaving communities of Cragg Vale in the second half of the eighteenth century could be tough. But in the 1760s, this isolated valley, close to … Continue reading The Gallows Pole: how a community of weavers nearly crashed the economy

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Events

The great strike of 1842: Halifax’s Peterloo?

Calderdale Trades Council and Calderdale Industrial Museum are teaming up this Sunday (17 July) to host a free public meeting at the museum on ‘The Great Strike of 1842: Halifax’s Peterloo?’ The event is supported by the Society for the Study of Labour History. This event is being held in person and there are limited tickets – please only book a ticket if you are … Continue reading The great strike of 1842: Halifax’s Peterloo?

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Labour history news

‘The beginning of a flowing tide for Labour’? Labour’s Wakefield by-election victory

James Parker tells the story of Labour’s by-election victory in the Wakefield by-election of 1932. A by-election victory at Wakefield ninety years ago marked the start of the Labour Party’s slow recovery from electoral disaster in 1931. In opposition after the unhappy experience of minority government from 1929-31 and the loss of some of its key leaders to the National Government in August 1931, Labour … Continue reading ‘The beginning of a flowing tide for Labour’? Labour’s Wakefield by-election victory

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Events, SSLH news

Chartism Day 2022: report from a day of research, song and a missing friend

From ‘Shabby Feargus’ to the impact of the Northern Star’s move south and Chartists as ‘premature liberal democrats’, the first Chartism Day since 2019 was as entertaining as it was informative and thought-provoking. It had been a long-time coming. But finally, after two years in which Chartism Day did not happen as the world went into lockdowns and social distancing, more than 70 delegates were … Continue reading Chartism Day 2022: report from a day of research, song and a missing friend

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