Manchester Met Investment leads to 150 events exploring Peterloo as part of Manchester Histories Festival

Manchester Histories is leading Peterloo 2019, a programme of activity that will mark the 200th anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre with public events, learning opportunities and creative exploration developed in partnership with cultural organisations a

History Research Centre

The funding comes from the History Research Centre at Manchester Metropolitan Univesity, which is a vibrant group of about 40 members engaged in exciting and innovative world-class research, encompassing a wide range of topics and periods, from childhood in ancient Egypt to memorialisation of the Second World War, and from crusading bishops to youth cultures in modern Britain.

We are proud of our strong engagement with the public and a wide range of external organisations, and of the way in which our research feeds directly into our teaching. Our work addresses some of the big questions in history and promises to make a real difference to people’s lives.

Our research is organised into four thematic research groups and our public engagement is led by the Manchester Centre for Public History and Heritage which is building strong links between academics and the public and aims to build on our REF2014 success for international recognition for excellence in publicly engaged research. Find out more about the centre here.

Peterloo

On 16th August 1819, 60,000 people gathered on what was then known as St Peter’s Field in Manchester to peacefully demand the reform of parliamentary representation.

When troops, including local government forces, charged the crowds, the tragic result saw 18 people lose their lives and around 700 injured. This was to become known as the Peterloo Massacre.

Peterloo symbolises public protest, the struggle for democracy and the fight against political repression, at a time when such was the need for economic, social and political reform that ordinary people in numbers never seen before took to the streets.

Manchester Histories is leading Peterloo 2019, a programme of activity that will mark the 200th anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre with public events, learning opportunities and creative exploration developed in partnership with cultural organisations and communities across Greater Manchester.

You can find out more about the series of events at: https://peterloo1819.co.uk/