Chartism and an Ashton under Lyne print business

The culture of Chartism was inextricably tied up with the development of popular print. Many  leading Chartists were long-time opponents of stamp duty taxes on newspapers, and the movement spawned some remarkably successful publishing businesses.

The Manchester Chartist Abel Heywood graduated from running a penny library to printing Chartist tracts and books while serving as treasurer to the National Charter Association. None of which prevented him from serving twice as a Liberal mayor of Manchester. Heywood’s publishing business, meanwhile, would continue to turn out popular travel guides well into the 20th century.

But if there is a prize for longevity, it must go to the printing business established in the Chartist stronghold of Ashton under Lyne by John Williamson, which kept going under its own steam until the 1970s, when it was finally taken over by Henry Booth Ltd before closing in 1981.

I am indebted to Michael Green, a former employee of Alfred Williamson Ltd (Alfred being John Williamson’s son), who has been researching the history of the business, for the following information.

John Williamson (1807-62) began his print business in premises on Oldham Road, Ashton under Lyne in 1835. Williamson may have had the support of the very active local Chartist movement in establishing his business, and in the early days he collaborated with Joseph Rayner Stephens.

Robert G Hall’s recent book Voices of the People, which focuses on Chartism in Ashton under Lyne, records Williamson selling tracts on guerrilla warfare, and as a leading member of the Ashton secularist society.

Over the years, the focus of the firm changed. Williamson’s grandsons were both prominent local members of the Conservative Party, and the company evolved a profitable line in the printing of tickets for the home and overseas markets.

By 1893, they had relocated to North Mill, Cotton Street, where the business remained until it closed. The area is now a car park.

Michael Green, who worked for Williamson’s from 1959-65 and is a member of the Transport Ticket Society, would of course appreciate any information on the firm that you might have. Please drop me an email and I will be happy to pass it on to him.

The missing Ashton Chartists

Ashton under Lyne must have been a pretty wild place in the 1840s. What had been a small weaving hamlet of around 3,000 people at the turn of the century had swollen to more than 40,000 by the 1841 census. Yet there were few effective civic bodies, and in 1840 the town had just three police officers.

In the early Chartist period, the town was also home to two of the most radical Chartist leaders, Joseph Rayner Stephens and Peter Murray M’Douall, and the town was left with a legacy of working class radicalism that endured for decades.

The events of 14 August, 1848, however, overshadow all study of Ashton Chartism, for they resulted in a confrontation between the Chartist “National Guard” and James Bright, a police officer who lived locally, who died that night from a gunshot wound.

The resulting trial saw six Chartists transported to Australia. But they were not alone, for the authorities also resettled a number of those who had given evidence for the prosecution, sending them out in what would have been little greater comfort than if they too had been transported.

Some flavour of their experience can be found in the Chartist Ancestors account of these events thanks to Phil Gregory, a descendent of Thomas Winterbottom, one of those placed in the New South Wales immigration scheme.

Just recently, Neville Bray, a descendent of Joseph Armitage, a special constable and another of those to be resettled, got in touch to pass on details of his ancestor’s part in the trial and to draw attention to the reports of the trial in the Manchester Guardian of 16 and 20 December 1848. It is well worth getting hold of these if you have any connection to these events.

Neville makes the point that

“There must be quite a large number of descendants in Australia who can trace back to this event considering a total of 33 people were sent out on the Mary Bannatyne on the side of those who gave evidence. And also from the 5 convicts that arrived plus any families that the convicts sent for later.”

He is right, and I have had contact with a number of these descendents over the past few years, but there must be many more. Perhaps they should organise some sort of gathering in Australia this summer to mark the 160^th anniversary.

Neville also makes the point that Jonathon Walker and John Sefton, both of whom were sentenced to seven years’ transportation, were not on the Adelaide, the ship that took the others to Australia. So what did happen to them? Can anyone shed any light on their fate?

Chartist leaders in Aston under Lyne

The names of 65 leading Chartists from Ashton under Lyne has been added to Chartist Ancestors today.

Ashton under Lyne was one of the heartland towns of Chartism – and one of the most militant. The south Lancashire mill town was also the adopted home of two of the movement’s best known leaders – Joseph Rayner Stephens and Peter Murray M’Douall.

The new addition to Chartist Ancestors is based on research carried out by Dr Robert G Hall of Ball State University, who has written extensively on Chartism in Ashton, and who identified the 65 leaders from local newspapers, Home Office and Treasury Solicitor's files, the records of the Palatinate of Lancaster, and from 1841 and 1851 censuses and local directories.

As he says of those identified:

"The sixty-five Chartists who made up this small but crucial group were speakers and lecturers, nominees to the General Council of the National Charter Association (NCA), propagandists, travelling delegates and neighbourhood organizers. They sold Chartist newspapers and publications, drew up addresses and broadsides, chaired or spoke at mass meetings, and served as delegates, Chartist missionaries, and lecturers. Along with carrying out the mundane committee work and correspondence of the locality, these leaders and activists raised money for Chartist and labor causes and performed the necessary, but often boring and time consuming, work of organizing and publicizing meetings, lectures, tea parties and dinners."

There are two other pages on Chartist Ancestors which focus specifically on Chartism in Ashton under Lyne. These are an account of a gathering of the local Chartist “national guard” in 1848 during which a police constable was shot dead, and a list of people from Ashton under Lyne who subscribed to the Chartist land company.

A more detailed account of Chartism in Ashton under Lyne can be found in Dr Robert G Hall’s recent book Voices of the People: Democracy and Chartist Political Identity, 1830-1870.

Chartist land plan: 3,900 names

The names of some 3,900 Chartist sympathisers from Lancashire have now been added to Chartist Ancestors. This completes a project that has taken several weeks.

The names are those of subscribers to the Chartist Land Company from the 11 towns of Ashton under Lyne, Bacup, Bolton, Bury, Colne, Oldham, Preston, Rochdale, Salford, Staleybridge and Wigan. Almost all names also have an occupation and home address, which should make it easier for family historians to claim their Chartist Ancestor.

I am immensely grateful to Professor Jamie Bronstein of New Mexico State University, who transcribed the names from the original, 19^th century shareholders’ register during the course of her PhD research in the early 1990s, for allowing me to use the lists.

The register include a total of some 70,000 names in all, and was drawn up as part of the land company’s attempt to register under joint stock company laws which would have given it a proper legal basis for its work and protected its funds and investors.

The attempt failed, and ultimately the company was wound up by a special Act of Parliament – but not before it had settled some hundreds of Chartists on smallholdings.

You can read more about the Chartist land plan on Chartist Ancestors. In addition to the lists of Lancashire subscribers, the site includes the names of all those allocated land as part of the scheme, and the names of local officials of the land company.

Chartist land company - An overview and introduction
Lists of names by town
Ashton-under-Lyne - 168 names
Bacup - 500 names
Bolton - 781 names
Bury - 639 names
Colne - 254 names
Oldham - 219 names
Preston - 215 names
Rochdale - 285 names
Salford - 350 names
Stalybridge - 643 names
Wigan - 69 names

Chartist land plan - Read about the land plan and see the names of those allocated land.

Land Company officials, 1849

500 Chartist from Lancashire

Nearly 500 more Chartists from the Lancashire towns of Colne and Oldham have been added to the site.

The names are part of an ongoing project to post the names of several thousand subscribers to the Chartist Land Company. You can see more about this project or go direct to the index page.

Today’s update adds the names of 254 Chartist sympathisers from Colne, and a further 219 Chartist sympathisers from Oldham.

2,500 Chartists from Lancashire

The names of more than 2,500 Lancashire subscribers to the Chartist land plan have now been added to Chartist Ancestors. You can see them here.

The names are taken from a share register held at the National Archives in London, and almost all entries include both an occupation and at least a partial address.

The Chartist Cooperative Land Society was launched by the National Charter Association in 1845 with the aim of resettling industrial workers from the cities on smallholdings, making them independent of factory employers and potentially qualifying them for the vote.

Chartists were invited to subscribe regular amounts towards an eventual £2.50 (£2/10s) share in the venture. Soon the money began to flood in, pennies and shillings at a time, and was deposited in an account held by Feargus O'Connor in the London Joint Stock Bank.

The idea – eventually carried into reality in five locations – was to allocate parcels of land by lot.

By early 1848, when Chartism itself was once again on the rise following a lengthy period in the doldrums after the failure of the 1842 petition, more than 70,000 supporters had subscribed.

The work of transcribing the names of subscribers in Lancashire was carried out by Professor Jamie Bronstein of New Mexico State University during the course of her PhD research in the early 1990s. Chartist Ancestors is grateful to her for permission to reproduce the lists here, believing that many family historians will find something of interest in them.

The lists available on the site so far name subscribers in:
Ashton-under-Lyne - 168 names
Bacup - 500 names
Bolton - 781 names
Bury – 639 names
Salford - 350 names
Wigan - 69 names

Still to come are the names of subscribers in:
Colne
Oldham
Preston
Rochdale
Staleybridge

These will be added over the next few weeks. I’m hoping to get them all up by Christmas.