The Peterloo Massacre is one of the most infamous events in British history, but Manchester has many other connections to popular radical politics. © People's History Museum.
The Manchester Radical Politics Trail takes you on a tour of the city’s radical heritage by looking at the people and the places that formed Manchester’s radical political tradition. We also tell you where to find out more about this history through the museums, collections and archives located in the city.
Beginning in the aftermath of the French Revolution in 1792 the trail moves on to look at the Peterloo Massacre – where it happened, who was there and where you can find out more. We then move on to explore the history of one of the most successful movements in the history of British politics – the Anti-Corn Law League.
Manchester and its role in the evolution of Chartism is explored with particular reference to the Manchester activists who were jailed for standing up for their political beliefs at a time of government paranoia and repression.
We then look at the Manchester of Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx, which is again explored through the locations and collections in the city.
The trail finishes with a political struggle that rumbled into the twentieth century – the role of the Pankhursts in the long fight for female suffrage.
Read the trail and explore the 24 Hour Museum City Heritage Guide to Manchester here: From Peterloo to the Pankhursts. (Please note this link launches in a new window).
