Catalogue Number
NBS I/D 354
Object Name
banner
Title
STRETFORD HABITATION - NO. 1861
Place
Stretford & Manchester & Lancashire & England & UK
People
Women
Date
About 1900
Creator(s)
NBS National Museum of Labour HistoryNBS National Museum of Labour History
Description
Primrose League Stretford Habitation NO 1861, banner, around 1900
The Primrose League was a grassroots organisation which aimed to spread Conservative principles. It was founded in 1883 and by 1910 had two million members. The Primrose League's popularity necessitated a strong organisational base in the form of local habitations. The branches were called habitations rather than lodges - the term used by the Orange Order - so as not to intimidate or deter Catholic membership.
The primrose was chosen as it was the favourite flower of Conservative leader Benjamin Disraeli; this banner is decorated with a garland of the flowers.
The active campaigning of the League, along with increasing Liberal division over Irish Home Rule, helped to return a Conservative majority for much of the period between 1880 and 1910. This was a period of isolationism, when Britain felt strong enough with the Empire to not need allies, and expansion of the British Empire. The League had a powerful influence on imperial policy between the 1880s and 1890s, and one of the key principles was to maintain the estates of the realm and imperial ascendancy of the British Empire.
This banner was used in Stretford, around 1900.
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