Catalogue Number
NMLH.2019.1
Object Name
Cane
Place
Manchester
People
Hunt, Henry
Events
Peterloo Massacre
Date
1820
Description
Wooden cane, inscribed and decorated with references to reformism and the Peterloo Massacre, c. 1819
This cane is carved from a single piece of wood, and is in keeping with the fashionable style of men carrying a stick in the 19th Century. It does not appear to have been used as a walking aid.
The cane is decorated in multiple layers, within inked drawings of a flying flag and caps of liberty on sticks near the handle, underneath the varnish layer. Words have been carved into the cane, cutting into the varnish, including the phrase "I was one of the dreadfull (sic) bludgeons seen on the fields of PETERLOO". Other inscriptions include the names "HUNT CARTWRIGHT COBBE WOOLER KNIGHT WORSLEY" and part of a senctence reading "be brought to justice" though the remainder of this sentence is currently undeciphered. It is also possible that one side of the handle reads "Liberty".
The cane was given to the museum by the descendents of a Charles Worsley, a joiner from Withinton. Mr Worsley would not have been entitled to vote, as around only 3% of the population met voting regulations.
It is believed that the cane was carried into the meeting at St Peter's Field in Manchester, 16 August 1819, where it is recorded that many demonstrators wore their Sunday best and carried walking sticks. At this meeting, thousands of people living in and around Manchester arrived at St Peter's Field to hear speakers demand voting reform and the end of the Corn Laws. Shortly after the beginning of the demonstration, the Yeomanry charged into the crowd with sabres drawn, killing at least 18 and injuring hundreds of others. Soon after, the massacre became known as 'Peterloo', a satirical reference to the famous Battle of Waterloo a few years prior.
From the presence of the drawings, and the owner's name alongside that of Henry 'Orator' Hunt (the main speaker) it is believed that Mr Worlsey was a member of the crowd at Peterloo, and the "dreadfull blydgeons" phrase was a satirical reference to the claims that the protestors arrived armed.
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