Catalogue Number
NMLH.2023.1
Object Name
banner
Title
Now Is the Winter of Our Discontent Made Glorious Summer
People
Henry Brougham; Britannia
Events
1832 Reform Act; Reform Crisis (1829-32)
Date
1832
Description
Central panel of a banner, "Now Is the Winter of Our Discontent Made Glorious Summer", 1832
The banner shows the figure of Britannia, with a union flag on her shield and a lion at er feet, carrying a red flag and a olive branch. To the right (facing) is an image of a politician - Henry Brougham, one of the campaigners for political reform - within a laurel wreath. To the left (facing) is a ship in full sail. Above the image is a scroll, reading "Now Is The Winter Of Our Discontent Made Glorious Summer", a quotation from Shakespeare's Richard III.
The banner follows the design of a print made early in 1832, which showed Britannia in the same position, with a ship labelled "reform" sailing away, and another, labelled "anti-reform" sinking. In the image on the banner, Henry Brougham has taken the place of the anti-reform ship.
The banner is believed to have been made to celebrate the passing of the Great Reform Act in 1832. This Act was seen as a key moment in the expansion of the voting franchise, and was welcomed in by many campaigners with great excitement. The Act introduced new constituencies for places that grew and developed through the Industrial Revolution - such as Manchester, Sheffield and Birmingham - and disenfranchised or lowered representation for rotten boroughs. However, it proved to be an overall disappointment in terms of the expansion of the franchise; the new rules only extended the franchise to a further 6% of the populace - an estimated 650,000, or 7% of the population. The franchise had been extended to those who owned or held a long-term lease on land worth £10, and to those on medium-term leases on land worth £50, or paying an annual rent of £50. These sums were substantial at the time and effectively withheld the vote from the working class.
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