Harrison and Liberty for ever!
This site covers the life and times of the Reverend Joseph Harrison of Stockport, England who achieved fame as a Radical Reformer between the years 1818 to 1832.
It consists of a great deal of information I have collected over the years from newspaper reports, Home Office archives, family letters, prison records etc. I apologize for the hastily thrown together look and feel of the site and the somewhat unprofessional transcription and referencing. It’s a part time hobby so I try my best. Anyhow the aim is to show researchers what’s available out there and leave it up to them to follow up the proper primary sources.
If you just want to get a quick outline of Harrison’s Radical career, I highly recommend reading the Summary Page. It only takes about half an hour to read.
Take a look at my new section on the Cato Street Conspiracy.
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask by using the comments section below.
Disclaimer & Fair Use.
The material contained in this website is distributed without profit for research and educational purposes. All attempts have been made to include only images from the public domain. Any copyrighted material has been used under ‘fair use’.
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
Did you know that Henry Hunt attended a massive Reform Meeting at Smithfield, London just one month before Peterloo? In a provocative move by the Government they arrested Reverend Joseph Harrison on the hustings mid way through Hunt’s speech. With his great skill in oratory and persuasion Hunt was able to calm the people and prevent a bloodbath. Had it been otherwise we might be commemorating Smitherloo today.
Do you recognise the name Arthur Thistlewood above? He was the leader of a plot to murder the government ministers in 1820 and form a new provisional government. This plot became known as the Cato Street Conspiracy.
The Cap of Liberty
Putting together the summary it dawned on me how important a role the Cap of Liberty played in the lead up to the Peterloo Massacre. It almost seems a symbolic struggle between the Radicals’ right to hoist it and the Loyalists’ desire to crush it. For the likes of John Lloyd, Captain of the Stockport Troop of Cheshire Yeomanry, it is evident from his sycophantic reports to the Undersecretary of State that the Loyalists had been humiliated long enough and the time had come for vengeance.
The Radicals had declared they would defend the Cap with their lives. When the Loyalists tried to seize it at Sandy Brow, Stockport on February 15, 1819 the order of the day was “STAND FIRM” and the Loyalists were defeated.
Then shall we scourge, while justice nerves each hand
Those filthy vermin from our happy land;
Their pride pull down, their insolence subdue,
And teach them, England is not Waterloo.
The Loyalists dressed in their Yeomanry uniforms were playing soldiers, it was like a game to them. Their aim was to wrest the enemies’ Colours at any cost in a pathetic emulation of the brave soldiers of Waterloo.
At St. Peter’s Field on August 16, 1819 the hustings and the many flags on display were protected by a cordon of Radicals with linked arms. As the soldiers made their charge toward the hustings Henry Hunt cried out the same words that had been yelled six months earlier at Sandy Brow “STAND FIRM!” This time though the Yeomanry had the backing of the Government Magistrates and unleashed their fury on the poor Radicals. The Loyalists could now boast their Waterloo like victory but instead of dead Frenchmen on the field it was scattered with the dead and injured citizens of England.
The Radicals termed this dark day Peterloo.
Parson Harrison - Peterloo Reformer 