With impeccable timing, this exhibition opened on the same day – 23 March – as hundreds of thousands marched through London for a second vote on the UK’s departure from the EU.
That feels appropriate because, as well as being a major element in the national commemorations marking 200 years since the Peterloo massacre in Manchester, the exhibition also invites us to consider the relevance of protest today. It asks “Why protest?”, and has some ingenious ways for visitors to provide answers. 

The People’s History Museum (PHM) describes itself as the national museum of democracy and its excellent permanent displays vividly illustrate the development of democracy in Britain. Indeed, Peterloo is already well represented in the permanent displays upstairs, which remind visitors that a “five-minute walk from where you stand, a massacre occurred”.

It succinctly tells the story of the deaths of an estimated 18 people in a huge crowd of protestors who had gathered on 16 August 1819 at St Peter’s Fields as part of a campaign demanding parliamentary reform. Occurring fairly soon after the Battle of Waterloo, the massacre became known as Peterloo.

Both the display upstairs and the exhibition downstairs start with the observation that “blood ran in the streets of Manchester”. Although for a moment that feels a little lurid, everything you learn subsequently speaks to the savagery of the charge by the Manchester Yeomanry Cavalry.

Democratic milestone

Curated by PHM staff and designed by the Oldham-based Office of Craig, the exhibition is broadly laid out in three sections. The first is the most conventional: wall texts and banners suspended from the low ceiling set out the events of the day with little context, but visitors have the  opportunity to access more information via their mobile phone.
The first-hand accounts are drawn from the protestors themselves, which provide a one-sided perspective, but in effect save us from reading the empty moralising of the magistrates who ordered the charge. It feels like a lot of words to digest in those first few minutes, but each text panel gets to its point quickly. I appreciated the directness of text panels with titles such as “What happened next?”.

There are short biographies of the 18 men, women and children believed to have died on the day, or soon afterwards, with causes of death including being sabred, stabbed or trampled by horses’ hooves. Nearby, an extraordinary account by Peterloo veteran Joss Wrigley describes “t’dragoons slashin’ at us wi’ their swords”, while another contemporary story describes a young woman who fought back. She was one of numerous women who attended – and who appear to have been easily and deliberately targeted, dressed as many were in white cotton. 

There are only a small number of original artefacts in the show, but each packs a punch. Seeing the dress worn that day by Mrs Mabbott, a confectionery shop owner who was caught up in the violence, is an affecting reminder of the unequal fight of human versus horse.
But perhaps the most heart-skipping exhibit is a ballot box used in the first election held after the passing of the 1872 Ballot Act, which introduced secret voting. It had taken decades to get to that point, and universal suffrage was still many years away, but here is a telling reminder that Peterloo was a key milestone towards democratic reform. By the time you reach this point in the exhibition, it is almost impossible not to appreciate its significance.

Personal protests

This is all compelling and often unflinching stuff, so it is disappointing that these accounts and exhibits are for the most part squeezed into the first section of the exhibition.

On my visit we all shuffled along, waiting our turn to look at something, before most people lost patience and were seduced by the seats in the film area a few steps away. The film occupies the middle section of the exhibition and takes up the whole space – the soundtrack also dominates your visit – so it’s a relief that it is so good. It was specially commissioned and features a wide range of interviews with historians, activists, broadcasters, MPs and journalists.

The film might have been dry, but contributions by Katherine Viner, the editor of the Guardian, and the actress and activist Maxine Peake, among others, make it a significant contribution to the exhibition. It adds new dimensions to the story and includes brief clips from the 2018 film Peterloo by the director Mike Leigh. 

The final third of the exhibition feels vital and innovative, and indicative of what the PHM does so well. The Protest Lab is a creative space for visitors to share their views and ideas for collective action. It is low-tech but high-impact, and starts by inviting visitors to make contributions to a timeline of protest since 1819. Someone remembers the mass trespass of Kinder Scout in 1932; another, Greenham Common in 1982.

Further along, a map of Greater Manchester where you can name your campaign and provide contact details was rapidly filling up with stickers. You can have your protest photo displayed or, on specific days, drop off an object that represents a personal protest, such as refusing to use plastic bags.
And that’s even before you get to the Playful Protest area, which invites you to lie down on the floor and plan a campaign. Interactive spaces in exhibitions can sometimes feel like perfunctory add-ons. This one doesn’t. It is clear that it will inspire visitors in the months ahead.

In scale the exhibition is relatively modest, but in aspiration it is far bigger. I was grateful that 200 years after the Peterloo massacre I came away with a clear sense of why commemorating that day is still so important, not only to the people of Manchester but also to anyone who’s seen something and thought: “No. That isn’t right. What can I do about it?”

Michael Simpson is the director of visual art at The Lowry, Manchester

Focus on Protest Lab

Protest Lab is a dedicated creative space conceived by the People’s History Museum to feature within our 2019 headline exhibition Disrupt? Peterloo and Protest for visitors and groups to use to promote and take part in activism.

This is our way of devoting space within an exhibition that explores the story of the Peterloo Massacre to those that are campaigning to have their voices heard today, and is done very much in the spirit of those who gathered at St Peter’s Field in 1819.

The focus is specifically on non-violent creative yet disobedient acts to raise awareness of the significance of the Peterloo massacre 200 years on as
a catalyst for change on the road of democratic reform, and to be accessible and relatable to the world we live in today.

The aim is to teach us that reform is an active process and that the rights we have today have only come about through the thoughts and deeds of each generation that came before us, standing up for and campaigning for change.

Within Protest Lab there is an open call for protest objects and stories that seek to capture and promote campaigns that are happening today across greater Manchester and beyond. Over the year the Protest Lab will continually transform and evolve as it is actively used to develop campaigns, to signpost existing campaigns and to capture moments of protest for individuals.

Hopefully people will visit the museum and leave inspired to get more involved in campaigning and protest in a way that suits them, related to the ideas they care about and feel are worth fighting for.

Michael Powell is the programme and learning officer at the People’s History Museum, Manchester

Project data

  • Cost Undisclosed
  • Main funder National Lottery Heritage Fund
  • Exhibition design Office of Craig
  • Graphic design Office of Craig
  • Interpretation People’s History Museum
  • Games/interactives People’s History Museum
  • Audiovisual Dock10
  • Film Striking Features Productions
  • Lighting People’s History Museum
  • Display cases Arciform
  • Exhibition ends 23 February 2020
  • Admission Free