THE Friends of The Museum of Somerset (FOTMOS) were very pleased to welcome to its January Zoom meeting Dr Janet Tall, head of archives, learning & development at the South West Heritage Trust, where she gave a very interesting talk on Viscount Sidmouth and Peterloo.

Henry Addington became Viscount Sidmouth in 1805 after a long political career, becoming MP for Devizes in 1784 and serving as Speaker of the House of Commons (1789-1801), Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer (1801-04), and the longest-ever serving Home Secretary 1812-22.
He lived for a while in Upottery in Devon, and Devon Record Office holds his archive, which has recently been conserved as it had been in a poor condition.

There was much unrest and economic hardship following the Napoleonic Wars and the introduction of the Corn Laws. Textile workers’ wages had been cut, food prices had risen, and with only two per cent of the population having a vote, a radical leader, Henry Hunt, stepped forward to try to force changes. Mass meetings were organised in Birmingham, Leeds, London, and Manchester in August 1819.

Over 60,000 people, including women and children, attended the meeting in St. Peter’s Field (Peterloo), Manchester, and the magistrates, being alarmed at this large turn-out, ordered the Manchester Yeomanry to arrest the speakers.

However, they attacked the unarmed crowd, and the 15th Hussars and the Cheshire Volunteers were ordered in to rescue the Yeomanry, but chaos prevailed. Henry Hunt and others were arrested, but after about 20 minutes, not only were there many injuries, but 15 fatalities.

A wave of protest meetings swept the country. Henry Hunt was imprisoned for 30 months and imprisoned in Ilchester Jail.

Viscount Sidmouth, as Home Secretary, had previously been trying to calm the situation. His archive details the difficulties he faced: he did not support the action taken by the magistrates but the repressive elite demanded he should act decisively.

He passed the so-called Six Acts aimed at suppressing any meetings for the purpose of radical reform, which made him very unpopular, but on which the peace of the country depended at that time.

The next on-line meeting of the Friends of the Museum of Somerset will be at 7.30 pm on Tuesday, February 15 when Paul Barwick will talk about The White Mouse.

Guests will be welcome; for details, please email contact@fotmos.org.uk