1826 Weavers Uprising and Chatterton Massacre Commemoration

Discussion of new findings about the uprising and massacre from Dr David Gordon Scott for the 200th anniversary.
About this Event

Remembering and Commemorating the 1826 Weavers Uprising and Chatterton Massacre

Just over 200 years ago, thousands of people in Pennine Lancashire and surrounding areas rose up in protest against mass starvation and political ineptitude.

On the third day of the Lancashire Rising, the 26th April, 1826, at least six people were shot dead at Aitkens Mill, Chatterton - the now infamous Chatterton Massacre.

This talk details new findings from eyewitness testimonies, legal depositions, letters, 1826 newspapers and parish records and assize records, to discuss the motivation, organisation and legal repression of the uprising and the truth about the indiscriminate killings at Chatterton.

David will also discuss commemorative work that has been undertaken in recent years towards the acknowledgement of state violence and establishing a dignified and respectful public memory of the uprising and massacre victims.

Dr David Gordon Scott works at The Open University. He is founder and chair of the Weavers Uprising Bicentennial Committee, a registered charity formed in 2021 to facilitate the 200th Anniversary commemorations of the 1826 Lancashire Rising and Chatterton Massacre. He has secured several grants from The Open University for collaborative archival research and the creation of new educational resources and was lead author of the National Lottery Heritage Fund grant supporting the bicentennial commemorations across Lancashire in 2026.

Rise Up! Raising Awareness and Transforming Understandings of the 1826 Weavers Uprising

About Us - Weavers Uprising

The Working Class Movement Library will be open 1-4 and David's talk will begin at 2 in the Annex building, just round the back of the main building on Aldred Street. The library currently has two exhibitions on display, focusing on the General Strike of 1926 and the Grunwick Strike of 1976-1978. Tea and coffee will be available during the talk in the Annex space.