Pendle Radicals has had a busy first nine months, powered by a very lively group of volunteer researchers. Faye Wetherall of Mid Pennine Arts reports on progress, and on what to look forward to this year.
Our diaries are already starting
to look very full as we are springing into 2019 with lots of activity on offer
for all to get involved in…
Radicals Research Team
Tea Parties and Radicals outings have been keeping
us busy over the last few months. We are delighted by how our volunteer Radicals
Research Team is continuing to grow and how members are so eager to help lead
this four year journey of discovery. Most
recently we embarked on a research trip to the Working Class Movement Library
to make use of their amazing archives, in particular the extensive material
they had on Ethel Carnie Holdsworth. Ethel
Carnie was the first working class woman in Britain to publish a novel
and because of this has caught the attention of many of our volunteers. It was great therefore at the WCML to see a
vast number of her books, exchanges of letters between herself and others, her
death certificate and even a copy of her own handwriting… We felt very close to our local mill girl
turned best-selling author!
The team have also recently attended a seminar at
Huddersfield University by Dr Nicola Wilson which was again based on the
remarkable poet, journalist, feminist, social activist and Radicals’ volunteers favourite, Ethel Carnie
Holdsworth! It was great to hear how
interested in the project Nicola was and the trip helped to fill a lot of gaps
in our research enquiry.
Prior to this a group of volunteers also headed to
Salford University to attend an enlightening conference organised by the WorkingClass Movement Library that looked at the fight for women’s suffrage
called More Than Just the Pankhursts – the wider suffrage movement.
‘Let us go then, and make banners as required, and let them all be beautiful.’
We are extremely excited to be a part of Super Slow
Way’s British Textiles Biennial next October, where we will come
together with a host of artists, designers, makers and community members to explore
the politics of cloth. Last month we
invited banner conservation expert Jenny Van Enckevort from the People’s
History Museum to talk all things banners to our volunteer team. Over
lemon sponge and coffee we learnt more about the history of banners and banner
making, giving us lots of food for thought in terms of what we plan to put
forward for the Biennial.
We look forward to welcoming artist Jamie Holman to
our next banner tea party who has recently worked with Durham Banner Makers to
produce a very impressive banner commemorating the heritage of acid house in
Lancashire. Jamie has also been asked by Super Slow Way to produce a solo
exhibition for The British Textiles Biennial 2019, and so we are excited to
hear about Jamie’s methods of research and making and we hope to get a special
glimpse of the banner itself!
As we welcome in a new year, we look back on
how we finished the last one on such a high…
Dissent launch
On Saturday 10 November we hosted a launch event,
in collaboration with Clarion House, at Clitheroe Library for the new
publication Dissent, by Clitheroe based historian Roger Smalley. Dissent
explores the long history of the Clitheroe constituency, which in the past
included areas now covered by Burnley, Pendle, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley,
represented in Parliament since 1558 and therefore mentions a number of the
change makers and radical thinkers that Pendle Radicals is investigating. Selina Cooper for example, a hero of
the suffrage movement in spite of having to work in the mills from an early
age. All 50 places were booked in advance, and attendees enjoyed
readings from the book plus presentations offering context for individuals and
organisations featured, including one from UCLan Lecturer in Public History, Dr
Jack Southern. The East Lancashire Clarion Choir entertained with songs
of dissent from across the ages, and the author took questions from the
audience. Lots of copies of the limited edition publication were sold
with all profits going to support Clarion House.
From Suffrage to Citizenship
On Saturday 24 November we were invited by the
Women’s Local Government Society to be part of a celebration event in Leeds to
celebrate the Suffrage Pioneers. A project which
aims to celebrate and raise awareness of 100 incredible, but very often
forgotten suffrage pioneers, from across the UK. Earlier this year we
nominated one of our Pendle Radicals - Selina Cooper. We were delighted
that Selina was selected to be a Suffrage Pioneer, but why wouldn’t she be?
Despite working in the mills from the age of twelve she was a powerful
force, campaigning for women’s rights both in the political and employment
arenas, as well as being a passionate advocate for peace. We were very
excited to share her story at the event and learn more about the other
pioneers.
What to look
out for in 2019…
- This year we aim to put in place the first six sites of the Radicals Trail, establishing a permanent footprint for the project. This will be a trail of discovery which will encourage visitors, local people and especially the next generation to look beneath the surface and see our area with fresh eyes. It will initially feature six points of historic interest, which we then aim to build on in years to come.
- We look forward to working more on our exhibition which will feature as part of 2019’s British Textiles Biennial… look out for more information soon about what we plan to put forward for this!
- We have also began work on something to feature as part of Pendle Walking Festival 2019. This will celebrate the likes of adventure holidays pioneer Thomas Arthur Leonard and Thomas Criddle Stephenson, a ‘radical rambler’, a hero of the campaign for the right to roam and an overlooked inspiration behind the creation of the Pennine Way.
Get Involved!
We have had some great feedback about the project
so far which aims to develop further over the next four years, driven by that team
of volunteers who are quickly becoming remarkable ambassadors for Pendle
Radicals.
‘’This project has given me a passion. All of my
life I have had a driving force and for a few years since retiring I haven't
had one. I felt rudderless. Now I have got it back. Thank you.’’
Are you interested in becoming part of the Radicals Research team?
Or would you simply like to know more about the project? Contact me (Faye) for more details.
If you enjoyed reading this find
out more information about the project here: https://pendlehillproject.com/project/pendle-radicals
