The Peterloo Memorial is a memorial in Manchester, England, commemorating the Peterloo Massacre. It is sited close to the site of the massacre and was unveiled on 14 August 2019.
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| 53°28′36″N 2°14′45″W / 53.4766°N 2.2457°W | |
| Location | Manchester, England |
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| Designer | Jeremy Deller |
| Material | Stone |
| Width | 11.6 m (38 ft) |
| Opening date | 14 August 2019 |
| Dedicated to | Those who died in the Peterloo Massacre of 16 August 1819 |
| Website | peterloomassacre |
Description edit
The Peterloo Memorial Campaign Group had been lobbying for a fitting memorial to the Peterloo Massacre for over ten years.[1] In 2019, shortly before the 200th anniversary of the massacre, Manchester City Council "quietly unveiled" a new £1 million memorial by the artist Jeremy Deller.[2] Designs for the memorial by Deller were first unveiled in November 2018.
The 1.8-metre-high and 11.6 metres wide memorial features 11 concentric steps engraved, sculpted from polished and inlaid British stone and carved with the names 18 of the victims and the places from which they came.[3][4] The material not visible from the ground is reproduced at ground level, and there is a floor plaque.[5]
The stone used includes "granites, sandstones, slates, and marbles from all regions of the UK and potentially further afield – places that would have been part of the British Empire in 1819".[4] These include:[3] Broughton Moor slate; Welsh Cwt-y-Bugail slate; Peak Moor sandstone; Cove red sandstone; DeLank granite; St Bees red sandstone; and Scottish dolerite.
Response edit
The memorial was inaugurated at a large public gathering on 16 August 2019, widely reported in the press, covered extensively on regional TV and radio, and marked by a special edition of the Manchester Evening News.[6] It has since become widely appreciated and visited, and the Peterloo Memorial Campaign site states that it is 'Proud to have campaigned for a respectful, informative and permanent Peterloo Memorial at the heart of Manchester'.[7][8]
The lack of disabled access to the monument has been criticised.[9][10][3] While the structure met the official standards for access, it was also interpreted by some as a 'speaking platform' made universally inaccessible by its stepped design. The city council has promised that it will be modified to rectify this. Some disability campaigners described the memorial as 'vile' and calling for it to be demolished, a stance which in turn caused offence by appearing to dismiss the experiences of the many disabled victims of Peterloo. It has in practice proved very difficult to design a wheelchair ramp that does not damage or block substantial parts of the inscriptions.[2][5]
References edit
- ^ "Manchester: Jeremy Deller unveils design for Peterloo memorial | UK news". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
- ^ a b Halliday, Josh (13 August 2019). "Peterloo memorial quietly unveiled three days before anniversary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 August 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
- ^ a b c "Peterloo memorial branded 'million-pound embarrassment' after latest access failure". 11 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- ^ a b "Designs for Jeremy Deller's Peterloo memorial in Manchester unveiled". www.visitmanchester.com. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ a b Halliday, Josh (16 August 2019). "Manchester gets ready for noisy tribute to the dead of Peterloo". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 August 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
- ^ "Peterloo 200 years on". Manchester Evening News. 16 August 2019. Archived from the original on 30 November 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- ^ "@peterloomemoria". Peterloo Memorial Campaign Twitter feed. 2019. Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- ^ "Manchester City Council Communities and Equaklities Scrutiny Committee 5 March 2020 item 10". Manchester City Council video minutes. 5 March 2020. Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- ^ "Peterloo memorial completed in city centre". Place North West. 14 August 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- ^ Core, Kevin (14 August 2019). "Jeremy Deller Peterloo monument unveiled amid disability row". BBC News. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
External links edit
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