medal
- Museum number
- M.5625
- Description
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Bronze medal. (whole)
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Cavalry cutting down men women and children. (obverse)
- Production date
- 1819
- Dimensions
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Diameter: 61.000 millimetres
- $Inscriptions
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- Curator's comments
- Brown 1980 states:
On the 16th August some fifty thousand people had gathered at St Peter's Fields outside Manchester to listen to speeches protesting against the economic and working conditions in England. As tension grew, the local magistrates lost their heads and ordered the reading of the Riot Act. When this failed to quell the behaviour of the audience the Yeomanry was ordered to charge, sabre in hand with the result that eleven people were killed, two of them women, and four hundred were injured. The 'massacre of Peterloo' - an ironic reference to the Battle of Waterloo - caused much public anger and was in no way abated when the government passed six Acts regulating public meetings to prevent the recurrence of the 'Peterloo' incident.
- Location
- On display (G47/dc7/p1/no21)
- Exhibition history
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Exhibited:
2009 25 Jun-27 Sept, BM Room 90, Medals of Dishonour
2012/13, 28 Sep-13 Jan, St Petersburg, Hermitage Museum, Medals of Dishonour
- Associated events
- Associated Event: The Peterloo Massacre, 1819
- Department
- Money and Medals
- Registration number
- M.5625
- C&M catalogue number
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MB3 (Brown 1) (240) (989)