Published: Friday, 08th March 2024
To mark International Women’s Day, Oldham Council’s Leader has unveiled a plaque to commemorate what could be the birthplace of the women’s Suffrage movement.
The field in Lydgate was close to the original site where the fight to get women the right to vote was born – something which happened a century later.
Councillor Arooj Shah was among the dignitaries who took part in the special ceremony next to St Anne’s Church, Lydgate.
The unveiling comes after Helen Walton carried out research into radical reform - the movement which would eventually lead to women being given the vote in England.
During her digging into history Helen, from Rochdale, referenced, ‘Passages in the Life of a Radical’, by Middleton-born Samuel Bamford that indicates a meeting was held in the field on May 4, 1818.
At that gathering Bamford suggested women should be given the right to vote in reformers meetings, essentially granting them equal status with their male counterparts.
A note written by a government spy who was reporting back from the meeting confirmed that women had been invited to vote is held in the National Archive.
The date was 85 years before Emmeline Pankhurst is credited with forming the Women’s Social and Political Union in 1903 and 61 years before Springhead’s Annie Kenney – who has a statue in her honour in the town centre – was born.
Helen and work colleague Danny Brierley, from Grasscroft, helped to bring the details of the meeting to the attention of the council so that its place in British political history could be properly recorded and commemorated.
Helen said: “I was excited to discover that something so significant had happened on our doorstep, so I am thrilled to see that it is being formally recognised by Oldham Council.
“Progress happens by degrees and it is really important that we take the time to look back and plot the important milestones along the way.”
Cllr Shah said: ‘I’d like to thank Helen and Danny for bringing this important incident to our attention.
“Their hard work has unearthed evidence to suggest this was the first time where women were treated equally to men, and that is a huge moment in history. It’s only right we should mark the occasion and I’m honoured to have been involved, especially as today is International Women’s Day.
“By putting this plaque in place, we are ensuring what went on in this field more than 200 years ago - before the borough of Oldham even existed – will never be forgotten.
“Over the years Oldham has been the birthplace of many inspirational and pioneering women who have stood up for what they believed in and made a real difference.
“Even today, women across the country owe people like Marjory and Sarah Lees, Lydia Becker, Annie Kenney and Olive Claydon so much. As a borough, we’ll continue to recognise their work, and others in the future.”
The inscription on the plaque reads: The beginnings of female emancipation in the UK originate in this field in Lydgate where, on 4th May 1818, women were first recorded as being given the opportunity to vote in a political meeting.
The meeting was organised by radical reformer Samuel Bamford and is recorded in the National Archive.
Plaque unveiled by Councillor Arooj Shah, Leader of Oldham Council on 8th March 2024.