Chartists – Mallaband-Brown

This is my mural that I painted to commemorate the Burslem Riot in the Leopard Hotel in Burslem.

On 16th August 1842 Chartists from Stoke on Trent and Leek met to fight for their rights to form unions in Burslem town. The police and army were called out and were based at the Leopard Hotel in Burslem with rioters gathered in the street outside in front of Josiah Wedgwoods Big House. The riot act was read in front of up to 4 to 5 thousand rioters. Josiah Heapy, one of the protestor was shot in the head and died instantly. Many of the rioters were also beaten and injured.

You can read a lengthy article in Wikipedia entitled the Potteries riots of 1842 which is very interesting. I really enjoyed painting this in about 2007. Just sad the hotel burnt down in 2022 .

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In 1842 there was a Chartists riot in Burslem which is the mother town of Stoke-on-Trent. During a meeting of Chartists in the town the magistrate decided to read the riot act and the police and military shot a rioter called Josiah Heapy while they were trying to quell it.

I did this painting at least ten years ago and recently it appeared in the local press to illustrate the root. I wrote to the paper giving them retrospective permission to use it, but now it’s on other Facebook pages. When I informed one page they took it down. I don’t mind it being used but I did it and several others and would like some recognition. Some people speculated that I copied it from prints from the time. But actually I researched it. Look closely and you will see faces of customers, staff and the owners of the hotel. I used old prints to get the buildings right in the background. Things have changed since then including a victorian town hall which was built later. The police and mounted regiment are in uniforms that I had to guess. I tried getting the information but could not find it out in time.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Chartists

Mural of Burslem Riot

Leopard mural