Rare jug showing Peterloo Massacre to go on display

An "exceptionally rare" jug commemorating the Peterloo Massacre is to go on display in Manchester.

Thousands of people gathered in the city on 16 August 1819 to take part in a peaceful protest calling for political reform and more voting rights.

As many as 18 protesters are believed to have been killed, with many more injured, after soldiers were ordered to arrest the demonstration's leaders and put an end to the protest.

Jenny Mabbott, from the People's History Museum, said the jug - which will be on display from 1 August to 3 January - was a "direct link to one of the defining moments in the history of democracy in Britain".

The jug was acquired thanks to support from the Art Fund, the national charity for museums and galleries.

Experts believe the jug was made in the years following the massacre and that it reflected the escalating public anger felt in its aftermath, the People's History Museum said.

It features a map of the site where the Peterloo Massacre took place when yeomanry charged into a crowd of about 60,000 people.

Although the jugs would have been produced on a commercial scale, no other examples of this design have been identified, making this one exceptionally rare.

It will join significant Peterloo objects already on display at the museum including yeomanry sabres, a commemorative handkerchief, and a cane carried by one of the protesters.

Mabbott, the museum's head of collections and engagement, said: "We are thrilled to add this rare Peterloo commemorative jug to the museum's collection and very thankful to the Art Fund for helping us to secure it.

"What first appears as a domestic object has been transformed in its decoration into a political statement.

"This jug provides a direct link to one of the defining moments in the history of democracy in Britain, and it's wonderful to know that its new home will be at the national museum of democracy."

Prof Robert Poole, Peterloo historian and author of works including Peterloo: the English Uprising, has supported efforts to bring the jug to the museum.

He said it was an "exciting addition" to the permanent Peterloo displays and adds "a new dimension to the story of Peterloo, enriching our understanding of the event's impact and legacy".

He added: "There's no more fitting place for it to be."

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