Samuel Bamford

Samuel Bamford

Samuel Bamford (born February 28, 1788 in Middleton , Lancashire , † April 13, 1872 in Harpurhey , Manchester ) was an English radical and writer .

The son of the weaver and part-time teacher Daniel Bamford attended Manchester Grammar School, became a weaver and then a warehouse worker in Manchester .

In 1817 he was imprisoned in New Bailey Prison in Salford on suspicion of high treason because of his political activities (see Blanketeers ), brought to London and released by the Privy Council .

When he led a group from Middleton to St. Peter Fields in August 1819 to push for parliamentary reform and the repeal of the Corn Laws , he witnessed the Peterloo massacre . He was arrested, charged with high treason and sentenced to one year in Lincoln Prison for incitement to riot. The massacre had made a great impression on him, and he came to the realization that state power would always succeed against radical militancy. He then spoke out in favor of radical reforms, but was an opponent of violent activism.

His lyrics show compassion for workers' conditions.

Publications

• 1817: An Account of the Arrest and Imprisonment of Samuel Bamford, Middleton, on Suspicion of High Treason
• 1819: The Weaver Boy, or Miscellaneous Poetry
• 1843: Homely Rhymes
• 1840–42 Passages in the Life of a Radical (many later editions).
• 1844: Walks in South Lancashire and on its Borders. With letters, descriptions, narratives and observations current and incidental , 1844
• 1849: Early Days , 2nd ed. 1859
• 1850: Tawk o'Seawth Lankeshur, by Samhul Beamfort
• 1853: Life of Amos Ogden
• 1854: The Dialect of South Lancashire, or Tim Bobbin's Tummus and Meary, with his Rhymes, with Glossary
• 1864: Homely Rhymes, Poems and Reminiscences

Web links

• Samuel Smiles: Samuel Bamford.