Selsley 1839
Selsley 1839 I’ll never forget last Tuesday, even if I live to seventy. We all woke up so excited, never eaten porridge so fast. We put on our best blouses, aprons and hats, The men shaved their chins, put on their caps, Moleskin trousers and fustian waistcoats, And...
What If?
What If? What if the soldiers hadn’t fired From the shutters of the Westgate Hotel, But downed their weapons and deserted instead, To join the ranks of the democrats? What if George Shell hadn’t endured an agonising death Through three long hours, But was...
A Gift from Newport to Stroud
So here I am in my front room in Rodborough, Stroud; I looked out of my front room window, To look for John Frost’s ghost climbing up Rodborough Hill, 3,000 gathered up there on the common, Where I so often picture them, John Frost on the horse drawn cart, Addressing...
The Pubs and Inns of the 1839 Newport Rising
The Pubs and Inns of the 1839 Newport Rising I sing a song of tram-roads, canals, and turnpikes, A song of collieries, iron works and tin-works, Of forge and smith and furnace, Of chapel and beer house and wayside inn, A song of club and pub and tavern And working...
Stroud and Newport Conjoined
Newport and Stroud Conjoined So here I am in The Prince Albert, After musing in late afternoon light In my front room in Coronation Road, Up the road from the Queen Victoria, And the Lord John in Russell Street, Reading a letter to the Home Secretary, Lord John...
Chartist Festival
We are planning to hold a ‘Chartist Festival’ on May 17/18 as a fundraiser for the Heavens and the Trinity Rooms. As many readers know, in 1839, the last armed insurrection on British soil took place: the Newport Rising of 5,000 Chartists, led by John Frost. He had...