Next Society Meeting: Monday 18th November
"Manchester's Radical Mayor: Abel Heywood, the Man who Built the Town Hall"
Joanna Williams
November’s talk? First let’s try a little word association, Manchester Town Hall – does Alfred Waterhouse or closed for six years come to mind ?
Or what of the clock bell,
Great Abel, weighing in at 8 tons 2.5 cwt in the 280ft tower? Abel who ? You may well ask.
Abel Heywood, that's who.
Born in 1810 to a poor family in Prestwich, his father's death when Heywood was only 5 resulted in him having received very little formal education. Despite this Heywood built up a thriving printing and bookselling business at an early age. A radical in his politics, Heywood nevertheless won a succession of positions in local government, serving as both a town councillor and as an alderman prior to his first election as mayor in 1862. A mayor who published "Poor Man's Guardian", a working man's newspaper which sold for one penny. Refusing to pay the stamp duty imposed on all newspapers of the time, he was prosecuted several times, serving a 4 month prison sentence in the early 1830s. . It was during his second term as mayor, in 1877, that he presided over the opening of his city’s new town hall, which served as both as a symbol of Manchester’s newfound status and an embodiment of Heywood’s role in shepherding its development. Speaker Joanna Williams, author of
‘Manchester’s Radical Mayor: Abel Heywood, The Man Who Built the Town Hall’ will explore many fascinating facets of this Mancunian’s history at the monthly meeting.
The meetings take place in Marple Methodist Church on Church Lane, Marple. Postcode: SK6 7AY
Visitors are welcome to attend at a cost of £3.
Doors open 7:15pm ready for the meeting at 7:45.
Access is via the main entrance on Church Lane (opposite Mount Drive) and the meetings will be held on the church ground floor.
http://www.marplelocalhistorysociety.org.uk/society-meetings.html