Sean Cooney and friends tell the harrowing story of The Peterloo Massacre of 1819 – with gory details all included. It’s the tale of an event that must never be forgotten and, in the capable hands of Sean & Co, the story of Peter’s Field is a folk epic.
PETERLOO MASSACRE
I love a folk opera and, make no mistake, Peter’s Field – the new album from Sean Cooney and his well-connected friends is a true epic. 40-year-old Young ‘Un, Sean, is a great friend of ours and, along with his Young ‘Un mates, Michael Hughes and David Eagle, he’s known for his empathetic interpretations of songs that describe working class hardship. And stories of the working class struggle don’t come any more tragic or laced with hardship than the events that took place on Monday 16th August 1819 on Peter’s Field in Manchester.
If, like me, you are ‘lucky’ enough to have been educated in the Manchester area, then the story of the Peterloo Massacre will already be familiar to you. On that fateful day, an estimated 60,000 people gathered on the field (the site is now occupied by Manchester’s Free Trade Hall) to campaign for the reform of parliamentary representation. The radical speaker, Henry ‘Orator’ Hunt would be appearing and hopes were high.
A HISTORIC EVENT
People had travelled to the event from all the mill towns of Lancashire. The attendees were unarmed, they wore their best clothes, sang patriotic songs and many had brought their children along to what they expected to be an historic event. It was, but not in the way they’d expected…
The local magistrates were uneasy at the sight of such a large gathering of people that they felt had no right to express opinions and they sent the Manchester and Salford Yeomanry Cavalry into the crowd to apprehend and arrest Hunt and the other speakers. The cavalry were followed by the 15th Hussars, who had been given orders to clear the field. In the carnage that ensued, eighteen people were killed and an estimated 700 were injured, many seriously. Nobody was held accountable for the deaths and injuries.
AN IMMENSE ACHIEVEMENT
Peter’s Field, Sean’s oration of the massacre in words and music, is an immense achievement. It tells the story of the day in granular detail, with none of the gory reality left to the imagination. The opera (we’ll call it that, shall we?) was premiered at the FolkEast Festival in Suffolk on 16th August 2024 – the 205th anniversary of the massacre – and, now this epic is available as a CD or Download, with an accompanying script. And, I have to say it: this one is a must-have.
Sean has assembled something that looks, to me, very much like a folk supergroup to tell this story. He’s joined by Eliza Carthy, Sam Carter and Jennifer Reid, all of whom are highly acclaimed artists. Eliza plays some wonderful fiddle throughout the album, Sean and Sam share guitar and vocal duties and Jennifer holds the whole thing together with her biting, lucid, narration and a vocal contribution that never steers clear of the point to be made – and which brooks no argument and Ben Nicholls chips in with any extra instrumentation required. The album was recorded was recorded around Rochdale, Middleton and Manchester and background sounds include the noise from trams, as they passed the Peterloo Memorial in central Manchester on the site of the massacre.
The story of the massacre is told in three parts – a description of the environment and circumstances that fed the mill workers’ grievances, together with a journal of the build-up to the protest, the story of the massacre itself and a reflection of the aftermath of the battle. There’s a lot of spoken word – absolutely necessary to tell the story in a lucid way – and musical highlights aplenty.
MAGISTRATES AND MILL-OWNERS
An a capella burst from Jennifer gets things underway before Sean’s warm, familiar voice sets the scene with The Road to Peter’s Field. Sean and Sam share the vocals as they summarise the hardships that prompted the masses to converge on Manchester, whilst emphasizing the peaceful mood and intent of the gathering crowd. Little did they know…
The scene is further set by Jennifer, in words and music, as she outlines the lack of representation available to the great majority of people and the ignorance and apathy of the ruling classes – including the royal family. And she delivers her words with true passion and undeniable Lancashire wit.
An ominous tango provides the accompaniment as the magistrates and mill owners assemble, the leader of whom is described in bitter tones by Sean as: “One dancing master who struts like a cock.” The appearance of Manchester’s head constable – “A man you should know – his arse is like a mill” is counteracted by Radical Rags, Sean’s ode to those approaching the event with enthusiasm and in expectation. The song is a rag, and it’s an entertaining one too, sung with wit and palpable joy.
THE SPEAKERS
The event’s speakers are introduced one-by-one. Jennifer describes principal speaker Hunt as “A man with the ability to control this great meeting in a peaceful, quiet and constitutional manner,” although Sean’s song about him isn’t quite as complimentary. In Sean’s quickfire lyrics – brought to life by Eliza’s jaunty fiddle – Hunt seems to come across as something of a showman or a charlatan…
Sam Bamford – the ‘other’ speaker on the hustings – is described in a far more favourable manner. He’d led a group of around 6,000 to the field and Sam tells his story to a nice, slightly bluesy, guitar backing.
Women attended Peter’s Field in significant numbers. Jennifer makes particular reference to the Female Reform Society, a group that received much public ridicule for their audacity in campaigning for suffrage – not for themselves, but for their male partners. Jennifer’s narrative recalls the hideous name-calling that the ladies had to endure but also makes a powerful statement of defiance: “This is no boundary story – we’re on the road to glory. And my name, tonight, will be reform.”
Which serves as an introduction to the third of the event’s key campaigners. Mary Fildes was the President of the Manchester Female Reform Society and, as the story unfolds, we discover that she was a formidable character, despite her deprived upbringing. Jennifer tells her story with a soft melody that concludes by remarking upon Mary’s resemblance to Britannia.
Photo: Dominic Walsh
THE MASSACRE BEGINS…
The military forces start to assemble as ‘Orator’ Hunt arrives at the site and Jennifer’s a capella rendition of the death ballad Fox Robin signals the start of the carnage. She explains the drunken state of many of the Yeomanry as they are instructed by the chief magistrate to apprehend Hunt. Jennifer’s description of the scene as the soldiers hack their way through the crowd to reach Hunt is vivid and harrowing and it’s impossible not to picture the unfolding disaster.
“The women seemed to be the special objects of the rage of these bastard soldiers,” comments Jennifer, as the massacre gathers pace. But Mary Fildes stood her ground and, in a melodic reprise, Jennifer sings of how she held her banner high amid the carnage, before making her escape and living to tell her tale.
It’s significant that many of the enlisted soldiers at the event were familiar to the campaigners and Sam’s rendition of the story of soldier Thomas Shelmerdine is particularly poignant. Sam’s ballad recalls Shelmerdine’s upbringing, during which his intrinsic mean streak was specially cultivated. Shelmerdine’s part in the massacre culminated in the murder of a local female acquaintance.
MANCHESTER WAS MURDER
With the massacre over, the soldiers disperse the crowd and Sean and the band contemplate the aftermath. They start on a breezy note with John Brierley’s Cheese, a charming, comic song that tells how Brierley escaped death by trampling because he kept his cheese in his hat. At last – one small victory for the little guy on a day of unremitting slaughter…
And the outcome of the events are brought into sharp focus, firstly by Jennifer’s description of the horrors of the post-battle scene and then by Sean, as he sings the names of deceased – a list that includes men, women and children.
Perhaps the most poignant moment on the entire album comes with John Lees, Sean’s song of ‘an Oldham lad’ who had served, just a few years prior to the massacre, at the Battle of Waterloo. Lees had been lured to Peter’s Field by the prospect of reform but suffered a savage attack at the hands of the military and the police. But, as Sean’s lyrics point out: “At Waterloo, the fight was fair – it was man-to-man each side. But ‘Manchester was murder,’ he said – before he died.”
MAY YOU BLOOM ON PETER’S FIELD
Jennifer explains that the murderous forces were given a royal vote of thanks, before she and Sam wrap things up by considering the long-term outcome of the massacre. Hunt went on to be an MP and both Bamford and Mary Filde had long, fulfilling lives, during which their commitment to reform never wavered. And, it’s true, we wouldn’t enjoy the freedoms we have today if such people had shied away from their challenge. Peter’s Field tells a story that must never be forgotten.
“There’s a story still to be sung. There’s a future to be run. Though you are a tiny seed, may you bloom on Peter’s Field.”
Peter’s Field is to be released as a CD/Book via Hudson Records that recounts not only the events, but the extensive research that Cooney has put into this project. It contains the script, archive imagery and the roots of the project stemming from 2019’s Peterloo Rising. Peter’s Field will be available from March 23rd 2026.
Listen to The Road to Peter’s Field – the song that sets the scene for this engaging story – below.
Sean Cooney: Website
Sam Carter: Website
Eliza Carthy: Website
Jennifer Reid: Website