1. From the Editor’s Chair: WE’VE REACHED A DOZEN!

What are we celebrating at our 12th Annual Chartist Convention in 2018? This year’s the Convention kicks off the first Chartist Festival held in Newport since the 150th Anniversary of the Rising in 1989. The recent founding of the charitable trust Our Chartist Heritage has made it possible to extend the already well established Chartist Autumn calendar. The Music and Street Performance over the ‘Rising’ weekend (Nov 3rd & 4th) is a great addition.

 

A fitting celebration is clearly being created for the centenary of Chartism’s Vindication in 1918.... SEE FULL EDITORIAL

 

2. Chartist Convention Programme (£10 including Lunch- Full Details and How to Book): Held Saturday October 27th at the John Frost School, Newport. The 2018 Convention programme has a top line up of speakers discussing the long struggle for Universal Suffrage (Chartists, Suffragists and Suffragettes), also Chartist iconography, the radicalism of Dr. William Price and a Presentation given by pupils of John Frost School

 

3. Talking with Terry Frost Jones’ (part 1): Les James met Terry at the first Convention held in 2007. ‘Chartist ancestors’ was the theme of the day and Terry, born and bred at Monmouth, living since 1979 in New Zealand, declared he was a direct descendant of John Frost. In this, the first of a series exploring Terry’s claims, Les James recalls the ‘Chartist coach tour’ through Gwent when he first talked with Terry.

 

4. Henry Vincent and Chartist Women

In the early months of 1839, Henry Vincent made three speaking tours of Monmouthshire before his arrest. Large family crowds attended open air meetings and indoors, they enjoyed his singing and mimicry, they participated and partied, the girls danced and the harpists played in the public houses, the wives and daughters of Newport’s tradesmen held tea parties in his honour. Vincent supported votes for women and valued women activism. How might the November Rising have been different if he had NOT been gaoled?

 

5. Welsh Banners? Dr. Mathew Roberts (Sheffield Hallam University) Dr Roberts, who is a speaker at this year’s Convention on Chartist iconography has been searching the archives for descriptions of Welsh banners. Can you help?

 

6. Banners at the Chartist Rally at Coalbrookvale 1st July 1839 - snippet from the Monmouthshire Merlin 13 July 1839

 

7. Chartism Day 9 June 2018 – Colin Gibson reports on conference held at University College, London. Themes of the day were Rebecca, the Chartist Land Plan, ‘Knowledge Chartism’, Chartist Hymn Singing and European Revolutionaries, including Beniowski, a Polish refugee living in London.

 

8. ‘Feargus O’Connor’ at Kennington Common 9 June 2018 - Paul Harman is intrigued as to how speakers like Feargus O’Connor could so effectively communicate with thousands of people.

 

9. Entertaining, Informing and Educating Stuart Butler discusses what he and his co-performers, Rachel Simpson and Keith Butler learned from their performance this summer at Newport Cathedral (5th July) of their show about George Shell and the Newport Rising. He describes their preparations for the Stroud Theatre Festival (14th -16th September) and how they proposed to tackle the challenge of making their story accessible to audiences unfamiliar with its period, place and context.

 

10. Bristol Riots Walk 2018 led by Steve Spears

Sarah Villiers reports

 

11. Autumn Events – Chartist Festival (details of other events are welcome)

 

The Convention is held a week ahead of the Music, Street Performance and People’s March in the City centre, the Commemoration Ceremony at St. Woolos and a variety of activities at other venues.

 

Sat 20 Oct

Suffragettes and Winning the Vote for Women Dr.Elin Jones included in Heritage Day programme at Ty Ebbw Fach, Six Bells
 Link Poster

 

Wed 24 Oct

Schools Chartist Celebration at St. Woolos Cathedral 10.30-14.00

 

Sat 27 Oct

12th Chartists Convention at John Frost School,
starts 9.30 -16.00 Book your tickets:

 

Fri 2 Nov

Film Show at The Gallery Space, Newport Market (indoor)

 

Sat Nov 3

10.00 – 15.00

The People’s Market at The Gallery
 Live Music and Performance in Newport city centre

16.00 -18.00

Chartist March from Belle Vue Park to the Westgate Hotel

 

Sun 4 Nov

10.00 – 14.00

From Trefil, (nr. Tredgar) to the ‘Chartist Cave’, Guided walk.

4.00pm

Newport Rising Event at Newport Cathedral (St. Woolos)

 

Tues 13 Nov

7.00 pm

A Dozen Conventions – An Update on Chartism Les James
Newport Art Gallery (Friends of Newport Museum & Art Gallery)
Non-FONMAG members welcome, £2 entrance charge

 

Wed 14 Nov
10.30 -14.00

Welsh Government/ Senedd Schools event ; Presentation 18.00 at the Pierhead Building, Cardiff Bay (By invitation)

 

Wed 21 Nov

7.15 pm

Whose Heritage is it Anyway? Memorialising British Movements 1792-1840

Prof Steve Poole (UWE) Cardiff University Continuing and Professional Education,
21-23 Senghenydd Rd. Cardiff CF24 4AG.

FREE, no need to book

 

Editors: Les James and David Mayer c/o les.james22@gmail.com

 

Thanks to David Osmond, Ray Stroud, Sarah Villiers, Sarah Richards, Muriel Anderson, Colin Gibson for their help in the production of this eMagazine