35:, who held a common agenda with regards to political and social reform. The first group met from 1815 onwards to campaign for expanded political representation and gain social reform in the United Kingdom. The second group operated from 1830 onwards and was key in creating the popular movement that resulted in the
267:. But when Parliament refused to take action, in 1831 Absalom Watkin drew up a petition asking the government to grant Manchester two members of parliament. Parliament passed the Reform Act in 1832, and the group gave Manchester its first post-reform MPs: Mark Philips and
279:
By the time the Reform Act 1832 had become law, Manchester had become a borough and many social reforms had come to fruition. Members of the group had established themselves in society, with Joseph
Brotherton becoming MP for
252:; John Edward Taylor. The group supported social reform issues closely but discreetly: Taylor survived a trial for libel; Shuttleworth organised the defence of plebeian reformers accused of administering an illegal oath.
222:
In 1820 Brotherton, Shuttleworth and Thomas Potter founded the
Manchester Chamber of Commerce. In the following year, the group supported John Edward Taylor in founding a liberal newspaper the
119:
in the case of
Stockport. By comparison, more than half of all MPs were elected by a total of just 154 voters. These inequalities in political representation led to calls for reform.
236:
From 1830 a second Little Circle, comprising 11 Manchester businessmen, met at the Cannon Street warehouse of Potter's trading company. Seven were
Unitarians, including five from the
526:
296:. Thomas Potter became the first Mayor of Manchester on its incorporation. Ten out of the first 28 mayors of Manchester were associated with Cross Street Chapel.
289:
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48:
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173:
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405:
228:, to which they all contributed. Taylor continued to edit the newspaper which was published by law only once a week until his death.
465:
440:
189:
259:
convicted of gross electoral corruption should be transferred to industrial towns, citing and targeting example boroughs including
249:
115:, with a combined population of almost one million, were represented by either the two county MPs for Lancashire, or the two for
72:
127:
The first Little Circle was formed from 1815 onwards by cotton merchant John Potter. The group was influenced by the ideas of
521:
25:
88:
458:
Reform and
Respectability: The Making of a Middle-class Liberalism in Early 19th-century Manchester (Chetham Society)
490:
241:
56:
219:
in successive police prosecutions, the group decided that the time was right to advance its liberalist agenda.
169:
268:
52:
248:, and brothers, Edward and William Baxter (all cotton merchants); Fenton Atkinson (Manchester attorney);
83:
which had almost completely disappeared into the sea by the early 19th century. The major urban centres,
64:
51:
was represented by two members of parliament (MPs). Voting was restricted to the adult male owners of
197:
67:, by a public spoken declaration at the hustings. Constituency boundaries were out of date, and the "
347:
494:
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32:
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28:
409:
135:, objecting to a political representation system that denied booming industrial cities such as
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436:
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36:
368:'Manchester Gazette,' 7 August 1819, quoted in David Ayerst, 'The Guardian,' 1971, p 20
193:
128:
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60:
515:
164:) called them the "Little Circle" and its members included John Potter and his sons
151:
313:
136:
84:
21:
379:
112:
96:
100:
433:
Poor Men's
Guardians: Survey of the Democratic and Working-class Press
150:
Meetings were held at John Potter's home and its core membership were
108:
92:
71:" had a hugely disproportionate influence on the membership of the
63:
80 as of 2008 – and votes could only be cast in the county town of
140:
184:(Non-conformist minister and pioneering vegetarian);
485:
483:
481:
479:
477:
143:and Manchester proportionate representation in the
255:The group initially proposed that the seats of
240:: Thomas and Richard Potter; Absalom Watkin;
8:
75:compared to the size of their populations:
200:); and William Cowdroy Jnr (editor of the
79:, with one voter, elected two MPs, as did
333:
331:
213:in 1819, and the closure of the liberal
192:(industrialist and municipal reformer);
384:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
305:
527:Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom
288:and John Benjamin Smith became MP for
456:Dr Michael J Turner (15 April 1995).
7:
431:Stanley Harrison (31 October 1974).
408:. archiveshub.ac.uk. Archived from
59:or more – the equivalent of about
14:
435:. Lawrence & W; 1st Edition.
380:"Brotherton, Joseph (1783–1857)"
73:Parliament of the United Kingdom
1:
196:(parliamentary reformer and
460:. Carnegie Publishing Ltd.
543:
491:"Before the Welfare State"
386:. Oxford University Press
284:, Richard Potter, MP for
170:first mayor of Manchester
337:Reid (1989), p. 28.
198:anti corn law campaigner
31:, mostly members of the
350:. BBC News. 19 May 1998
316:. The National Archives
269:Charles Poulett Thomson
55:land valued at 40
378:Peter Shapely (2004).
348:"The Great reform Act"
522:History of Manchester
244:, John Shuttleworth,
209:After witnessing the
158:(later editor of the
314:"Currency converter"
232:Second Little Circle
495:Cross Street Chapel
246:John Benjamin Smith
238:Cross Street Chapel
225:Manchester Guardian
216:Manchester Observer
188:(cotton merchant);
123:First Little Circle
203:Manchester Gazette
186:John Edward Taylor
156:Archibald Prentice
211:Peterloo massacre
190:John Shuttleworth
182:Joseph Brotherton
105:Ashton-under-Lyne
534:
506:
505:
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406:"Richard Potter"
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161:Manchester Times
145:House of Commons
133:Joseph Priestley
24:-based group of
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290:Stirling Burghs
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257:rotten boroughs
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180:) and William;
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69:rotten boroughs
45:
37:Reform Act 1832
33:Portico Library
12:
11:
5:
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412:on 8 July 2012
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250:William Harvey
233:
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194:Absalom Watkin
129:Jeremy Bentham
124:
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44:
41:
26:Non-conformist
13:
10:
9:
6:
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3:
2:
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18:Little Circle
498:. Retrieved
457:
451:
432:
426:
414:. Retrieved
410:the original
400:
388:. Retrieved
383:
373:
364:
352:. Retrieved
342:
318:. Retrieved
308:
278:
265:East Retford
254:
242:Mark Philips
235:
223:
221:
214:
208:
201:
178:MP for Wigan
159:
149:
126:
46:
17:
15:
416:13 February
516:Categories
500:12 October
300:References
292:and later
152:Unitarians
137:Birmingham
85:Manchester
49:Lancashire
43:Background
22:Manchester
294:Stockport
113:Stockport
97:Blackburn
77:Old Sarum
65:Lancaster
57:shillings
47:In 1819,
390:28 March
354:26 March
117:Cheshire
101:Rochdale
53:freehold
29:Liberals
320:8 April
282:Salford
176:(later
174:Richard
168:(later
89:Salford
81:Dunwich
464:
439:
275:Legacy
261:Penryn
166:Thomas
109:Oldham
93:Bolton
20:was a
286:Wigan
141:Leeds
502:2020
462:ISBN
437:ISBN
418:2012
392:2009
356:2008
322:2008
263:and
131:and
111:and
16:The
206:).
172:),
518::
493:.
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330:^
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147:.
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504:.
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445:.
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324:.
61:£
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