Winter Hill 125 and the Diggers Festival

Winter Hill 125

On the 5th of September, I found myself in Bolton enjoying the commemoration of the 125 years' anniversary of the mass trespass of Winter Hill. This is the mass trespass you probably haven't heard of. Everyone has heard of the trespass at Kinder Scout in the Peak district in 1932. Why Kinder was unique in the way it captured the public imagination I am not sure. Undoubtedly, the hill itself is far superior to Winter Hill, both in terms of size, topography and views. It also took place in what became the first national park and almost marks the starting point of the first long distance walking route: the Pennine Way. Nonetheless, the near complete obscurity of this important chapter in the history of the battle for access rights is unwarranted. This commemoration, with over 1000 in attendance, and notable guest speakers such as Guy Shrubsole, the author of the wonderful Who Owns England, will hopefully go some way toward ushering in a resurgence of interest. In this post, I will say more about the Winter Hill Trespass and the 125 year commemoration. Oh, and if you happen to stumble upon any of the media coverage of the event, look out for a stout young chap in a blue t-shirt and backpack close to the banners! You might have just caught sight of the Northern Rambler. 

The mass trespass took place on the 6th of September 1896. The wealthy landowner, Richard Henry Ainsworth, closed off Coalpit Lane, which was one of the main points of access to Winter Hill. Naturally the people of Bolton were furious. Escaping to the moors after a hard working week provided an opportunity to breathe in clean air and to escape from the smoky greyness of industrial surroundings. But no, the welfare of the community and their right to explore the natural landscape was deemed by the landowner to be subordinate to his right to exclusive use of the land for his own designs. These "designs" in all likelihood amounting to being unmolested in his desire to massacre grouse. 

Something had to be done. Radicalism was brewing in Bolton around this time, as it was in many other Northern Towns where the industrial revolution thrived. The demonstration against the landowner's closure of the pit was organised by the Bolton Socialist Party. The demonstration proceeded through the streets of Haliwell, up past Smithshall and then up onto the moor. We followed this route on our commemorative walk. As the demonstrators progressed through their route, more and more joined them; the total number allegedly reaching over 10,000. After trespassing onto the moor, the demonstrators made their way across the top of Winter Hill and descended into the village of Belmont. Laudable though the demonstrators' actions were, they did not accomplish their desired aim. The landowner did not acquiesce to their requests and sought the prosecution of those involved. Ten protesters found themselves on trial six months after the trespass, two of whom - Solomon Partington and William Hutchinson - ended up facing costs of over £600. But the spirit of the trespass lived on. In 1996, one century after the original trespass, a commemoration march took place. Following this, the council finally declared a right of access to Winter Hill. 

Our commemorative walk basically followed the route of the original trespassers. We began at the car park of Haliwell Health Centre. A number of groups and organisations were assembled, several with their own commemorative banners. There was the Bolton Socialist Party, the Ramblers, Pendle Radicals and volunteers from ILP Clarion House, including their choir. I was speaking to one of these volunteers as we assembled on the nearby green. She was making a documentary of the day's events. As she was informing me of the organisation, I recalled that I follow the group on facebook. They are based at the foot of Pendle Hill, and like several of the other organisations present, have a history of celebrating the radical history of Lancashire. It was on the green that the speeches were made. The mayor of Bolton gave the first speech. The highlight for me was Guy Shrubsole, author of Who Owns England? a highly comprehensive and well-written exploration of land ownership in England. His book details how powerful interests have worked to conceal information about who owns land in this country. Even now, the land registry remains incomplete, and much of the information it holds, including information about private individual ownership, remains concealed from public view. 

The Diggers Festival

The following weekend I found myself at Wigan Diggers Festival, another celebration of North West radicalism. The festival celebrates the Diggers movement and its Wigan-born founder, Gerrard Winstanley (1609-1676). Some consider Winstanley to be one of the earliest socialists. The term socialist had not come into use during his lifetime, but many of his ideals are of a socialist nature. Appalled by the Enclosures, whereby wealthy Landlords enclosed - basically privatised - what had previously been common land, Winstanley declared that the land ought to be held in common as a "common treasury for all." In some ways, things have changed little since then. The nature of land ownership in Britain is deeply unequal and many of the nation's biggest landowners can still trace their inheritance to well before Winstanley's time. Not far from where I am in Lancaster, the Duke of Westminster's vast Estate can be traced back to the Norman Conquest, when William the Conqueror parceled out large swathes of the country to his supporters. His father, the 6th Duke of Westminster was admirably honest in his response to being asked for advice on how a person can succeed: “Make sure they have an ancestor who was a very close friend of William the Conqueror.” If that weren't depressing enough, inhabitants of England and Wales have access to only 8% of the landscape. This was only recently legislated for in the Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) Act (2000). The situation is much better north of the border in Scotland, where inhabitants have a general right to roam the landscape, excluding places such as gardens, schools and cultivated land. With a Conservative government whose MPs and funders includes many in the ranks of the Landed Gentry, I hold little optimism about the right to roam being extended south of the border. 

The festival began with a historical reenactment of the Diggers, accompanied by the Clarion Choir. This was followed by a succession of artists on the main stage, from punk bands, acoustic guitarists to spoken word performers, most of whom performing politically conscious works in the spirit of Winstanley's movement. There were also some high profile visitors. Most notably Jeremy Corbyn and the actor Maxine Peake, who had just returned from Liverpool where they had been protesting an Arms Fair. I caught sight of Peake, who was chatting to one of the stall holders. Unfortunately I missed Corbyn, who took to the stage after I had left, though I have heard him speak on a number of occasions at Durham Miner's Gala. Like him or loathe him, it cannot be denied that he is a man of principle; more than can be said of any of the current leaders of the two main parties. 

These were both highly enjoyable days, combining my interests in land-access, history and political radicalism and I look forward to attending the Diggers Festival again in the future. And fingers crossed, my local Durham Miner's Gala, the nation's best celebration of the labour movement, will hopefully return to its former glory after a two-year hiatus.