The memorial to the Peterloo massacre, designed by Jeremy Deller. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian
The memorial to the Peterloo massacre, designed by Jeremy Deller. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian
Sun 11 Jul 2021 02.00 EDT
Peterloo protest
In Manchester, a case of good intentions gone awry. A memorial was built to the Peterloo massacre of 1819, in which protesters for parliamentary reform were killed by a cavalry charge. It is by the exceptional artist Jeremy Deller and the exceptional architects Caruso St John, respectively winners of the Turner and Stirling prizes, and went through extensive consultations before it was built. It is beautifully crafted out of multicoloured stone from all regions of the UK and is inscribed with the names of victims and the towns and villages from which protesters came.