The Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II was celebrated from June 2-5, 2022. In June 1832, there were jubilee celebrations of a different kind – they marked a move to make Parliamentary elections fairer.
Jubilees in the early 1800s
King George III may have celebrated his Golden Jubilee in 1809, but while Cumbrians were able to read about how it was commemmorated in London, it otherwise seems to have passed them by.
Any jubilees in Westmorland were purely local affairs: such as, in December 1825, the ‘sumptuous dinner’ laid on at the Elephant Inn to mark the annual jubilee of Kendal Lodge of Freemasons.
Alongside a report (inaccuarate) that Pope Gregory XVI had been killed in an insurrection in Rome, the Westmorland Gazette reports on another local jubilee, in December 1831.
A jubilee for the poor
‘St Thomas’ Day is a jubilee among the poor families resident in the villages of Lowther, Askham, &c, as they can on that day feel and acknowledge the liberal bounty of Earl of Lonsdale, who annually remembers their wants and relieves them’.
This was William – confusingly the 1st Earl of Lonsdale, despite not being the very first Earl of Lonsdale! That title was accorded to Wicked Jimmy (see previous and other posts). But it died with him, in 1802. The title was then revived (in 1807) for his cousin William (1757-1844).
William seems to have been far more charitable the first holder of the title. At his 1831 jubilee, he provided villagers with (between them) four large carcasses of good beef, woollen jackets, petticoats, blankets, stockings, and other items of warm clothing ‘to protect them from the inclemency of winter’.
The Gazette exhorted ‘the affluent’ to likewise ‘remember the poor’ (if they didn’t already to so).
The story is followed by news that Kendal Vagrant Office had ‘relieved’ ten men, six women and five children that week. Amount of relief: six shillings and seven pence.
The 1832 jubilee
A Grand National Jubilee was proposed in 1832. Nothing to do with royalty, but to celebrate the passing into law of the Reform Bill.
The Reform Act was probably a bit of a shoulder-shrug for most folk. But was a step in the right direction. And who doesn’t enjoy an excuse to party?
The Westmorland Advertiser & Kendal Chronicle (WA&KC) recorded, on June 9, 1832:
‘Great preparations are making throughout the kingdom for celebrating the passing of the Reform Bill, on Tuesday next. Not a city, not a town, not a village, we believe we will be found that will not participate in the Jubilee.’
Having said that:
‘As yet nothing has been decided upon here, but we don’t doubt that the day will be duly honoured – and in a manner becoming the spirited character our townsmen.’
Some doubt then did arise over the date for the National Jubilee, due to two other Bills awaiting Royal Assent.
Carlisle had already got things organised for the original day and they stuck with it.
Earl Grey and the Duke of Wellington
‘Carlisle presented a splendid appearance on Tuesday last. Everyone joined in the general jubilee and the whole day was set apart for mirth and jollity.
‘Three beautiful arches were thrown over the entrances of the town. And by noon, the time appointed for the different trades to walk in procession, upwards of 12,000 persons were congregated on the Sands.’
WA&KC, June 16, 1832
The parade included a copy of the Reform Act, ‘splendidly bound, placed on a velvet cushion’. And a figure of Wellington, prostrate, with Earl Grey’s foot on his neck.
Lord Grey was the (Whig) prime minister who had instituted the reforms. Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington, may have been a hero at Waterloo, but his popularity had fallen like a stone, due to his opposition to electoral reform (source).
Of course today, most people associate Wellington with Waterloo. While Charles, the 2nd Earl Grey, ‘lives on’ through tea!
Given the long list of trades, bands, reform societies and others who took part in the parade, it’s not surprising they stuck to the original date. Those taking part afterwards
‘retired to their respective club-houses and spent the day in harmony
While the poor of the town were provided with a good dinner.
Jubilee celebrations elsewhere in Cumberland
The WA&KC reported, on June 23, that:
‘public rejoicings on an extensive scale have been held at Cockermouth, Keswick and several other towns in Cumberland, since our last (publication), to commemorate the passing of the Reform Bill.’
Whitehaven was to hold its Reform Bill jubilee on June 25.
But a letter in the pro-Tory Gazette on September 1, ridiculing the Reform Bill as of no use to most people, asks, of an upcoming visit to Kendal by local politicians: ‘Are we then to have a Reform Jubilee’? And ‘if so, who will pay for it?’
The answer to the first question was ‘yes’. The date was set for September 7. The answer to the second was that a subscription had been set up, to defray the costs of the procession.
The Kendal jubilee
The Kendal jubilee was to be similar to Carlisle’s: three arches would be erected (in Highgate, Stricklandgate, and Stramongate). Assorted trades and societies would parade, with banners and bands. Then they’d all go to their associated pubs for refreshments.
Did the townsfolk think: ‘the Reform Bill won’t help me,’ and boycott the event accordingly?
Or did they think: “Who cares? It’s a public holiday, a day off work, and an afternoon’s entertainment?”
Sour grapes?
The Gazette recorded the jubilee afterwards as a rag-tag procession of drunks and urchins, arguments over the refreshments, and a lack of enthusiasm from the crowd. But given the Gazette’s bias against attendees James Brougham and John Barham (the independent candidates for Kendal and Westmorland, respectively), it wasn’t in their interest to say anything nice about it.
The WA&KC (as reported in The Sun, of London) gives us another view.
‘We may say without fear of contradiction that the town displayed a demonstration of feeling worthy of the inhabitants and unparalleled in the annals of its history.
‘…To give a faint idea of the splendour of the scene is absolutely impossible; upwards of sixty flags and emblems of various colours fluttered in the breeze between Stricklandgate and Kirkland, while the whole length of the way was completely crowded with a dense mass of hum , n beings. We should think there were more than 8,000 people present.’
As for James Brougham and John Barham:
The two candidates, accompanied by C. Barham, Esq. M.P., Arthur Shepherd, Esq. and the party of gentlemen on horseback, then left Shaw End, and met the procession at Spittal, where they were greeted with the most enthusiastic cheering. The whole party returned to Kendal in the same manner, and on the candidates arriving in the front of the King’s Arms Inn, they addressed the assembled concourse at considerable length.
The Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II was celebrated from June 2-5, 2022. In June 1832, there were jubilee celebrations of a different kind – they marked a move to make Parliamentary elections fairer.
Jubilees in the early 1800s
King George III may have celebrated his Golden Jubilee in 1809, but while Cumbrians were able to read about how it was commemmorated in London, it otherwise seems to have passed them by.
Any jubilees in Westmorland were purely local affairs: such as, in December 1825, the ‘sumptuous dinner’ laid on at the Elephant Inn to mark the annual jubilee of Kendal Lodge of Freemasons.
Alongside a report (inaccuarate) that Pope Gregory XVI had been killed in an insurrection in Rome, the Westmorland Gazette reports on another local jubilee, in December 1831.
A jubilee for the poor
‘St Thomas’ Day is a jubilee among the poor families resident in the villages of Lowther, Askham, &c, as they can on that day feel and acknowledge the liberal bounty of Earl of Lonsdale, who annually remembers their wants and relieves them’.
This was William – confusingly the 1st Earl of Lonsdale, despite not being the very first Earl of Lonsdale! That title was accorded to Wicked Jimmy (see previous and other posts). But it died with him, in 1802. The title was then revived (in 1807) for his cousin William (1757-1844).
William seems to have been far more charitable the first holder of the title. At his 1831 jubilee, he provided villagers with (between them) four large carcasses of good beef, woollen jackets, petticoats, blankets, stockings, and other items of warm clothing ‘to protect them from the inclemency of winter’.
The Gazette exhorted ‘the affluent’ to likewise ‘remember the poor’ (if they didn’t already to so).
The story is followed by news that Kendal Vagrant Office had ‘relieved’ ten men, six women and five children that week. Amount of relief: six shillings and seven pence.
The 1832 jubilee
A Grand National Jubilee was proposed in 1832. Nothing to do with royalty, but to celebrate the passing into law of the Reform Bill.
The Reform Act was probably a bit of a shoulder-shrug for most folk. But was a step in the right direction. And who doesn’t enjoy an excuse to party?
The Westmorland Advertiser & Kendal Chronicle (WA&KC) recorded, on June 9, 1832:
‘Great preparations are making throughout the kingdom for celebrating the passing of the Reform Bill, on Tuesday next. Not a city, not a town, not a village, we believe we will be found that will not participate in the Jubilee.’
Having said that:
‘As yet nothing has been decided upon here, but we don’t doubt that the day will be duly honoured – and in a manner becoming the spirited character our townsmen.’
Some doubt then did arise over the date for the National Jubilee, due to two other Bills awaiting Royal Assent.
Carlisle had already got things organised for the original day and they stuck with it.
Earl Grey and the Duke of Wellington
‘Carlisle presented a splendid appearance on Tuesday last. Everyone joined in the general jubilee and the whole day was set apart for mirth and jollity.
‘Three beautiful arches were thrown over the entrances of the town. And by noon, the time appointed for the different trades to walk in procession, upwards of 12,000 persons were congregated on the Sands.’
WA&KC, June 16, 1832
The parade included a copy of the Reform Act, ‘splendidly bound, placed on a velvet cushion’. And a figure of Wellington, prostrate, with Earl Grey’s foot on his neck.
Lord Grey was the (Whig) prime minister who had instituted the reforms. Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington, may have been a hero at Waterloo, but his popularity had fallen like a stone, due to his opposition to electoral reform (source).
Of course today, most people associate Wellington with Waterloo. While Charles, the 2nd Earl Grey, ‘lives on’ through tea!
Given the long list of trades, bands, reform societies and others who took part in the parade, it’s not surprising they stuck to the original date. Those taking part afterwards
‘retired to their respective club-houses and spent the day in harmony
While the poor of the town were provided with a good dinner.
Jubilee celebrations elsewhere in Cumberland
The WA&KC reported, on June 23, that:
‘public rejoicings on an extensive scale have been held at Cockermouth, Keswick and several other towns in Cumberland, since our last (publication), to commemorate the passing of the Reform Bill.’
Whitehaven was to hold its Reform Bill jubilee on June 25.
But a letter in the pro-Tory Gazette on September 1, ridiculing the Reform Bill as of no use to most people, asks, of an upcoming visit to Kendal by local politicians: ‘Are we then to have a Reform Jubilee’? And ‘if so, who will pay for it?’
The answer to the first question was ‘yes’. The date was set for September 7. The answer to the second was that a subscription had been set up, to defray the costs of the procession.
The Kendal jubilee
The Kendal jubilee was to be similar to Carlisle’s: three arches would be erected (in Highgate, Stricklandgate, and Stramongate). Assorted trades and societies would parade, with banners and bands. Then they’d all go to their associated pubs for refreshments.
Did the townsfolk think: ‘the Reform Bill won’t help me,’ and boycott the event accordingly?
Or did they think: “Who cares? It’s a public holiday, a day off work, and an afternoon’s entertainment?”
Sour grapes?
The Gazette recorded the jubilee afterwards as a rag-tag procession of drunks and urchins, arguments over the refreshments, and a lack of enthusiasm from the crowd. But given the Gazette’s bias against attendees James Brougham and John Barham (the independent candidates for Kendal and Westmorland, respectively), it wasn’t in their interest to say anything nice about it.
The WA&KC (as reported in The Sun, of London) gives us another view.
‘We may say without fear of contradiction that the town displayed a demonstration of feeling worthy of the inhabitants and unparalleled in the annals of its history.
‘…To give a faint idea of the splendour of the scene is absolutely impossible; upwards of sixty flags and emblems of various colours fluttered in the breeze between Stricklandgate and Kirkland, while the whole length of the way was completely crowded with a dense mass of hum , n beings. We should think there were more than 8,000 people present.’
As for James Brougham and John Barham:
The two candidates, accompanied by C. Barham, Esq. M.P., Arthur Shepherd, Esq. and the party of gentlemen on horseback, then left Shaw End, and met the procession at Spittal, where they were greeted with the most enthusiastic cheering. The whole party returned to Kendal in the same manner, and on the candidates arriving in the front of the King’s Arms Inn, they addressed the assembled concourse at considerable length.
The Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II was celebrated from June 2-5, 2022. In June 1832, there were jubilee celebrations of a different kind – they marked a move to make Parliamentary elections fairer.
Jubilees in the early 1800s
King George III may have celebrated his Golden Jubilee in 1809, but while Cumbrians were able to read about how it was commemmorated in London, it otherwise seems to have passed them by.
Any jubilees in Westmorland were purely local affairs: such as, in December 1825, the ‘sumptuous dinner’ laid on at the Elephant Inn to mark the annual jubilee of Kendal Lodge of Freemasons.
Alongside a report (inaccuarate) that Pope Gregory XVI had been killed in an insurrection in Rome, the Westmorland Gazette reports on another local jubilee, in December 1831.
A jubilee for the poor
‘St Thomas’ Day is a jubilee among the poor families resident in the villages of Lowther, Askham, &c, as they can on that day feel and acknowledge the liberal bounty of Earl of Lonsdale, who annually remembers their wants and relieves them’.
This was William – confusingly the 1st Earl of Lonsdale, despite not being the very first Earl of Lonsdale! That title was accorded to Wicked Jimmy (see previous and other posts). But it died with him, in 1802. The title was then revived (in 1807) for his cousin William (1757-1844).
William seems to have been far more charitable the first holder of the title. At his 1831 jubilee, he provided villagers with (between them) four large carcasses of good beef, woollen jackets, petticoats, blankets, stockings, and other items of warm clothing ‘to protect them from the inclemency of winter’.
The Gazette exhorted ‘the affluent’ to likewise ‘remember the poor’ (if they didn’t already to so).
The story is followed by news that Kendal Vagrant Office had ‘relieved’ ten men, six women and five children that week. Amount of relief: six shillings and seven pence.
The 1832 jubilee
A Grand National Jubilee was proposed in 1832. Nothing to do with royalty, but to celebrate the passing into law of the Reform Bill.
The Reform Act was probably a bit of a shoulder-shrug for most folk. But was a step in the right direction. And who doesn’t enjoy an excuse to party?
The Westmorland Advertiser & Kendal Chronicle (WA&KC) recorded, on June 9, 1832:
‘Great preparations are making throughout the kingdom for celebrating the passing of the Reform Bill, on Tuesday next. Not a city, not a town, not a village, we believe we will be found that will not participate in the Jubilee.’
Having said that:
‘As yet nothing has been decided upon here, but we don’t doubt that the day will be duly honoured – and in a manner becoming the spirited character our townsmen.’
Some doubt then did arise over the date for the National Jubilee, due to two other Bills awaiting Royal Assent.
Carlisle had already got things organised for the original day and they stuck with it.
Earl Grey and the Duke of Wellington
‘Carlisle presented a splendid appearance on Tuesday last. Everyone joined in the general jubilee and the whole day was set apart for mirth and jollity.
‘Three beautiful arches were thrown over the entrances of the town. And by noon, the time appointed for the different trades to walk in procession, upwards of 12,000 persons were congregated on the Sands.’
WA&KC, June 16, 1832
The parade included a copy of the Reform Act, ‘splendidly bound, placed on a velvet cushion’. And a figure of Wellington, prostrate, with Earl Grey’s foot on his neck.
Lord Grey was the (Whig) prime minister who had instituted the reforms. Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington, may have been a hero at Waterloo, but his popularity had fallen like a stone, due to his opposition to electoral reform (source).
Of course today, most people associate Wellington with Waterloo. While Charles, the 2nd Earl Grey, ‘lives on’ through tea!
Given the long list of trades, bands, reform societies and others who took part in the parade, it’s not surprising they stuck to the original date. Those taking part afterwards
‘retired to their respective club-houses and spent the day in harmony
While the poor of the town were provided with a good dinner.
Jubilee celebrations elsewhere in Cumberland
The WA&KC reported, on June 23, that:
‘public rejoicings on an extensive scale have been held at Cockermouth, Keswick and several other towns in Cumberland, since our last (publication), to commemorate the passing of the Reform Bill.’
Whitehaven was to hold its Reform Bill jubilee on June 25.
But a letter in the pro-Tory Gazette on September 1, ridiculing the Reform Bill as of no use to most people, asks, of an upcoming visit to Kendal by local politicians: ‘Are we then to have a Reform Jubilee’? And ‘if so, who will pay for it?’
The answer to the first question was ‘yes’. The date was set for September 7. The answer to the second was that a subscription had been set up, to defray the costs of the procession.
The Kendal jubilee
The Kendal jubilee was to be similar to Carlisle’s: three arches would be erected (in Highgate, Stricklandgate, and Stramongate). Assorted trades and societies would parade, with banners and bands. Then they’d all go to their associated pubs for refreshments.
Did the townsfolk think: ‘the Reform Bill won’t help me,’ and boycott the event accordingly?
Or did they think: “Who cares? It’s a public holiday, a day off work, and an afternoon’s entertainment?”
Sour grapes?
The Gazette recorded the jubilee afterwards as a rag-tag procession of drunks and urchins, arguments over the refreshments, and a lack of enthusiasm from the crowd. But given the Gazette’s bias against attendees James Brougham and John Barham (the independent candidates for Kendal and Westmorland, respectively), it wasn’t in their interest to say anything nice about it.
The WA&KC (as reported in The Sun, of London) gives us another view.
‘We may say without fear of contradiction that the town displayed a demonstration of feeling worthy of the inhabitants and unparalleled in the annals of its history.
‘…To give a faint idea of the splendour of the scene is absolutely impossible; upwards of sixty flags and emblems of various colours fluttered in the breeze between Stricklandgate and Kirkland, while the whole length of the way was completely crowded with a dense mass of hum , n beings. We should think there were more than 8,000 people present.’
As for James Brougham and John Barham:
The two candidates, accompanied by C. Barham, Esq. M.P., Arthur Shepherd, Esq. and the party of gentlemen on horseback, then left Shaw End, and met the procession at Spittal, where they were greeted with the most enthusiastic cheering. The whole party returned to Kendal in the same manner, and on the candidates arriving in the front of the King’s Arms Inn, they addressed the assembled concourse at considerable length.
The Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II was celebrated from June 2-5, 2022. In June 1832, there were jubilee celebrations of a different kind – they marked a move to make Parliamentary elections fairer.
Jubilees in the early 1800s
King George III may have celebrated his Golden Jubilee in 1809, but while Cumbrians were able to read about how it was commemmorated in London, it otherwise seems to have passed them by.
Any jubilees in Westmorland were purely local affairs: such as, in December 1825, the ‘sumptuous dinner’ laid on at the Elephant Inn to mark the annual jubilee of Kendal Lodge of Freemasons.
Alongside a report (inaccuarate) that Pope Gregory XVI had been killed in an insurrection in Rome, the Westmorland Gazette reports on another local jubilee, in December 1831.
A jubilee for the poor
‘St Thomas’ Day is a jubilee among the poor families resident in the villages of Lowther, Askham, &c, as they can on that day feel and acknowledge the liberal bounty of Earl of Lonsdale, who annually remembers their wants and relieves them’.
This was William – confusingly the 1st Earl of Lonsdale, despite not being the very first Earl of Lonsdale! That title was accorded to Wicked Jimmy (see previous and other posts). But it died with him, in 1802. The title was then revived (in 1807) for his cousin William (1757-1844).
William seems to have been far more charitable the first holder of the title. At his 1831 jubilee, he provided villagers with (between them) four large carcasses of good beef, woollen jackets, petticoats, blankets, stockings, and other items of warm clothing ‘to protect them from the inclemency of winter’.
The Gazette exhorted ‘the affluent’ to likewise ‘remember the poor’ (if they didn’t already to so).
The story is followed by news that Kendal Vagrant Office had ‘relieved’ ten men, six women and five children that week. Amount of relief: six shillings and seven pence.
The 1832 jubilee
A Grand National Jubilee was proposed in 1832. Nothing to do with royalty, but to celebrate the passing into law of the Reform Bill.
The Reform Act was probably a bit of a shoulder-shrug for most folk. But was a step in the right direction. And who doesn’t enjoy an excuse to party?
The Westmorland Advertiser & Kendal Chronicle (WA&KC) recorded, on June 9, 1832:
‘Great preparations are making throughout the kingdom for celebrating the passing of the Reform Bill, on Tuesday next. Not a city, not a town, not a village, we believe we will be found that will not participate in the Jubilee.’
Having said that:
‘As yet nothing has been decided upon here, but we don’t doubt that the day will be duly honoured – and in a manner becoming the spirited character our townsmen.’
Some doubt then did arise over the date for the National Jubilee, due to two other Bills awaiting Royal Assent.
Carlisle had already got things organised for the original day and they stuck with it.
Earl Grey and the Duke of Wellington
‘Carlisle presented a splendid appearance on Tuesday last. Everyone joined in the general jubilee and the whole day was set apart for mirth and jollity.
‘Three beautiful arches were thrown over the entrances of the town. And by noon, the time appointed for the different trades to walk in procession, upwards of 12,000 persons were congregated on the Sands.’
WA&KC, June 16, 1832
The parade included a copy of the Reform Act, ‘splendidly bound, placed on a velvet cushion’. And a figure of Wellington, prostrate, with Earl Grey’s foot on his neck.
Lord Grey was the (Whig) prime minister who had instituted the reforms. Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington, may have been a hero at Waterloo, but his popularity had fallen like a stone, due to his opposition to electoral reform (source).
Of course today, most people associate Wellington with Waterloo. While Charles, the 2nd Earl Grey, ‘lives on’ through tea!
Given the long list of trades, bands, reform societies and others who took part in the parade, it’s not surprising they stuck to the original date. Those taking part afterwards
‘retired to their respective club-houses and spent the day in harmony
While the poor of the town were provided with a good dinner.
Jubilee celebrations elsewhere in Cumberland
The WA&KC reported, on June 23, that:
‘public rejoicings on an extensive scale have been held at Cockermouth, Keswick and several other towns in Cumberland, since our last (publication), to commemorate the passing of the Reform Bill.’
Whitehaven was to hold its Reform Bill jubilee on June 25.
But a letter in the pro-Tory Gazette on September 1, ridiculing the Reform Bill as of no use to most people, asks, of an upcoming visit to Kendal by local politicians: ‘Are we then to have a Reform Jubilee’? And ‘if so, who will pay for it?’
The answer to the first question was ‘yes’. The date was set for September 7. The answer to the second was that a subscription had been set up, to defray the costs of the procession.
The Kendal jubilee
The Kendal jubilee was to be similar to Carlisle’s: three arches would be erected (in Highgate, Stricklandgate, and Stramongate). Assorted trades and societies would parade, with banners and bands. Then they’d all go to their associated pubs for refreshments.
Did the townsfolk think: ‘the Reform Bill won’t help me,’ and boycott the event accordingly?
Or did they think: “Who cares? It’s a public holiday, a day off work, and an afternoon’s entertainment?”
Sour grapes?
The Gazette recorded the jubilee afterwards as a rag-tag procession of drunks and urchins, arguments over the refreshments, and a lack of enthusiasm from the crowd. But given the Gazette’s bias against attendees James Brougham and John Barham (the independent candidates for Kendal and Westmorland, respectively), it wasn’t in their interest to say anything nice about it.
The WA&KC (as reported in The Sun, of London) gives us another view.
‘We may say without fear of contradiction that the town displayed a demonstration of feeling worthy of the inhabitants and unparalleled in the annals of its history.
‘…To give a faint idea of the splendour of the scene is absolutely impossible; upwards of sixty flags and emblems of various colours fluttered in the breeze between Stricklandgate and Kirkland, while the whole length of the way was completely crowded with a dense mass of hum , n beings. We should think there were more than 8,000 people present.’
As for James Brougham and John Barham:
The two candidates, accompanied by C. Barham, Esq. M.P., Arthur Shepherd, Esq. and the party of gentlemen on horseback, then left Shaw End, and met the procession at Spittal, where they were greeted with the most enthusiastic cheering. The whole party returned to Kendal in the same manner, and on the candidates arriving in the front of the King’s Arms Inn, they addressed the assembled concourse at considerable length.
The Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II was celebrated from June 2-5, 2022. In June 1832, there were jubilee celebrations of a different kind – they marked a move to make Parliamentary elections fairer.
Jubilees in the early 1800s
King George III may have celebrated his Golden Jubilee in 1809, but while Cumbrians were able to read about how it was commemmorated in London, it otherwise seems to have passed them by.
Any jubilees in Westmorland were purely local affairs: such as, in December 1825, the ‘sumptuous dinner’ laid on at the Elephant Inn to mark the annual jubilee of Kendal Lodge of Freemasons.
Alongside a report (inaccuarate) that Pope Gregory XVI had been killed in an insurrection in Rome, the Westmorland Gazette reports on another local jubilee, in December 1831.
A jubilee for the poor
‘St Thomas’ Day is a jubilee among the poor families resident in the villages of Lowther, Askham, &c, as they can on that day feel and acknowledge the liberal bounty of Earl of Lonsdale, who annually remembers their wants and relieves them’.
This was William – confusingly the 1st Earl of Lonsdale, despite not being the very first Earl of Lonsdale! That title was accorded to Wicked Jimmy (see previous and other posts). But it died with him, in 1802. The title was then revived (in 1807) for his cousin William (1757-1844).
William seems to have been far more charitable the first holder of the title. At his 1831 jubilee, he provided villagers with (between them) four large carcasses of good beef, woollen jackets, petticoats, blankets, stockings, and other items of warm clothing ‘to protect them from the inclemency of winter’.
The Gazette exhorted ‘the affluent’ to likewise ‘remember the poor’ (if they didn’t already to so).
The story is followed by news that Kendal Vagrant Office had ‘relieved’ ten men, six women and five children that week. Amount of relief: six shillings and seven pence.
The 1832 jubilee
A Grand National Jubilee was proposed in 1832. Nothing to do with royalty, but to celebrate the passing into law of the Reform Bill.
The Reform Act was probably a bit of a shoulder-shrug for most folk. But was a step in the right direction. And who doesn’t enjoy an excuse to party?
The Westmorland Advertiser & Kendal Chronicle (WA&KC) recorded, on June 9, 1832:
‘Great preparations are making throughout the kingdom for celebrating the passing of the Reform Bill, on Tuesday next. Not a city, not a town, not a village, we believe we will be found that will not participate in the Jubilee.’
Having said that:
‘As yet nothing has been decided upon here, but we don’t doubt that the day will be duly honoured – and in a manner becoming the spirited character our townsmen.’
Some doubt then did arise over the date for the National Jubilee, due to two other Bills awaiting Royal Assent.
Carlisle had already got things organised for the original day and they stuck with it.
Earl Grey and the Duke of Wellington
‘Carlisle presented a splendid appearance on Tuesday last. Everyone joined in the general jubilee and the whole day was set apart for mirth and jollity.
‘Three beautiful arches were thrown over the entrances of the town. And by noon, the time appointed for the different trades to walk in procession, upwards of 12,000 persons were congregated on the Sands.’
WA&KC, June 16, 1832
The parade included a copy of the Reform Act, ‘splendidly bound, placed on a velvet cushion’. And a figure of Wellington, prostrate, with Earl Grey’s foot on his neck.
Lord Grey was the (Whig) prime minister who had instituted the reforms. Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington, may have been a hero at Waterloo, but his popularity had fallen like a stone, due to his opposition to electoral reform (source).
Of course today, most people associate Wellington with Waterloo. While Charles, the 2nd Earl Grey, ‘lives on’ through tea!
Given the long list of trades, bands, reform societies and others who took part in the parade, it’s not surprising they stuck to the original date. Those taking part afterwards
‘retired to their respective club-houses and spent the day in harmony
While the poor of the town were provided with a good dinner.
Jubilee celebrations elsewhere in Cumberland
The WA&KC reported, on June 23, that:
‘public rejoicings on an extensive scale have been held at Cockermouth, Keswick and several other towns in Cumberland, since our last (publication), to commemorate the passing of the Reform Bill.’
Whitehaven was to hold its Reform Bill jubilee on June 25.
But a letter in the pro-Tory Gazette on September 1, ridiculing the Reform Bill as of no use to most people, asks, of an upcoming visit to Kendal by local politicians: ‘Are we then to have a Reform Jubilee’? And ‘if so, who will pay for it?’
The answer to the first question was ‘yes’. The date was set for September 7. The answer to the second was that a subscription had been set up, to defray the costs of the procession.
The Kendal jubilee
The Kendal jubilee was to be similar to Carlisle’s: three arches would be erected (in Highgate, Stricklandgate, and Stramongate). Assorted trades and societies would parade, with banners and bands. Then they’d all go to their associated pubs for refreshments.
Did the townsfolk think: ‘the Reform Bill won’t help me,’ and boycott the event accordingly?
Or did they think: “Who cares? It’s a public holiday, a day off work, and an afternoon’s entertainment?”
Sour grapes?
The Gazette recorded the jubilee afterwards as a rag-tag procession of drunks and urchins, arguments over the refreshments, and a lack of enthusiasm from the crowd. But given the Gazette’s bias against attendees James Brougham and John Barham (the independent candidates for Kendal and Westmorland, respectively), it wasn’t in their interest to say anything nice about it.
The WA&KC (as reported in The Sun, of London) gives us another view.
‘We may say without fear of contradiction that the town displayed a demonstration of feeling worthy of the inhabitants and unparalleled in the annals of its history.
‘…To give a faint idea of the splendour of the scene is absolutely impossible; upwards of sixty flags and emblems of various colours fluttered in the breeze between Stricklandgate and Kirkland, while the whole length of the way was completely crowded with a dense mass of hum , n beings. We should think there were more than 8,000 people present.’
As for James Brougham and John Barham:
The two candidates, accompanied by C. Barham, Esq. M.P., Arthur Shepherd, Esq. and the party of gentlemen on horseback, then left Shaw End, and met the procession at Spittal, where they were greeted with the most enthusiastic cheering. The whole party returned to Kendal in the same manner, and on the candidates arriving in the front of the King’s Arms Inn, they addressed the assembled concourse at considerable length.