Edward and Absolom Watkin: Hidden Heroes of Radical Manchester

We are privileged to have received a unique donation of material relating to Sir Edward Watkin by his great-granddaughter, Miss Dorothea Worsley-Taylor. Watkin, one of the most extraordinary men of the Victorian age, is often forgotten by the city he helped to shape. Watkin and his father Absolom played a considerable part in Manchester’s history as the powerhouse of political reform in the nineteenth century, and Edward went on to achieve national and international fame as one of the most important railwaymen of the nineteenth century.

This Sunday at 2pm, local historian Geoff Scargill will give a talk at the People’s History Museum entitled ‘Edward and Absolom Watkin: Hidden Heroes of Radical Manchester’ which will then be followed by a tour of relevant museum items led by Museum Director Katy Moss.

In addition, a free-entry exhibition of related material will be on display at the Museum from 12-15 September and will include newspapers published by the Anti-Corn Law League, letters from Richard Cobden and John Bright to Absalom and Edward Watkin, as well as photos and obituaries.

After the close of the exhibition the material will return to us here at Chetham’s and will be available for research.

Edward and Absolom Watkin: Hidden Heroes of Radical Manchester
People’s History Museum 15 September 2013

Further information: People’s History Museum, Left Bank Manchester, M3 3ER, 0161 838 9190, info@phm.org.uk