Criminologist’s joy that funding will highlight a dark part of Lancashire’s history

Posted on 5 March 2025 • Arts and social sciences, Society and politics

An Open University criminologist Dr David Scott could never have imagined that a walk in the park with his new rescued dog five years ago would lead to unearthing a massacre in Lancashire that the world forgot.

Now, he’s just secured £170,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to commemorate the bicentennial of a bloody event known as the Chatterton Massacre where at least six people lost their lives at the hands of the State.

He started unravelling the history of the massacre, often erroneously described as a ‘riot’, when he walked Flossy, his English cream golden retriever, in Chatterton’s Peace Park.

The weavers’ story

As a criminologist with over 30 years of experience, he was curious how it got its name. Fast-forward five years, and now the Weavers Uprising Bicentennial Committee, a charity David founded and chairs, is going to use the money to highlight the weavers’ story across the county.

A diverse programme of artistic, creative, and community heritage activities will kick off in February 2026 with the backing of Lancashire County Council.

It will be rolled out in locations across the county. Additionally, starting in September 2025, through funding from the OU’s Open Societal Challenges, the history of the weavers’ uprising will be taught in primary schools across the region for the first time.

Deadly event

The deadly event on 26 April 1826 was the culmination of a dark episode in Britain’s history when the Lancashire cotton mill industry was on its knees and with it two thirds of the population of East Lancashire.

It was sparked by a financial crisis and a perfect storm of high food prices but low or non-existent wages and new ‘power looms’ that were threatening the lives of hand weavers, known as hardworking and compliant.

They were on the brink of starvation and, in desperation, they felt they had no choice but to respond with protest and rebellion.

Two days before the killings, more than 10,000 people marched from Whinney Hill, near Accrington, where they had hatched a plan, and destroyed over 1,100 power looms.

Six hundred bullets fired

They eventually made their way to Dearden Clough Mill in Edenfield and then down the steep hill towards the mill at Chatterton to demonstrate. It is here that they ran into the soldiers.

The Riot Act was read which, David says, gave sharpshooter soldiers deployed there from the 60th Duke of York Own Rifles, the right to shoot them without fear of prosecution.

“They shot 600 bullets into a crowd of 3,000 people in 15 minutes, shooting dead a number of people, although some of them were just bystanders,” said David.

They were not the only people to die in relation to the cotton industry crisis. Through David’s research he has discovered that in 1826 many people died of starvation including over 1,300 children aged five or under who died in the 12 months following the massacre and uprising.

He added:

“I’m very grateful that we have this wonderful grant aid to remember these people. Remarkably, I found out that the bicentennial committee was to benefit from the Lottery funding to commemorate the uprising the same day as learning the OU’s Open Societal Challenges project was giving financial support for the teaching toolkit.”

The OU’s Open Societal Challenges programme aims to tackle some of the most important societal challenges of our time through impact-driven research that will transform lives and drive societal change.