Absalom Watkin, the son of an innkeeper, was born in London.
Absalom's father died when he was young and at the age of fourteen
he accepted the offer of work at his uncle's cotton business in Manchester.
John Watkin's small company produced yarn and undyed calico. A few
years after Absalom arrived in Manchester John Watkin sold the business
to Thomas Smith. Absalom had done so well since arriving in Manchester
that he new owner employed him as the factory manager. Absalom had
a strong desire to own his own business and by 1807 had raised enough
money to buy the factory from Thomas Smith.
Absalom Watkin was a supporter of parliamentary reform and in 1815
became a member of a group of liberals that used to meet in the home
of John Potter. Others in the group included John
Edward Taylor, Archibald Prentice,
John Shuttleworth, Joseph
Brotherton, William Cowdray, Thomas
Potter and Richard Potter. The group
was strongly influenced by the ideas of Jeremy
Bentham and Joseph Priestley and
objected to a system that denied such important industrial cities
such as Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham, representation in the House
of Commons.
All the men held Nonconformist
religious views. Absalom Watkin was a Methodist
and was a supporter ofJoseph Lancaster
and the Nonconformist school that he opened in Manchester
in 1813. Watkin, like other members of the group, was an advocate
of religious toleration.
Absalom Watkin did not witness the Peterloo
Massacre,but he played an important role in the campaign to obtain
an independent inquiry into Peterloo. He drew up the famous Declaration
and Protest document that was signed by over 5,000 people in Manchester.
After the Peterloo Massacre Absalom Watkin
became a close friend of Joseph Johnson,
one of the organisers of the meeting at St. Peter's Field. On 12th
August 1827 Johnson introduced Watkin to Richard
Carlile, the radical journalist who had been one of the main speakers
at the Peterloo Massacre. Four days
later Absalom carried out a long interview with Richard Carlile about
what had happened at St. Peter's Field on 16th August, 1819.
In December 1827, Thomas Potter and John
Shuttleworth asked Absalom Watkin if he was interested in taking
over from Archibald Prentice as editor
of the Manchester Gazette. Although
he considered it for several days Watkin eventually turned down the
offer.
In December 1830 Absalom Watkin joined a committee of men including
Thomas Potter, Mark Philips, William Harvey
and William Baxter with the intention of campaigning for parliamentary
reform. The group were moderate reformers and did not fully support
the demands of the radicals who wanted universal suffrage. Absalom
Watkin was given the task of drawing up the petition asking the government
to grant Manchester two Members of
Parliament.
As a result of the 1832 Reform Act Manchester
had its first two Members of Parliament, Mark Philips and Charles
Poulett Thomson. Two close friends of Absalom Watkin, Joseph
Brotherton (Salford) and Richard Potter
(Wigan) also became Members of Parliament in 1832.
Although Absalom Watkin had been in conflict with John
Fielden over parliamentary reform, he did agree with his views
on factory legislation. In 1833 Absalom Watkin organised the campaign
in Manchester for the Ten Hours Bill.
Absalom Watkin's other great concern was over the price of bread.
In 1840 he became Vice President of Manchester's Anti-Corn
Law League. However, he was strongly opposed to the Chartist
campaign and in August 1842 helped the police to defend Manchester
from rioters demanding universal suffrage.
Absalom Watkin's two sons also played an active role in politics.
Edward Watkin became a Liberal M.P. and
Alfred Watkin became Mayor of Manchester. Absalom Watkin died on 16th
December 1861.
(1)
Absalom Watkin did not attend the meeting at St. Peter's Field but
he did record what happened in his diary that night.
August 16th, 1819: Today there has been a reform meeting held in the
open ground near St. Peter's church. Hunt, Johnson and others were
the leaders. Very great numbers of people attended from the neighbouring
towns with flags, music and caps of liberty. Many women attended and
took part in the meeting. Soon after the arrival of the leaders the
magistrates and soldiery interfered. The flags and caps of liberty
were cut down, the leaders apprehended, both male and female; and
some resistance being made, some were killed and many wounded. The
town is still in great ferment. The conduct of the magistrates and
soldiers is much blamed. There was no appearance of riot till the
Manchester Cavalry (Yeomanry) charged upon the people. In their fury
they rode over the special constables, one of whom, if not more, was
killed and many wounded.
(2)
On 16th March 1827, Absalom Watkin met and interviewed Richard
Carlile about what happened on 16th August, 1819.
I was on the hustings, which were formed of two wagons placed side
by side, but at such a distance from each other as to allow a person
to get up and down between them. There were four women on the hustings
besides Mary Fildes. When the Yeomanry were approaching I assisted
the four women to descend and having done so I followed them myself
- at that moment the pressure of the crowd forced the wagons together
and my hat was caught between them, my head escaped! I got under the
wagons and into the adjoining street. A woman was standing at the
door of her house and allowed me to come in. I took a coach to London.
We got safe to London and I was the first to publish an account of
the affair at Peterloo, for which I was prosecuted.
(3)
In his diary on 12th October, 1831, Absalom Watkin wrote about a meeting
held in Manchester concerning the demands for parliamentary reform.
The meeting ended in a clash between the radicals and the moderates.
Thomas Potter was the leader of the moderates.
Attended the public meeting on the rejection of the Reform Bill. It
began at eleven o'clock in the Riding School but was immediately adjourned
to Camp Field. There were between 80,000 and 100,000 people present
at the height of the demonstration. Thomas Potter was persuaded to
take the chair. He climbed on to the cart with Archibald Prentice,
John Shuttleworth and Mark Philips. Our leaders battled with the crowd
until four in the afternoon and all that time did we stand on our
wagon, squeezed, elbowed, threatened and in danger, in the midst of
a furious mob. At last, after protesting against it, Thomas Potter
was compelled to put a mangled version of our address praying for
annual Parliaments, universal suffrage and vote by ballot and we left
the ground, tired, baffled and exhausted but congratulating ourselves
upon having escaped personal violence and avoided endangering the
peace of the town.
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