The Radical North, 1779-1914: A Symposium in Memory of Malcolm Chase

On 29 November 2024 a symposium was held at the University of Leeds in memory of the late Professor Malcolm Chase, leading scholar of Chartism and a former Chair of the Social History Society.  This free event was organised under the auspices of Northern History with invaluable support from the School of History at the University of Leeds, where Malcolm worked.  Thanks to a Social History Society small grant we were able to fund the expenses of several postgraduate researchers, enabling us to showcase some of the emerging talent in the field of radical history over the long nineteenth century.  Above all, it was an opportunity for participants to share memories of Malcolm as a scholar, colleague and friend, to discuss his legacy, and to inspire the next generation of scholars.

The event began with introductory remarks from Professor Julia Barrow and Professor Laura King, who talked about Malcolm Chase’s contribution respectively to Northern History and the University of Leeds.  Laura in particular spoke movingly of Malcolm’s generosity as a colleague, a theme re-echoed by many other contributors throughout the day.  The symposium itself was built around three panels of four papers.  These were organised in a loosely chronological way dealing broadly with ‘Radicalism Before Chartism’, ‘Chartism and its Legacy’ and ‘After Chartism’.  Two thirds of the panel speakers were either postgraduate research students or early career scholars.

The first contribution was a provocative paper from Callum Manchester, PhD student at the University of Cambridge, questioning historians’ use of the term ‘radical’ in the context of the late eighteenth century.  The conference was closed by Dr Laura Forster, an ECR at the University of York, with her paper on radical rambling and cycling groups.  In between, there were fascinating explorations of the radical culture of late Georgian Newcastle from Prof. Rachel Hammersley and Harriet Gray (both University of Newcastle), Dr Henry Miller (Northumbria University) on working men’s petitions to parliament after Chartism, Jordan Clark (University of St Andrews) on the radical verse of the Pitmen Poets and Tobin O’Connor (Manchester Metropolitan) on the Labour Church to name a few.

The panels provoked lively discussion, particularly around recurring themes such as the phenomenon of the ‘radical Tory’, which made an appearance in a several papers including Dr Vic Clarke’s exploration of Richard Oastler’s political career.  Vic’s was one of several papers focusing on the role of individuals in radical culture, others including Harriet Gray’s on John Marshall of Newcastle and Joy Brindle’s on Thomas Dixon of Sunderland, which were agreed to be very much in the spirit of Malcolm’s fascination with Chartist lives developed in his book Chartism: A New History (Manchester University Press, 2007), anticipating the current ‘biographical turn’  in historical studies.  Other themes that chimed with Malcolm’s interest and legacy included the importance of the printed word and its distribution in holding radical networks together, and above all the focus on radicalism as a cultural phenomenon as much as a series of social or political movements.

As well as the three panels there was also a Round Table led by three established researchers, Professor Katrina Navickas (Hertfordshire), Professor Robert Poole (Emeritus, UCLAN), and Dr Matthew Roberts (Sheffield Hallam).  This group discussed Malcolm Chase’s contribution to the field of radical politics and his legacy not just as a scholar, but also as a colleague, mentor, and a supporter of local history groups.  Many delegates found this part of the day particularly moving and inspiring.  As one PGR speaker put it afterwards:

I knew rather little about Malcolm before the conference, other than his name and that his speciality was Chartism, so to attend the conference and to hear what everyone had to say about him was truly something wonderful, and I really found it valuable. To hear about his passion for history was something that has really inspired me.

It is the intention of the organisers to produce a special edition of Northern History for publication in 2026 based on the papers delivered.

After the close of the conference proper, many delegates stayed on for the launch of Professor Andrea Major’s forthcoming book Reimagining Empire in India: George Thompson, Anti-Slavery Activism, and the Global Networks of British Colonial Reform, 1831-1858, which also doubled as her long-postponed inaugural professorial lecture.  Andrea’s book is effectively the first full-length biography of this important but under-researched Victorian campaigner, who was largely forgotten after his death (his grave in Leeds is currently unmarked), but who was renowned as one of the greatest platform orators of the age.

The conference was deliberately timed to allow delegates to attend a series of public events happening the following day, Saturday 30 November.  These began in the morning at the University of Leeds where Professor Simon Morgan (Leeds Beckett University) and Dr Rebecca Wade (University of Leeds) gave short lectures around the portrait of the liberal radical Richard Cobden by Emma Novello, painted in Paris in May 1861 and now part of the Brotherton Library’s art collection.  Emma was the less well-known sibling of music publisher Peter Alfred Novello and celebrated soprano Clara Novello.  Simon provided an overview of the political connections between Cobden and the Novellos, while Rebecca made a convincing case for Emma as a serious artist in the face not only of the condescension of posterity, but also that of her own family.

In the afternoon, some delegates from the symposium attended the unveiling of a Leeds Civic Trust blue plaque to the Chartist Northern Star newspaper on Briggate in Leeds.  Malcolm Chase had been an important early advocate of this project, so it was fitting that the plaque was unveiled by his wife Shirley.  The plaque and associated events were crowdfunded, with a notable contribution from the Society for the Study of Labour History with which Malcom was also closely associated.  The ceremony was followed by a series of events at the Leeds Library, the city’s historic subscription library whose eighteenth-century founders included the scientist and Unitarian minister Joseph Priestley.  This included a performance of historical and modern radical songs by the Commoner’s Choir, led by Boff Whalley previously of the band Chumbawamba, and an illuminating lecture on the Northern Star by Dr Vic Clarke, a former PhD student of Malcolm’s who had based her PhD on the paper.

As the subsequent comments of attendees amply attests, the symposium proved a fitting tribute to Malcolm from his colleagues, friends and former students, while bringing his work and example to the attention of the next generation of scholars.

 

Simon Morgan, author of this blog, is Professor of Modern British History, Head of History and Head of Politics and International Relations at Leeds Beckett University.  He is on the Management Board of Northern History and the Heritage Panel of Leeds Civic Trust.  Simon is co-editor of the Letters of Richard Cobden, Principal Investigator of the AHRC-funded Letters of Richard Cobden Online (www.cobdenletters.org), and author of Celebrities, Heroes and Champions: Popular Politicians in the Age of Reform, 1810-1867 (Manchester University Press, 2021), which was runner-up for the Social History Society Book Prize in 2023 and is now available in paperback.

 

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *