A guest blog post from the Cinderloo 1821 group
The Cinderloo Uprising took place on the 1st and 2nd February 1821 when around 3,000 miners and their families protested against a proposed drastic pay cut on the cinder hills at Old Park, Dawley, now the Forge Retail Park near Telford town centre. The resulting conflict with the local Yeomanry led to two fatalities, many injuries and, following the trial of nine men, Thomas Palin was hanged outside Shrewsbury Prison for ‘felonious riot’ in April 1821.
To mark the 200th anniversary of this significant event in Telford’s history, the Cinderloo 1821 group are planning a major spectacle: Cinderloo Voices. With ongoing COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings the group is organising the world’s first socially distanced riot.
The group is appealing to people to get involved:
“We want people to make a short recording, 10 seconds max, stating something they would like to change. This can be done quite simply with your own phone or by calling to record over the phone.”
Full instructions for how to make sound and video recordings and then email them to the group can be found on the project website here.
The sounds will be combined with images and video as part of an audio-visual light show of the events 200 years ago that will be broadcast in a central Telford location and streamed through local social media channels when Covid restrictions allow.
The Cinderloo Voices performance will launch a series of activities throughout 2021. Read on below to find out more about the group’s past activities and future plans. All images are expandable at the bottom of this page.
