Alfred Armstrong Walton (1816–7 May 1883) was one of the lesser-known
British
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Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
Radical politicians of working-class origin in the mid-
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
. He was a prolific author of newspaper contributions on most political and social questions of his time, with a particular interest in land and parliamentary reform.
Early activity
Walton worked as a stonemason and builder, and joined the
Operative Masons' Society. He became a supporter of
Robert Owen, and was active in the
Chartist movement in the late 1840s. He joined the
National Association of United Trades,
and when he started to advocate a scheme for home colonisation (1848–49).
He expanded on the latter interest in his most important work, the "History of the Landed Tenures of
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
from the
Norman Conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...
to the present time" which was published in 1865. With this book, which was quoted by Karl Marx in vol. III of 'Capital', he emerged as one of the most vocal spokesmen for the issue of land nationalisation.
Welsh Based protagonist
In the 1860s, he also became a protagonist of the reform campaign. He did so from
Brecon
Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the coun ...
in South
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
where he had moved at the beginning of the decade. His radical ideas made him join several important democratic societies, such as the
International Working Men's Association
The International Workingmen's Association (IWA), often called the First International (1864–1876), was an international organisation which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, communist and anarchist groups and tr ...
(IWMA, First International), the
Reform League
The Reform League was established in 1865 to press for manhood suffrage and the ballot in Great Britain. It collaborated with the more moderate and middle class Reform Union and gave strong support to the abortive Reform Bill 1866 and the success ...
and several cooperative building schemes. He also tried several times to be elected a member of Parliament, first for Brecon, then for
Stoke-on-Trent in the Potteries. However, due to local political circumstances, he failed in each attempt.
Latter Years
In the 1870s he moved to London, where he spent his last years less involved in radical campaigns but still writing pamphlets and contributions to newspapers.
Further reading
J. M. Bellamy and John Saville (eds.): Dictionary of Labour Biography, vol. 10,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
: Macmillan 2000, 213–218.
References
D. Mares: 'Industry, perseverance, self-reliance, and integrity'. Alfred A. Walton and mid-Victorian working-class radicalism, Darmstadt 2018.
1816 births
1883 deaths
British political writers
Chartists
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