Manchester Female Reform Society was formed in July 1819. Based in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England, its aim was to spread democratic ideals among women. The Blackburn Female Reform Society was established in early July 1819 and sent a circular to other districts of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, inviting the wives and daughters of the workmen in the different branches of manufacturing to form themselves into similar societies. On 20 July 1819, numerous women of Manchester formed themselves into a Society of Female Reformers. The secretary was Susanna Saxton and the President was

Mary Fildes Mary Fildes was president of the Manchester Female Reform Society in 1819, and played a leading role at the mass rally at Manchester in that year which ended in the Peterloo massacre. She was also the grandmother of the artist Luke Fildes thr ...

who soon after stood on the platform with Henry Hunt, the key orator at the

Peterloo Massacre The Peterloo Massacre took place at St Peter's Field, Manchester, Lancashire, England, on Monday 16 August 1819. Fifteen people died when cavalry charged into a crowd of around 60,000 people who had gathered to demand the reform of parliament ...

. The Society flag had the figure of

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

on it. In the first week of the formation of the Society 1000 members joined it.

References

{{reflist History of Manchester Women's organisations based in England 1819 in England

See also

References