Opportunities for individuals and Organisations to Take Part in the Bicentenary Commemoration
Background
The inspiration behind the Bicentenary Commemoration is that it is both an important (but overlooked) historical event in its own right and that it is also the concealed background story to the places in which Hampshire people live today.
Most (but not quite all) of the locations of the Hampshire Swing story are still standing. This extends from the vicarages where local clergy were threatened and the farms where threshing machines were destroyed to the Great Hall in Winchester where the Grand Assize was held and the old Gaol-house in Jewry Street, Winchester where rioters were executed.
Moreover, many village communities across the county are still populated by families with ancestors involved in the Riots either as Rioters or as agents of the authorities.
In short, in Hampshire today we are living surrounded by the Swing story.
So for those who are sensitive to the past and its significance the Captain Swing Story in Hampshire offers a time-machine to engage with events of 200 years ago. This is a period which is often glossed over or seen through an illusion of ‘Regency’ decorum and misunderstood paintings by Constable and Turner. So by engaging in the Captain Swing Bicentenary you can re-discover your own homes and, sometimes even, your roots.
Moreover the events of 1830 provides a rich seem of personalities, events, experiences and troubling social and economic issues for creative exploration and re-imagining. Already poetry and dramas have been derived from it – and we are working to collaborate closely with the Hampshire Genealogical Society to investigate the families of those involved. But we feel, there is much more to come.
As a result the Bicentenary Commemoration team is keen to partner up with organisations and individuals around the county to encourage and support
- local research into the SWING history which can then feature on this website as well as being the subject of lectures and exhibitions
- creative work – art works, documentary photography, writing to be exhibited or performed in a variety of ways
- major events in 2030, the Bicentenary Year itself, as part of a festival of Commemoration. This could range from a re-imagining of the Grand Assize to films, blogs and even opera or musicals. Every opportunity is open.
Arising from this one of our priorities for 2025 is to start attracting sponsorship funding for some of this activity. We feel that our work in the past two years of building awareness and participation in major heritage events has established our credentials as a serious organisation based on the English Project’s own distinguished credentials. But we now need funding to step up the scale of what we are doing.
Get involved
We now invite individuals and organisations alike to contact us if they would like to work with us in fulfilling the vision of this exciting project.
To start the conversation fill out the form or contact: edward.fennell@yahoo.co.uk