Working Class Movement Library
Encyclopedia
The Working Class Movement Library (WCML) is a collection of English language books, periodicals, pamphlets, archives and artefacts relating to the development of the political and cultural institutions of the working class which were created by the Industrial Revolution
. It is situated in Salford, Greater Manchester, England
.
Summer School. In 1956, they set up home together and the merger of their book collections was the beginning of the Working Class Movement Library. They spent their spare time and money travelling round Britain, gathering new items for the collection. By 1960, the collection was being consulted by historians and academics and they had attracted the support of other collectors of labour movement
material. In 1964, they gained charitable trust
status.
By the mid 1980s, the collection had filled their semi
in Trafford
. The City of Salford
Council agreed to support the library and, in 1987, gave the WCML, and the Frows, a new home in an old nurses home, Jubilee House, situated near the University of Salford
.
In 2007, the relationship changed when the trust took full responsibility for the housing and staffing of the collection with the council providing a lease of the building and an annual financial grant. The WCML is otherwise funded by trade union and individual subscription.
.
The three main parts are the trade union
movement, the co-operative movement and the political parties and campaigns of the left
. The WCML houses 30,000 books as well as journals, newspapers, pamphlets, leaflets, banners, pottery, photographs, personal papers, archives of organisations, trade union emblems, badges and other artifacts.
The library has substantial and historically significant holdings on Thomas Paine
and the radical movement
of the 1790s, Peterloo Massacre
, Chartism
, ILP
and Clarion movement
, the campaign for women's suffrage
, the General Strike
, National Unemployed Workers' Movement
, International Brigades
, the 1970s radical press, the Miners Strike of 1984-85
and much else. Whilst principally concerned with Britain, the library also has a major collection on Irish history
from the late 18th century onwards, derived initially from the libraries of two historians; C. Desmond Greaves
and T. A. Jackson.
The collection includes diverse cultural material including poetry, novels, prints, playscripts, songbooks and audio-visual material.
Since 1985, the WCML has been the official archive of the GMB union. It also has a large collection of material from the engineering
and the various textile unions, especially the North west regional branches. It also holds varying amounts of material from dozens of other trade unions, old and new.
As well as holding local and national material from the mainstream UK co-operative movement, the WCML also holds archival material from local branches of the Co-operative guilds
and periodicals of co-partnership and workers’ co-operative organisations.
The main political parties represented are the Labour Party and the Communist Party of Great Britain
, of whom, the WCML holds large collections of pamphlets, periodicals and ephemera
. Many of the smaller parties are represented by collections of similar material. Campaign groups are similarly represented, as well as collections of archive material from bodies as diverse as the National League of the Blind and Disabled, Manchester CND
, Manchester Unity Theatre
, Big Flame
and the Jubilee Group
.
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
. It is situated in Salford, Greater Manchester, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
History
In 1953, two bibliophiles, Eddie (Edmund) Frow and Ruth Haines, met at a Communist PartyCommunist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
Summer School. In 1956, they set up home together and the merger of their book collections was the beginning of the Working Class Movement Library. They spent their spare time and money travelling round Britain, gathering new items for the collection. By 1960, the collection was being consulted by historians and academics and they had attracted the support of other collectors of labour movement
Labour movement
The term labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and governments, in particular through the implementation of specific laws governing labour...
material. In 1964, they gained charitable trust
Charitable trust
A charitable trust is an irrevocable trust established for charitable purposes, and is a more specific term than "charitable organization".-United States:...
status.
By the mid 1980s, the collection had filled their semi
Semi-detached
Semi-detached housing consists of pairs of houses built side by side as units sharing a party wall and usually in such a way that each house's layout is a mirror image of its twin...
in Trafford
Trafford
The Metropolitan Borough of Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 211,800, covers , and includes the towns of Altrincham, Partington, Sale, Stretford, and Urmston...
. The City of Salford
City of Salford
The City of Salford is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Salford, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Eccles, Swinton-Pendlebury, Walkden and Irlam which apart from Irlam each have a population of over...
Council agreed to support the library and, in 1987, gave the WCML, and the Frows, a new home in an old nurses home, Jubilee House, situated near the University of Salford
University of Salford
The University of Salford is a campus university based in Salford, Greater Manchester, England with approximately 20,000 registered students. The main campus is about west of Manchester city centre, on the A6, opposite the former home of the physicist, James Prescott Joule and the Working Class...
.
In 2007, the relationship changed when the trust took full responsibility for the housing and staffing of the collection with the council providing a lease of the building and an annual financial grant. The WCML is otherwise funded by trade union and individual subscription.
Collection
The focus of the collection is the history of the political, industrial, social and cultural institutions of the working classes which were created by the Industrial RevolutionIndustrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
.
The three main parts are the trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
movement, the co-operative movement and the political parties and campaigns of the left
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
. The WCML houses 30,000 books as well as journals, newspapers, pamphlets, leaflets, banners, pottery, photographs, personal papers, archives of organisations, trade union emblems, badges and other artifacts.
The library has substantial and historically significant holdings on Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine
Thomas "Tom" Paine was an English author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States...
and the radical movement
Radicalism (historical)
The term Radical was used during the late 18th century for proponents of the Radical Movement. It later became a general pejorative term for those favoring or seeking political reforms which include dramatic changes to the social order...
of the 1790s, Peterloo Massacre
Peterloo Massacre
The Peterloo Massacre occurred at St Peter's Field, Manchester, England, on 16 August 1819, when cavalry charged into a crowd of 60,000–80,000 that had gathered to demand the reform of parliamentary representation....
, Chartism
Chartism
Chartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
, ILP
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...
and Clarion movement
The Clarion
The Clarion was a weekly newspaper published by Robert Blatchford, based in the United Kingdom. It was a socialist publication though adopting a British-focused rather than internationalist perspective on political affairs, as seen in its support of the British involvement in the Anglo-Boer Wars...
, the campaign for women's suffrage
Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom
Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom as a national movement began in 1872. Women were not prohibited from voting in the United Kingdom until the 1832 Reform Act and the 1835 Municipal Corporations Act...
, the General Strike
UK General Strike of 1926
The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 May 1926 to 13 May 1926. It was called by the general council of the Trades Union Congress in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British government to act to prevent wage reduction and worsening...
, National Unemployed Workers' Movement
National Unemployed Workers' Movement
The National Unemployed Workers' Movement was a British organisation set up in 1921 by members of the Communist Party of Great Britain. It aimed to draw attention to the plight of unemployed workers during the post World War I slump, the 1926 General Strike and later the Great Depression, and to...
, International Brigades
International Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
, the 1970s radical press, the Miners Strike of 1984-85
UK miners' strike (1984–1985)
The UK miners' strike was a major industrial action affecting the British coal industry. It was a defining moment in British industrial relations, and its defeat significantly weakened the British trades union movement...
and much else. Whilst principally concerned with Britain, the library also has a major collection on Irish history
History of Ireland (1801–1922)
The whole island of Ireland formed a constituent part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1801 to 1922. For almost all of this period, Ireland was governed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in London through its Dublin Castle administration in Ireland. Ireland faced...
from the late 18th century onwards, derived initially from the libraries of two historians; C. Desmond Greaves
C. Desmond Greaves
Charles Desmond Greaves was an Irish activist and historian. He wrote a number of books on Irish history as a Marxist historian....
and T. A. Jackson.
The collection includes diverse cultural material including poetry, novels, prints, playscripts, songbooks and audio-visual material.
Since 1985, the WCML has been the official archive of the GMB union. It also has a large collection of material from the engineering
Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union
The Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union was a British trade union. It merged with the MSF to form Amicus in 2001.The history of the union can be traced back to the formation of the "Old Mechanics" of 1826, which grew into the Amalgamated Society of Engineers in 1851...
and the various textile unions, especially the North west regional branches. It also holds varying amounts of material from dozens of other trade unions, old and new.
As well as holding local and national material from the mainstream UK co-operative movement, the WCML also holds archival material from local branches of the Co-operative guilds
Women's Co-operative Guild
The Co-operative Women's Guild is an auxiliary organisation of the co-operative movement in the United Kingdom which promotes women in co-operative structures and provides social and other services to its members....
and periodicals of co-partnership and workers’ co-operative organisations.
The main political parties represented are the Labour Party and the Communist Party of Great Britain
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
, of whom, the WCML holds large collections of pamphlets, periodicals and ephemera
Ephemera
Ephemera are transitory written and printed matter not intended to be retained or preserved. The word derives from the Greek, meaning things lasting no more than a day. Some collectible ephemera are advertising trade cards, airsickness bags, bookmarks, catalogues, greeting cards, letters,...
. Many of the smaller parties are represented by collections of similar material. Campaign groups are similarly represented, as well as collections of archive material from bodies as diverse as the National League of the Blind and Disabled, Manchester CND
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament is an anti-nuclear organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty...
, Manchester Unity Theatre
Unity Theatre
-United Kingdom:In the United Kingdom, the Unity theatre movement developed from workers' drama groups in the 1930s, seeing itself as using theatre to highlight the issues of the working class being produced by and for working class audiences...
, Big Flame
Big Flame (political group)
Big Flame was "a revolutionary socialist feminist organisation with a working-class orientation" in the United Kingdom. Founded in Liverpool in 1970, the group initially grew rapidly, with branches appearing in some other cities. Its publications emphasised that "a revolutionary party is necessary...
and the Jubilee Group
Kenneth Leech
Kenneth Leech is an Anglican priest and Christian socialist in the Anglo-Catholic tradition.Leech graduated with a BA degree in 1961 from the University of London and then went to Trinity College, Oxford. After theological studies at St Stephen's House, Oxford he was ordained to the priesthood in...
.