Cinderloo 1821 Remembered (original) (raw)

The dramatic story of the Cinderloo Uprising took place 200 years ago on 1st and 2nd February 1821, when 3,000 miners, women and children marched in protest at proposed pay cuts and increasing poverty. They gathered at the cinderhills of Old Park (now the Telford Forge Retail Park), where the protest culminated in a pitched battle with the Shropshire Yeomanry. Two men were shot dead with many injured. One man, Thomas Palin, was hung that April for “felonious riot”.

There were a number of events in 2022 to mark the Bicentenary of this important event in the development of Telford, and bringing the project to a close:

• The Cinderloo Remembered exhibition was hosted at the Coalbrookdale Gallery next to the Museum of Iron by the Ironbridge Gorge Museums Trust between October 2021 and March 2022. The exhibition brought together much of the work we have done over the last 4-5 years, and led or delivered by more than 50 different artists, historians and activists. It featured paintings, drawings, collage, prints, sculpture and film from 11 artists, school project work, archive materials loaned from Ironbridge Gorge Museums, the illustrated Cinderloo story, maps, family history, banners, poetry, zines, research and hundreds of photographs. There was also a display to launch the initiative Touch Telford, a people’s history of Telford.
• Shadows in the dust – using the images and sounds captured by Andy McKeown for the project we held a project showcase at the Orbit community cinema on 9th May 2022
• Completion of the renaming and marking of the ‘Cinderloo Bridge’ at Central Park in conjunction with Telford and Wrekin Council’s refurbishment of the Silken Way
• Sharing of Family History research with Shropshire Family History Society
• Publication of Andrew Naylor’s “Slag-spotters Guide”
• Continuation of the walks and talks planned with partners
• Read more on our Events page.

Cinderloo1821 is a group of local historians, artists, writers and many other interested people who have gathered together to raise awareness of the event and commemorate it in a series of activities leading up to the 200th Anniversary in 2021. Read more about who we are and what we are doing here.

We would love more people to learn about the Cinderloo Story and get involved.

If you are interested in participating in events, sharing research, ideas, writing or art work, or in volunteering find out more here, and get in contact.

See latest news and learn more about some of our projects or visit our Events page to find what is happening, and read about previous activities.