"The People's Champion: Tavistock Radicals & Reformers in the 18th and 19th Century" A Talk by Andrew Thompson

Tavistock’s importance as a 19th-century radical stronghold has been almost airbrushed out of local history and heritage.

This talk examines the town’s association with some of the country’s most significant reforming and radical voices, from the House of Bedford’s support for moderate constitutional change to the pioneering socialist writing of physician Charles Hall. It also discusses and celebrates the lesser-known women’s suffrage campaigners like school teacher Rachel Evans, Methodist lay preachers, Chartists and trade unionists, who fought for political rights and against the social injustices caused by the industrial revolution.