A WILLIAM IV 'NORFOLK ARMS' SAMPLER

A WILLIAM IV 'NORFOLK ARMS' SAMPLER

BY BETTY BRADBURY, DATED '1830'

worked in wool with a seven line poem 'Now let us droptear, For the poor suffers dear at Norfolk Arms...', above a building flanked by a pair of fruit trees and the inscription 'Betty Bradbury her work october 14 1830', together with another sampler inscribed 'ON THE CRUCIFIXION OF OUR SAVIOUR and the two Theives', above three crosses each with a poem and a cartouche inscribed 'Martha Adcock Aged 8 Years (2)

39 x 40cm (max)

Catalogue Note

The Norfolk Arms tragedy, sometimes referred to as 'May's Downfall', occurred on 1st April 1829 and to many was seen as one of the worst industrial accidents to have taken place in the 19th century.The cotton industry of the early 19th century was in such a bad state that many employers in the Hyde and Stockport areas of Manchester started to impose wage reductions on their employees. As a result, a meeting of many of the employees was held at the Norfolk Arms in Hyde, whose landlord was John May. The room in which the meeting was to be held had a capacity of around 300 but, on the day, around 700 people turned up. As a result, the floor eventually gave way dropping upto 200 people into the room below. Such was the force that this lower floor also gave way, dropping many of the people through the floor and into the cellar below. Once the scene was cleared, they found 29 people dead and many other injured. Despite cries of 'Foul Play' by many of the employees, the jury's verdict of accidental death is thought to probably be correct. As a result, a disaster fund was started with many people producing items to be sold, including needlework pictures and samplers, which eventually raised over £700.