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Date:11th of November 1793
Description:Food shortage in the Potteries
Hand-written notice calling for pottery workers to gather at Hanley Market Hall.
An additional note written in pencil at the top of the page indicates that the notice had been pasted on the Market Hall.
The notice reads;
Hanley November 11 1793
Brother potters
you are desired
to atend at the
Market Hall
Hanley at Nine
Clock this morning to
Settle Maters as
we may not be Food
Starved no longer
Food Riots
Great Britain experienced many food shortages during the 1790s. War with France had dislocated trades and poor harvests had driven up prices.
This combination was disastrous for working class people in industrial areas.
The only option
In some cases up and down the country hungry mobs had assembled and taken food by force.
In this notice the threat of some kind of action is implied.
It may have been stuck on the market hall as a warning or it may have actually taken place.
There is no document in the scrapbook that confirms a demonstration or riot took place at this time.
About this Document
This document was collected by local industrialist Enoch Wood. It is now part of the collections at Stoke-on-Trent Museums.