Newport Rising Festival 2024: remembering the chartists

The event began at Bell Vue Park where guests enjoyed live music and fire performances.  

At the start of the march, a speech was read out which ended with the speaker shouting ‘Westgate is ours’ - which received loud applause. 

The procession could be seen as a long line of lit torches lighting up the dark night in the park.  

Those attending were of all ages and generations with even dogs wearing lights turning up to take part.

The lit torches carried down Stow Hill (Image: Alex Iacob)

As they headed down Stow Hill, residents leaned out of their windows and stood on their doors steps in pyjamas to get a glimpse of the march. 

On the raised pavement next to the Church on Stow Hill, a woman dressed in 1800s traditional clothing chanted ‘find my sons’. 

A local resident, Helen, said: “It was wonderful. It brings the town together. The event has grown and grown over the years.” 

David Mayer, who has lived in Newport since 1984 said: “I have been here since we started celebrating the festival. 

“Ten chartists were buried here in the dead of night in four graves. We are at the moment looking to see if we can locate them with modern technology.” 

The history of the uprising 

In 1839, on November 4, thousands of chartist supporters – led by John Frost – marched to the Westgate Hotel in Newport.  

On the cold night, more than five thousand ordinary workers gathered in the South Wales Valleys to march through Newport.  

Those marching hoped to liberate comrades they believed were imprisoned in the building. 

The Westgate Hotel Building (Image: Alex Iacob)

It was the last large-scale armed rebellion against authority in Britain and played a significant role in the journey to modern democracy. 

While it remains unclear who initially opened fire, this resulted in a fierce battle killing and wounding many. 

The Chartists fought for the vote and the right of the common people to have their voices heard.