Stroll into a Victorian cemetery and more than likely than not you will find yourself in the company of a Chartist.  There were a lot of these Chartists around in those times, you see.  The funeral of a Chartist in the second quarter of the nineteenth century was not an unusual thing.  These men stayed true to their beliefs, proudly remembering the great Chartist struggle until the end of their days. And they were remembered by those who followed them, Liberals and socialists alike, who made sure they attended these funerals.

Stroll into Lister Lane cemetery in Halifax and you’ll find yourself in the company of a gaggle of Chartists.   That admirable stalwart of the cause Ben Rushton is interred there – his funeral in summer 1853 was the last great display of support for Chartism in the West Riding.  Near him is Kit Shackleton, widely admired for his speeches before Chartist crowds.  And now we know that Thomas Kitchenman is also there.  There is no headstone: his family and friends simply could not afford one.  But he’s there, in grave 4411.

Kitchenman was a determined chap.  His support for radical principles were evident long before the publication of the People’s Charter.  He was a rad back in 1820, causing the ruling elite all sorts of bother.  And he was a Chartist in 1839.  He’s mentioned in the famous Northern Star (21 December 1839).  These local activists were so important in the Chartist campaign – scurrying from one meeting to another, collecting signatures for the petitions and funds to support arrested men, flogging the Star.  Kitchenman believed in the cause so passionately that he was involved in Chartism to the end.  In 1848 he was arrested for organising drilling by working men.

Kitchenman stayed in Halifax for the rest of his life.  His neighbours would have known what he had once been, and respected him for it.  He died on 7 November 1874, aged 83.  There were no obituaries.  But he was interred not far from his old comrades Rushton and Shackleton in Lister Lane cemetery.  This talented and unswerving champion of the rights of the people  would have wanted no more.

Homage to Thomas Kitchenman!

Thanks to Stuart Wilkinson for drawing my attention to the burial place of Kitchenman.  You can find out more about Thomas Kitchenman in John L. Baxter Armed Resistance and Insurrection: The Early Chartist Experience (Our History pamphlet, 1984).