Sam Bamford statue vandalised

A statue to commemorate Sam Bamford, one of Middleton’s most famous sons, has been vandalised.

The memorial, which is located in Middleton old cemetery on St Leonard’s Street, has had an offensive symbol drawn on the forehead and black rings around the eyes and mouth.

Mark Widdup, Director of Economy and Environment at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “It is incredibly disappointing that one or a small number of individuals have chosen to damage such a beautiful historical statue that commemorates a very important person in the history of our borough.

“We will seek to clean the statue and restore it to its normal state at the earliest opportunity. Longer term, we are seeking to implement a management plan for the old graveyard and monument with our environmental management team which will increase the council and community presence in the area to ensure it is kept in the best possible condition.”

The memorial commemorates the life of Bamford who was a weaver, poet, writer and radical born in Middleton. It became known that he had sympathy with the difficulties of the working class and turned his attention to demand better rights and working conditions for them. 

He was jailed in 1817 on suspicion of high treason for his political activities.

In August 1819, Bamford led a group from Middleton to St Peter’s field in Manchester to press for reform. Following the Peterloo Massacre, he was jailed for a year in Lincoln and became a key figure in the radical reform movement.

His funeral in 1872 attracted thousands of people and the Middleton memorial was unveiled five years later.

As well as the memorial, guided walks have also been launched in Bamford’s name and a painting of Bamford was recently unveiled in Middleton Library.