Speakers’ Corner, Hyde Park, London
Leave a commentA Brief Introduction to Speakers’ Corner
Sunday at London’s Hyde Park’s Speakers’ Corner is well known as a location where anyone can speak their mind on any subject or topic so long as they do not use obscenities, incite a breach to the peace, or are the subject of complaints to the police. No subject is taboo so long as speakers keep within the established (albeit sometimes arbitrary) guidelines.
Danny Shine at Speakers Corner (Wikipedia, 2013)
Speakers’ Corner(s) – actually there are many located around Great Britain, Hyde Park’s just happens to be the most well-known – is held up as evidence of England’s commitment to free speech. Speakers’ Corner came to be as it is known today as the result of The Royal Parks and Garden’s Act of 1872 which permitted parts of parks to be used for assembly and public speaking. It is through tradition Speakers’ Corner established its location having been the location when in 1855, 150,000 people massed to protest the Sunday Trading Bill, which forbade buying and selling on a Sunday, the only day off for the Victorian era working class. This was followed in 1866 by a still larger gathering of around 200,000 men campaigning for working men’s voting rights. Prior to 1872, gathering such as these to hear public speakers were deemed illegal, with the two above notably ending in riot when police moved to break up the gatherings.
Riot of 1866. View is of the Marble Arch across from what is now called Speaker’s Corner (Garvery, 2013)
The connection to speeches in this location can actually be made much earlier in history. During the 1700’s, public executions were held in the area of what is now Speakers’ Corner. Thousands of people would come out to witness the execution. Tradition has it the condemned was allowed a final speech before the execution was conducted.
Memories of such public speeches and the knowledge the area can accommodate significant numbers of people likely influenced the selection of this site for the 1855 and 1866 gatherings as well as providing strong consideration of the area for assembly and public speaking after the passing of the Parks and Garden’s Act. Since gaining “legal” status in 1872, Speakers’ Corner has been the venue for many famous orators. Most notable of these are Karl Marx, George Bernard Shaw, George Orwell, William Morris, Marcus Garvey, Lord Soper, and reportedly Winston Churchill and Vladimir Lenin as well. Tomorrow’s notables may very well be speaking this coming Sunday!
If you are interested in learning more of the history of Speakers’ Corner, “Director Gavin White has made an hour-long documentary about Hyde Park’s Speakers’ Corner entitled Speakers Corner: You Have The Right To Remain Vocal which, he says, ‘serves as a modern commentary on the origins and fragility of freedoms of speech and assembly…and stands as a powerful metaphor for global democracy and our future'” (Speakers’ Corner Trust, 2013). I have provided a link to the film HERE.
Through the Years — Speakers’ Corner
Speakers’ Corner, Hyde Park in 1944 (Roberts, 1995)
© 1995 Charles C. Roberts, Jr.
Speakers’ Corner, Hyde Park, 1967
(Daloukas, 2012)
Photo credit: Simos Tsapnidis, 1967
Speakers’ Corner, Hyde Park, 1967
(Daloukas, 2012)
Photo credit: Simos Tsapnidis, 1967
Parting Shot
The only way to be heard is to speak up.
Speakers’ Corner
London for Free
(About.com, 2013)
References
About.com (2013). London Travel: Speakers’ Corner. Retrieved May 18, 2013, from http://golondon.about.com/od/londonpictures/ig/Speakers–Corner/Speakers-Corner-2.htm
Daloukas, M. (2012, November 9). On the Road Archives. Retrieved May 17, 2013, from http://ontheroadarchives.blogspot.com/2012/11/hyde-park-speakers-corner-london-1967.html
Garvery, N. L. (2011, August 8). Mobs and Riots in Victorian London [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://nlg-steampunk.blogspot.com/2011/08/mobs-and-riots-in-victorian-london.html#.UZbNrc7D-Uk
Roberts, Jr., C. C. (1995). 70th Tank Battalion London 1944. Retrieved May 17, 2013, from http://www.robertsarmory.com/England-1944.htm
Wikipedia (2013). Speakers’ Corner. Retrieved May 18, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speakers’_Corner
Watson's Corner 