The Chartist movement was founded in the wake of the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1832 and sought radical political and social reform, including universal suffrage and annually elected Parliaments. The movement achieved widespread support during the periods of trade recession in 1837 and again in 1841-2 but collapsed in 1848 following improved economic conditions. From 1838 until the demise of the movement, one of its most active campaigners was Richard Marsden, a handloom weaver. Marsden's campaigning activities brought him into early conflict with the authorities and in July of 1840 he was arrested in Preston and transferred to Newcastle prison on charges of sedition. These charges were, however, quietly dropped and Marsden was released within a fortnight. He immediately resumed his political activities and spent the next eight years travelling the north of England addressing meetings, organising industrial action and promoting the movement through letters to the newspapers. When the movement collapsed in 1848 he retired from public life.
Little seems to be known about Marsden's origins. It is suggested that he was born either late in the 18th or early in the 19th century either in south Lancashire or northeast Cheshire. He moved to Preston around 1829 where he remained until 1847, when he moved to Blackburn to become the secretary of the Blackburn Weavers' Union. His movements after the collapse of the Chartist movement the following year are unrecorded.
Modified 1 April 2002