There is some evidence to suggest that in the period of social unrest that followed the end of the Napoleonic Wars , and which saw the introduction of the Seditious Meetings Act , gatherings of botanists may have been used as cover for the activities of politically radical reformers such as Samuel Bamford . Horsefield , who witnessed the Peterloo Massacre of 1819 , had such sympathies and recounted that The Peterloo Massacre was the last political meeting Horsefield attended , although he retained a general interest in the subject of radical politics . He attended the Manchester Mechanics ' Institute , supported the idea of self-education and , according to Harvey Taylor , a historian , " typified the Lancashire autodidactic seeker after self-culture . " Having obtained his own garden in 1819 , he promoted his interests by founding the Prestwich Botanical Society on 11 September 1820 , presiding over meetings in a pub where plant specimens were brought together for identification and where those who could not read were taught the science of botany by those who could . He was president of the society for 32 years , during which time at least 131 books were purchased by the society for communal use . Writing in December 1829 , Horsefield explained that the Prestwich Society met on the second Monday of each month and usually had between 12 and 20 members , who were charged a monthly 6d . ( 2 ½ p ) subscription . The subscription , which was common to such societies , was intended to pay for books and create a fund for the purchase of drink ; the pub landlord provided the meeting and storage space at no charge as long as sufficient drink was consumed , a practice known as " wet rent "
Peterloo Massacre
Peterloo Massacre
John Horsefield