During this early period of change , Chadderton 's parliamentary representation was limited to two Members of Parliament for Lancashire . Nationally , the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 had resulted in periods of famine and unemployment for textile workers . Nevertheless , despite years of distress and unrest , major disturbances of machine-breaking did not occur until 1826 . By the beginning of 1819 the pressure generated by poor economic conditions , coupled with the lack of suffrage in Northern England , had enhanced the appeal of political Radicalism in the region . The Manchester Patriotic Union , a group agitating for parliamentary reform , began to organise a mass public demonstration in Manchester to demand the reform of parliamentary representation . Organised preparations took place , and a spy reported that in neighbouring Thornham , " seven hundred men drilled ... as well as any army regiment would " . A few days later , on 3 August , a royal proclamation forbidding the practice of drilling was posted in Manchester . On 16 August 1819 , Chadderton ( like its neighbours ) sent a contingent of its townsfolk to Manchester to join the mass political demonstration now known as the Peterloo Massacre ( owing to the 15 deaths and 400 – 700 injuries which followed ) . Two of the 15 deceased were from the area : John Ashton of Cowhill and Thomas Buckley of Baretrees
Peterloo Massacre
Peterloo Massacre
Chadderton