AROUND 250 children marched down Stow Hill to the Westgate Hotel in the annual Chartist re-enactment, carrying placards and yelling “Give us the right to vote!”

To mark the 174th anniversary of the Chartist uprising they recreated the march of November 4, 1839, which culminated in the deaths of around 22 men campaigning for basic democratic reform in the city’s Westgate Hotel.

After mustering in Gem Park next to Newport Cathedral, they practised the chant they would repeat all the way to the hotel: “Landowners sit and gloat! Give us the right to vote!”

Stow Hill was closed for the march and the children took up the width of the road, waving flags and wearing 19th Century style clothing such as waistcoats and flat caps. When they got to the bottom of the hill they entered the high street and assembled outside the Westgate Hotel.

Each group of year five and six school children had rehearsed a short dramatic piece, with the primary school children chanting in unison and the sixth formers from Monmouth each crying out a demand from the peoples’ charter such as the right for all men to vote, the right to a secret ballot and the right for a wage for MPs so public office was not reserved for the rich. Each demand met with cheers from the crowd.

The drama closed with four shouts of “bang” from drama teacher Jamie Jarvis, at which the children fell to the ground. Some then stood up one at a time to recite the names of Chartists killed in the uprising of 1839.

Mayor Cliff Suller gave a speech praising the Chartists for their courage of conviction, and each child was given an apple to take home reminding them of the chasm between what most enjoy in 21st Century Britain compared to the times of the Chartists when many were denied the right to vote and even a decent meal.

History teacher at Monmouth School for Boys James Boiling said: “This is the seventh time we have done it, the seventh group we have taken along. I hope it’s bringing history to life for not only this group but the local primary schools as well.”

Pat Drewett, chairman of the Chartist Anniversary Committee, said: “Chartism is one of the things I’m proud of from South Wales. But it’s not just a thing from Newport, it’s Welsh heritage, national heritage; it has its importance throughout the world.”

The seventh annual re-enactment was organised this year by Newport Museum with funding from Communities First.

Pupils from Monmouth School, St Joseph’s Primary, St Woolos Primary, Clytha Primary, Maindee Primary, Malpas Court Primary and Caerleon Endowed Primary took part in the event.