The Peterloo Group public house in Tib Lane adjacent to Albert Square, - and close to St Peter's Square where in 1819 the infamous Peterloo Massacre had taken place, and from which the group took its name. The first discussion was on the subject of ‘The Social Position of the Arts Today’. Meetings continued on a monthly basis with writers and artists talking about their work and inviting discussion. Amongst the poets leading meetings, were Tony Connor, Michael Dixon, David Dunn, Michael Holroyd, John Knight, Jack Marriott, John McDonald, Robin Skelton, Margaret Snow, Noel Varney and Bernadette Wiseman. Several exhibitions of painting and
Peterloo Massacre and votes could only be cast at the county town of Lancaster, by a public spoken declaration at the hustings. Constituency boundaries were out of date, and the so-called rotten boroughs had a hugely disproportionate influence on the membership of the Parliament of the United Kingdom compared to the size of their populations: Old Sarum in Wiltshire, with one voter, elected two MPs, as did Dunwich in Suffolk, which by the early 19th century had almost completely disappeared into the sea. The major urban centres of Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Blackburn, Rochdale, Ashton-under-Lyne, Oldham and Stockport, with a combined population of