Environmental campaigner Martin Porter will be leading a walk from Hayfield on Saturday to mark the 89th anniversary of the famous Kinder Scout Mass Trespass.
Martin, who lives in Glossop, is the grandson of Claude Porter, who, along with 400 other people, trespassed on Kinder Scout in a protest about access to the open countryside.
He said: “The actual anniversary was April 24, but if we’d held the event then we would have only been allowed six people. By waiting four weeks we’re allowed to have up to 30.”
The plan is to meet at Bowden Bridge car park at noon where Martin will tell the story of what happened in 1932. There will then be a walk of about 2km to the bottom of William’s Clough where he will talk about the continued relevance of the event.
The walk does not involve significant climbing, but the path is rough in places.
Martin added: “The idea for a Mass Trespass came during a camp by the Workers Sports Federation at Back Rowarth at Easter 1932.
“From their factories in Stockport and Manchester, these people could see the hills, but they weren’t allowed to walk on them.”
A third of the Derbyshire police force was waiting for the ramblers. The police followed the walkers up to William Clough, where the ramblers left the footpath and trespassed on the Duke of Devonshire’s land. There were scuffles with the Duke’s gamekeepers, but they made it up to the top of the plateau.
Martin went on: “What happened next was the most heroic part of the day. They had outpaced the police and met a contingent from Sheffield who had walked over from Edale with no problems.
“There were half a dozen different directions they could have gone in and got clean away, but instead they turned round and walked back to Hayfield, proud of what they’d done and ready to face the consequences.”
Benny Rothman and five others were charged with ‘riotous assembly’ and went to prison. However, the trespass inspired campaigners for the ‘right to roam’ and is credited with helping the Peak District become Britain’s first National Park in 1951.
Martin continued: “We perhaps have more reason to be thankful to the Mass Trespassers this year than most.
“For those of us lucky enough to live on the edge of the National Park, access to the open space around us has been a great help in getting through lockdown.
“However, this freedom may be under threat. The government’s proposed Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill aims to restrict the right of protest and make trespass a criminal offence in certain circumstances.
“I hope our elected representatives will take great care to examine this piece of legislation as it passes through parliament. It would be a pity if the right to walk the hills won by Benny Rothman, my grandfather, and the other Mass Trespassers was lost thanks to a badly drafted law.”
There is more about the events of 1932 in the film Mass Trespass by WellRedFilms which is available free online.
Images by Jordan Carol
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