One of the most celebrated writers of the 20th century, George Orwell stayed in Barnsley in 1936. He wanted to see for himself the living conditions of working class people for his book ‘The Road To Wigan Pier’. He stayed at a house in Agnes Terrace, still there today.
A Blue Plaque commemorating George Orwell’s stay in Barnsley will be unveiled on Friday 26 April. The main event to mark the occasion is a talk at 1pm in the Miners’ Hall, Victoria Road, next door to the NUM building.
Edana Guest will give the talk about George Orwell’s time in Barnsley, his experiences and what he found out. Edana has written an article about George Orwell’s stay in Barnsley in the excellent ‘Memories of Barnsley’.
Her talk will be kindly hosted by the NUM in the magnificent Miners’ Hall in Victoria Road, Barnsley, next door to the NUM Offices. Do come along to this there is no need to book. Come for 1pm. No need to book.
The unveiling of the Blue Plaque will then take place later as a small event in Day Street at the end of Agnes Terrace.
It’s for invited guests in view of the traffic in the area and the space that is available. Safety has to be a consideration. See comment.
This event is being held in partnership with Barnsley Archives & Local Studies. We are pleased that members of the Orwell Society including Richard Blair, George Orwell’s son and Patron of the Society, and the Chair of the Orwell Society, Quentin Kopp, will be present.
Do come along to the tak at the Miners’ Hall at 1pm, there is no need to book. It’s open to everyone: booking for the talk is not necessary.
Our thanks to Edana Guest for all she has done to arrange this event.
For safety reasons we are trying to limit the actual unveiling to the Orwell society, speakers, sponsors and the media.
The main event to which everyone can come is in the Miners’ Hall in Victoria Road at 1pm: everyone is welcome there for the presentation by Edana Guest.
The unveiling of the plaque itself is low key and mainly a photo opportunity for the press at the site.
We have found it necessary to seek to limit the attendance at the unveiling of the plaque on site to the official guests and the media rather than as previously publicised.
This is for safety reasons as there is only a narrow pavement at the end of Agnes Terrace which is not suitable for a large gathering of people and Day Street is a busy traffic route.
Parking is also severely restricted in the vicinity and we do not wish to cause a nuisance to residents and businesses.
We are sorry that these adjustments to the programme have had to be made.