Richard Oastler was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 labour reformer, "Tory

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 radical", and abolitionist. He fought for the rights of working children in the Factory Act of 1847

Factory act of 1847

The Factory Act of 1847, also known as the Ten Hours Act, restricted the working hours of women and children in British factories to effectively 10 hours per day. The Bill was introduced unsuccessfully several times before Parliament finally passed it in 1847...

, and was also a prominent leader of the Factory reform and anti-Poor Law

Poor Law

The English Poor Laws were a system of poor relief which existed in England and Wales that developed out of late-medieval and Tudor-era laws before being codified in 1587–98...

 movement.

Career

Born in Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

, West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....

, Oastler was the youngest of ten children born to a linen merchant Robert Oastler and his mother was a daughter of Joseph Scurr. Richard later became steward for Thomas Thornhill, the absentee landlord of Fixby

Fixby

Fixby is a suburb in north-west Kirklees bordering neighbouring Calderdale and is traditionally part of Huddersfield in the English county of West Yorkshire...

, a large estate near Huddersfield

Huddersfield

Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....

. Richard Oastler attended a Moravian boarding school from 1798 to 1810, and then started training to become a barrister

Barrister

A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...

 before his failing sight compelled a change of career, becoming a commission agent. In 1820, upon his father's death, he succeeded him as steward of the Thornhill estates, moving to Fixby Hall in 1821.

In 1830 Oastler met John Wood, a worsted manufacturer from Bradford

Bradford

Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...

 who agonised over the need to employ children in his factory. Already an abolitionist, Oastler, after a lengthy meeting with Wood, decided to join the struggle for factory legislation, and wrote a letter on the subject of "Yorkshire Slavery" to the Leeds Mercury newspaper.

"It is the pride of Britain that a slave cannot exist on her soil. ... Let truth speak out, appalling as the statement may appear. The fact is true. Thousands of our fellow-creatures and fellow-subjects, both male and female, the miserable inhabitants of a Yorkshire town, (Yorkshire now represented in Parliament by the giant of anti-slavery principles) are this very moment existing in a state of slavery, more horrid than are the victims of that hellish system 'colonial' slavery." "

From this time forward, Oastler dedicated himself to the battle of what was now known as the 10-Hour Movement, and to campaigning for Poor Law

Poor Law

The English Poor Laws were a system of poor relief which existed in England and Wales that developed out of late-medieval and Tudor-era laws before being codified in 1587–98...

 reform.

By 1836 Oastler was urging workers to use strikes and sabotage. This proved his downfall. Thornhill, hearing of his speeches, sacked him as his steward in May 1838 and called in unpaid debts. Oastler was unable to pay up and was jailed for debt on 9 December 1840.

It took his friends and supporters more than three years to raise the money necessary to pay the so-called Factory King's debt. 'Oastler Committees' were formed in Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

 and other places to assist him, and 'Oastler Festivals' - the proceeds of which were forwarded to him - were arranged by working men. In 1842 an 'Oastler Liberation Fund' was started, and by the end of 1843 the fund amounted to £2,500. Some of Oastler's friends guaranteed the remaining sum needed to gain his release, and in February 1844 he emerged from the Fleet Prison

Fleet Prison

Fleet Prison was a notorious London prison by the side of the Fleet River in London. The prison was built in 1197 and was in use until 1844. It was demolished in 1846.- History :...

.

Having maintained his campaigning activity while in prison by publishing weekly Fleet Papers devoted to the discussion of factory and poor-law questions, Oastler continued his work and achieved some sort of success when the 1847 Factory Act restricted children to a 10-hour day in cotton mills. But it was not until six years after his death in 1861 that the act was widened to encompass children working in all factories.

His later years involved editing a weekly newspaper called The Home, which he commenced on 3 May 1851, and discontinued in June 1855. He died in Harrogate

Harrogate

Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...

 in 1861 and was buried in the churchyard of Kirsktall St. Stephens Parish Church in Leeds.

Memorials

A statue currently situated in Northgate, Bradford

Bradford

Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...

 stands as a memorial to Richard Oastler. Showing Oastler with two small children, it was the result of a national subscription; with most of the donations coming from Bradford, and given Oastler's close association with Yorkshire, Bradford was considered the most suitable site. The figures, sculpted by John Birnie Philip

John Birnie Philip

.John Birnie Philip was a notable English sculptor of the 19th century.He studied at the Government School of Design at Somerset House in London under John Rogers Herbert, and then at Herbert's own newly opened school in Maddox Street. He worked in Pugin's wood carving workshop at the Palace of...

, were cast from three tons of bronze

Bronze

Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...

 and cost £l,500. Significantly, the Earl of Shaftesbury

Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury

Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury KG , styled Lord Ashley from 1811 to 1851, was an English politician and philanthropist, one of the best-known of the Victorian era and one of the main proponents of Christian Zionism.-Youth:He was born in London and known informally as Lord Ashley...

, one of the great reformers for better conditions for children unveiled the statue, in 1869.

A public house

Public house

A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...

 (previously a chapel) in Park Street Market, Brighouse

Brighouse

Brighouse is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the River Calder, east of Halifax in the Pennines. It is served by Junction 25 of the M62 motorway and Brighouse railway station on the Caldervale Line and Huddersfield Line. In the...

, and a school in the Armley

Armley

Armley is a district in the west of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It starts less than a mile from Leeds city centre. Like much of Leeds, Armley grew in the industrial revolution and had several mills, one of which is now the Armley Mills museum...

district of Leeds, West Yorkshire, also bear his name.