Kmflett's Blog

On 10th April 1848 the Chartists held a rally for the vote on Kennington Common. They had mostly marched from north of the river. The plan was to take a huge petition for the vote to Parliament. However once the Chartists had passed south the police and soldiers blocked them.

A leader of left Chartism, George Julian Harney who worked with Marx and Engels, made his position on this clear at a Chartist delegate meeting on 11th April.:

‘He would never again consent to leave London to hold a meeting

Northern Star 15th April 1848

The Chartists did have options north of the Thames including Copenhagen Fields and Bishop Bonners Fields (Victoria Park). However Kennington Common has remained the starting point for large protests in the modern era. The 1990 Poll Tax demonstration being a case in point.

That said while some demonstrations do head south of the Thames (the US Embassy having moved to Nine Elms) very few gather anywhere but in central London north of the Thames. The police perhaps recognising the importance of the river recently dictated that the Al Quds Day demonstration in March 2026 being restricted to a static protest on the south side of the Thames while a counter protest was allowed to gather on the north side…