Clarion Cycling Club
Encyclopedia
The National Clarion Cycling club is a cycling club
with some 26 member sections and over 600 members throughout Great Britain
.
, England as the Socialists' Cycling Club. At its second meeting it renamed itself the Clarion Cycling Club after The Clarion
socialist
newspaper.
By the end of 1894, readers of The Clarion formed local socialist cycling club
s in five industrial centres: Birmingham, The Potteries
, Liverpool
, Bradford
and Barnsley
.
In 1895 at Ashbourne
, Derbyshire
the five clubs gathered for their first annual Easter Meet. Together they formed the National Clarion Cycling Club, which is
The number of local Clarion Clubs grew to 30 by the end of 1895 and 70 by the early part of 1897. They reached the peak of their extent and influence in 1914, when their Easter Meet was at Shrewsbury
. The illustrator and socialist Walter Crane
designed the National Clarion Cycle Club's letterhead.
In November 1894, members of the Bradford and Liverpool CCC's campaigned for socialist candidates in local council elections. By the end of that year, 22 of the Bradford CCC's 25 members were working as Scouts, distributing propaganda to villages around the town. In March 1895 a new socialist magazine, The Scout, was launched for Scouts to read and circulate. It was subtitled "A Monthly Journal for Socialists" and its first edition included a set of "Instructions for Scouts" written by The Clarions editor Robert Blatchford
. The Clarion Clubs also did much to circulate The Clarion, Blatchford's book Merrie England
and the socialist ideas that they expressed.
When the Clarion Clubs were formed, socialists in Britain were divided between the Social Democratic Federation
founded in 1881, the Independent Labour Party
founded in 1893 and smaller organisations. The Labour Representation Committee that evolved into the current Labour Party
was not founded until 1900. Clarion Scouts were encouraged to support either SDF or ILP candidates in elections, and Scouts in districts that lacked local socialist groups were encouraged to form either a local group of either SDF or the ILP, and to build unity between the disparate organisations of Britain's labour movement.
Cycling club
A cycling club is a society for cyclists. It can be local or national, general or specialised. The Cyclists' Touring Club, CTC) in the United Kingdom is a national association; i-Team and are internet clubs; the Tricycle Association, Tandem Club and the Veterans Time Trial Association, for those...
with some 26 member sections and over 600 members throughout Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
.
Clarion Cycling Clubs
The first club was formed in February 1894 in BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England as the Socialists' Cycling Club. At its second meeting it renamed itself the Clarion Cycling Club after The Clarion
The Clarion
The Clarion was a weekly newspaper published by Robert Blatchford, based in the United Kingdom. It was a socialist publication though adopting a British-focused rather than internationalist perspective on political affairs, as seen in its support of the British involvement in the Anglo-Boer Wars...
socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
newspaper.
By the end of 1894, readers of The Clarion formed local socialist cycling club
Cycling club
A cycling club is a society for cyclists. It can be local or national, general or specialised. The Cyclists' Touring Club, CTC) in the United Kingdom is a national association; i-Team and are internet clubs; the Tricycle Association, Tandem Club and the Veterans Time Trial Association, for those...
s in five industrial centres: Birmingham, The Potteries
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, 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...
and Barnsley
Barnsley
Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Dearne, north of the city of Sheffield, south of Leeds and west of Doncaster. Barnsley is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, of which Barnsley is the largest and...
.
In 1895 at Ashbourne
Ashbourne
Ashbourne is the name of more than one thing:Places*Ashbourne, County Meath in Ireland*Ashbourne, Derbyshire in England*Ashbourne, Victoria in Australia*Ashbourne, South Australia in AustraliaOtherAshbourne Cup...
, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
the five clubs gathered for their first annual Easter Meet. Together they formed the National Clarion Cycling Club, which is
"the association of the various Clarion Cycling Clubs for the purpose of Socialist propaganda and for promoting inter-club runs between the clubs of different towns".
The number of local Clarion Clubs grew to 30 by the end of 1895 and 70 by the early part of 1897. They reached the peak of their extent and influence in 1914, when their Easter Meet was at Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
. The illustrator and socialist Walter Crane
Walter Crane
Walter Crane was an English artist and book illustrator. He is considered to be the most prolific and influential children’s book creator of his generation and, along with Randolph Caldecott and Kate Greenaway, one of the strongest contributors to the child's nursery motif that the genre of...
designed the National Clarion Cycle Club's letterhead.
Clarion Scouts
In 1894 a writer in the Clarion under the pen-name "Numquam" suggested a "cycling corps of Clarion Scouts". That summer, a meeting between The Potteries and Birmingham Clarion Clubs decided to put it into effect: "scouts" using their cycling trips to circulate socialist leaflets and copies of the Clarion wherever they visited.In November 1894, members of the Bradford and Liverpool CCC's campaigned for socialist candidates in local council elections. By the end of that year, 22 of the Bradford CCC's 25 members were working as Scouts, distributing propaganda to villages around the town. In March 1895 a new socialist magazine, The Scout, was launched for Scouts to read and circulate. It was subtitled "A Monthly Journal for Socialists" and its first edition included a set of "Instructions for Scouts" written by The Clarions editor Robert Blatchford
Robert Blatchford
Robert Peel Glanville Blatchford was a socialist campaigner, journalist and author in the United Kingdom. He was a prominent atheist and opponent of eugenics. He was also an English patriot...
. The Clarion Clubs also did much to circulate The Clarion, Blatchford's book Merrie England
Merrie England (book)
Merrie England is an influential collection of essays on socialism by Robert Blatchford, published in 1893. It sold over two million copies worldwide.----Notes...
and the socialist ideas that they expressed.
When the Clarion Clubs were formed, socialists in Britain were divided between the Social Democratic Federation
Social Democratic Federation
The Social Democratic Federation was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on June 7, 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury and Eleanor Marx. However, Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx's long-term...
founded in 1881, the Independent Labour Party
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...
founded in 1893 and smaller organisations. The Labour Representation Committee that evolved into the current Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
was not founded until 1900. Clarion Scouts were encouraged to support either SDF or ILP candidates in elections, and Scouts in districts that lacked local socialist groups were encouraged to form either a local group of either SDF or the ILP, and to build unity between the disparate organisations of Britain's labour movement.