The Sash on the Mersey by Busteed, Mervyn;

Long description:

The book examines how an organisation originating in late eighteenth-century Ireland became a significant and controversial element in Liverpool history. Using a wide range of sources including rarely accessed Orange Order records it places the Order within an early nineteenth-century Liverpool context of apocalyptic evangelical Protestantism, a labour market dominated by irregular dock work, a growing influx of immigrant Catholic Irish, marked residential segregation and sporadic civil conflict. It explores how the Order survived official disapproval, dissolution and schism to become deeply rooted within Protestant working-class communities. It analyses the attractions of lodge life, the appeal of ritual, colourful regalia and 12th July processions, the intense social bonding within lodges, the mutual support provided in adversity and measure taken to guard and transmit their world view. The intense royalism and patriotism of the Order and its troubled relationship with the Church of England are examined plus its role in sustaining the working class Tory vote which contributed to a century long Conservative hegemony in city politics. The book concludes with the cultural and socio-economic changes in British society which marginalised the core concerns of the Order, triggering decline in strength, visibility and significance in civic life.

'Busteed’s interrogation of England’s most important centre of Orangeism is brilliantly illuminated by the discovery of a rich seam of lost archive material and his deft reading of those records. Covering the city’s history, the place of Orangeism in Liverpool’s civic history, the social and economic aspects of the organisation, and its political, imperial, and religious manifestations, this is a strikingly revealing and original work.' Professor Don MacRaild, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Exchange, London Metropolitan University

Table of Contents:

List of Illustrations and Table Acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction: Structure, Literature and Data Sources Chapter 1: History and Heritage Chapter 2: The Liverpool Context Chapter 3: The Lodge: Structure, Ritual, Regalia and Performance Chapter 4: Class, Origin, Sociability and Mutuality Chapter 5: Royalism, Patriotism, Empire and Commemoration Chapter 6: Defending Protestantism Chapter 7: Politics: Local and Irish Chapter 8: Facing Modern Times Conclusion Bibliography Index