The development of political procession routes and policing the right to march in London, 1780-1915

Processions and marches were an integral part of popular politics, protest and urban life. This article maps the routes of 101 civic, political and trades’ union processions in London from 1780 to 1915. Mapping routes demonstrates the changing political and social geographies of the capital, its policing and the emergence of symbolic sites, with Trafalgar Square and Hyde Park becoming nationally significant from the 1840s onwards. Political movements engaged in negotiation over public space and the right to march with the home secretary and Metropolitan Police commissioner that raised key issues over constitutional liberties in an expanding franchise.