On April 24 1932, around 400 ramblers, mostly from Manchester, descended on Hayfield in Derbyshire to take part in a mass trespass onto Kinder Scout. They were led by 20-year-old Benny Rothman.
Hayfield had long been a popular weekend destination for walkers from the Greater Manchester area due to its proximity and good rail links. Arriving regularly in their thousands, they helped support cafes and many other shops, and businesses.
Yet on heading for the moorland, visitors were confined to limited sections of footpath, which did not take in Kinder itself.
There was a history of informal attempts to access prohibited areas, and of clashes with gamekeepers who inevitably got the better of the small groups involved.
Approaching Kinder from Hayfield Photo: Gary Wallis After one such encounter, a number of young hikers, members of the British Workers Sports Federation (BWSF), were motivated to take action – organising and publicised in advance a mass trespass.
It was appropriate that BWSF chose Kinder Scout as their target, the highest ground in the Peak District, its distinctive plateau summit clearly visible from Manchester.
Derbyshire Police were alerted and turned out in force on the day. On their return to Hayfield after the trespass walk, six men were arrested, five of whom were later convicted and imprisoned.
Manchester District Ramblers Federation refused to have any part in the planned event, and many other walking-related organisations expressed disapproval. However, the harsh sentences which followed caused outrage throughout the rambling community and beyond.
In time, these events became instrumental in changing public opinion towards access to countryside, eventually leading to the creation of the Peak District National Park in 1951 – the first of many such parks and long-distance footpaths that opened up the most attractive areas of the English countryside to visitors during the second half of the 20th century.
Although there were press articles acknowledging the trespass and a BBC documentary in 1970, there are no records of the 1932 Mass Trespass being formally celebrated until 1982, the 50th anniversary.
This was organised by the then 70-year-old Benny Rothman himself, amongst others, and its purpose included discussing current access issues, or ‘unfinished business.’
‘What was put together was an event which spoke to the traditions of the outdoor access movement more widely and celebrated achievements such as the Peak District National Park,’ reflected 1982 co-organiser Julian Batsleer in 2021.
‘At the same time, it was up-front about the political resonances of the Mass Trespass in both 1932 and 1982. Mixed in with the celebration of the Trespass and access gains generally was a clear campaigning element of “unfinished business”.’
This event was followed by further milestone anniversaries. The 60th began with a march from Hayfield Sett Valley car park (the railway station site until 1970) to the former quarry area at Bowden Bridge, then also a car park.
Speakers again included Benny Rothman, then in his eighties.
The proceedings in Hayfield were concluded with a rendition of The Manchester Rambler led by Peggy Seeger, wife of its recently deceased creator Ewan MacColl. There was also a performance of a play by Mike Harding called A Free Man on Sunday at New Mills Art Theatre.
Sadly, Benny Rothman passed away a few months before the next major anniversary, the 70th, in 2002.
This occasion has become famous for the speech made by the Duke of Devonshire. He apologised for the behaviour of his ancestor in 1932, at that time owner of much of the Kinder area, who tried to stop the trespassers by organising a ‘reception committee’ on the moors, consisting of gamekeepers and others, armed with sticks.
‘I am aware that I represent the villain of the piece this afternoon,’ remarked the Duke. ‘The trespass was a great shaming on my family and the sentences handed down were appalling, but out of great evil can come great good.’
Sir Martin Doughty, chair of the Peak Park, was one of the speakers, along with Michael Meacher, Secretary of State for the Environment, representing the government.
One observer, writing in Red Pepper magazine, wrote: ‘Overall it lacked the campaigning edge that had been at the heart of the previous occasions in 1982 and 1992. There was a great deal of self congratulation on the Government’s passing of the Countryside Rights of Way Act (CRoW).
‘At best, the Act will only give access to 12% of the land and still excludes vast areas of woodland, coastland and riverbanks that could be accessed by walkers with no ill effects to the environment.’
Those latter points about the limitations of the CRoW Act chime closely with the issues now being raised by the Outdoors For All campaign.
In 2007, the 75th anniversary was held in New Mills, about three miles from Hayfield, with some in the latter unhappy about the celebration moving away from the village where the trespass occurred.
Yet it was a successful event. Introduced by MC Mike Harding, six notable speakers presented their perspective on the 1932 Kinder Mass Trespass and the way forward for building on the legacy. These included David Milliband, Secretary of State for the Environment; Dave Perrin, writer and outdoors activist; and Kate Ashbrook, at that time Chair of the Ramblers. Kate remains a regular speaker at subsequent anniversaries up to the present date.
On the day, Lord Roy Hattersley praised the Trespass for its historical significance: ‘In its modest way, the Kinder Scout trespass – 75 years ago today – was the most successful direct action in British history,’ he suggested.
‘There have been bigger and more violent protests. Surviving suffragettes will rightly argue that their campaign achieved a more important objective than opening up a stretch of moorland to weekend walkers. But the women who smashed shop windows in Oxford Street and chained themselves to railings were supported by half the nation’s intelligentsia and a slice of the establishment.
‘The 500 ramblers who set out on that Sunday morning in 1932 were mostly working men with no resources – spiritual or physical – but their own. And, in the end, they won. How many other protests can make the same claim?’.
80TH ANNIVERSARY AND ANNUAL EVENTS
The next anniversary was in 2012, held at the Peak Park’s Moorland Centre in Edale. events after the 50th anniversary were all organised by the Kinder and High Peak Advisory Group (KHPAG), set up by the National Trust after acquiring the Kinder Estate in 1982.
These occasions, as well as celebrating the achievements of 1932, always included speakers who addressed access issues current at the time.
After the 80th anniversary organisers decided to make it an annual event – Spirit of Kinder (SPOK). The location varied to include Sheffield, Manchester, Castleton, as well as New Mills, and Edale.
In 2016, the event returned to Hayfield for the first time since 2002. It was jointly organised by Hayfield Kinder Trespass Group (HKTG) and KHPAG. The centrepiece was the unveiling of a plaque commemorating those trespassers arrested in 1932.
The following year, an interpretation board was erected on the former railway station site, now the village car park and bus station. With these two initiatives, for the first time there was a permanent presence in the village to recognise the Mass Trespass, and that it happened in Hayfield.
By the time of the 90th anniversary in 2022 the Hayfield Kinder Trespass Group (HKTG) was represented on the Kinder and High Peak Advisory Group (KHPAG) and it was decided HKTG should take the lead in planning the event, and that it should be held in Hayfield.
The Royal Hotel provided the location, as it often does for village community events. The interest from other organisations wanting to be involved was such that a large marquee was needed in the Royal car park.
Speakers included Ramblers president Stuart Maconie; and senior representatives from the National Trust and British Mountaineering Council.
Later, there was a panel event on the village green, hosted by the Tent People, with outdoor bar and pizza oven. This was popular, and the following year it became the main venue, together with the village hall, because the Royal Hotel was closed, awaiting a new tenant or buyer.
This year was also notable for the swimming trespass in Kinder Reservoir that occurred on the second day of the event, the Sunday, and was organised by the Outdoor Swimmers Society.
The success of that two-day event led to the handover of organising responsibility for future events to HKTG, who intend to continue with annual celebrations and to hold them in Hayfield.
HKTG is committed to using anniversaries and other events to support campaigns for wider responsible access to countryside and open spaces, urban and rural.
From 2023, this increasing involvement with campaigning has led to HKTG joining with the wider Outdoors For All’ movement, whose manifesto seeks to improve access to woodlands, waterways and urban open spaces, lobbying government to make real progress towards these goals.
Indeed, HKTG are signatories to the recently published manifesto Outdoors For All, along with over 40 outdoors organisations, including the Right to Roam campaign, the National Trust, Ramblers, the Open Spaces Society, and Friends of the Earth.
The 1932 trespass is still relevant because it reminds us that difficult battles can be won and gains can be made.
The history of anniversary celebrations demonstrates that continuing the struggle for more access, addressing current obstacles or new targets, has always been a core element of these events.
With the rapid increase in involvement of a wide range of groups with outdoor interests in very recent years, Hayfield Kinder Trespass Group is now just one of many organisations in the campaign.
But with the annual celebration now firmly rooted in Hayfield, the 1932 Kinder Trespass will continue to play its part and to bring together many of the other groups now involved in the mission to gain improved access to the great outdoors.
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