Blue Plaque Trail:

Robert Tressell

This month’s article has been contributed by Dr Trevor Hopper: acknowledged Tressell expert, author of ‘Robert Tressell’s Hastings’ and also my old next door neighbour...

In 1910 a 40 year old Irishman called Robert Phillippe Noonan bade farewell to his daughter Kathleen at St Leonards station. They were never to meet again, as a few months later, in Febuary 1911, Noonan died in the Liverpool Royal Infirmary. But he had left Kathleen with a 250,000 word hand-written manuscript that she managed to get published in 1914 as ‘The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists’ by ‘Robert Tressell’. The book is the story of a year in the life of a group of house painters and decorators in the fictional town of Mugsborough, told through the eyes of Frank Owen, painter and socialist. Despite good reviews its popularity was mainly among socialists and the labour movement, and the novel led an almost underground existence for many years. But it continued to sell and still does to this day, now to a wider audience.

The tale rails against the capitalist system as Owen struggles to keep in employment and out of poverty in a town dominated by a few major employers with weak trade unions and a working class too frightened of unemployment and the workhouse to organise and fight against constant wage cuts and ruthless competition. Tressell’s book is no rosy-coloured view of heroic working men though. It constantly pours scorn on the poor for accepting their lot and wishing little better for ‘the likes of us’ as they heap abuse and even violence upon the socialists whilst proudly upholding their Liberal and Tory masters.

That is not to say that Tressell did not have sympathy with these men and their families; in fact much of the novel shows that they are trapped in the capitalist system and how difficult it is for them to break free. There is also a good deal of humour and humanity shown in this portrayal of the working class. It is the very realism of the book that is its strength and hence its appeal over the years to socialists, trade unionists and anyone critical of ‘the system’. Despite its roots in the building trade of Edwardian England it has a timeless appeal because the characters can be recognised and Owen, as the lone nonconformist radical stuck in amongst them, can be identified with by many readers.

So what is the relationship between Robert Tressell, Mugsborough and Hastings in 2007? Just after the second world war a Hastings man called Fred Ball had read the Ragged Trousered Philanthropists and had been informed that it was written by a building worker from the town and hence would be about his experiences here. Despite the description of Mugsborough as not being on the coast, the preface states ‘I have invented nothing’ and ‘the scenes and characters are typical of every town in the South of England and they will be readily recognised by those concerned’. Fred Ball, like many others, clearly recognised the reality of the novel and was curious to find out who Robert Tressell really was. His search took him years before discovering the author’s real name, Robert Noonan, that he had lived and worked in Hastings between 1901 to 1910, and eventually led to his grave plot in Liverpool.

Ball discovered that Noonan had lived at Milward Road, Hastings, London Road St Leonards and several other addresses in the area. Further, like the book’s hero Owen, he had worked as a painter and decorator for three firms in the area; one of them, Adams and Jarrett, is still in St Leonards. Much more has come out about this much-travelled man who had arrived here from South Africa, and in the 1960s his daughter, who had emigrated to Canada after selling the book, surfaced to confirm many facts about Robert Noonan alias Robert Tressell.

I began researching Tressell and his novel some years later and whilst looking through the local newspapers of the period found more evidence that his book was not only largely autobiographical but also based on many events in the town. The description of a by-election in the novel matches the local by-election of 1908. The unemployment demonstrations described in the book matched those in Hastings and along the south coast. In fact the whole social and economic structure of Mugsborough mirrors Edwardian Hastings. Finally, much of the physical evidence of Robert Tressell’s Hastings remained: his homes, the pubs, the Town Hall.

In 1999 dedicated fellow Tressell enthusiasts held the first ‘Robert Tressell Festival’ in Hastings and every year since there has been a festival to celebrate the man, his book and its legacy. A mixture of talks, displays, plays, and sometimes music, about the book, its politics and local history, usually with a general socialist theme and my own guided tour of ‘Robert Tressell’s Hastings’. It has become a popular event, attracting visitors from all over Britain, Ireland and even America. This year the ninth festival will be held at Concordia Hall, Church Road St Leonards on Saturday 30th June and Sunday 1st July. Entrance is free although donations are welcome as we are dependent on gifts even though we have sponsorship from the South East Cooperative, who have clearly not forgotten their roots. This year there will be a reading of extracts for a forthcoming Radio 4 series of the book, with possible celebrity appearances as well as the usual fare. Details of the programme can be obtained from Susannah Farley-Green on 01424-460735 at 4 Church Road St Leonards TN37 6EF tel 01424-460735, email: susannah@farley-green.freeserve.co.uk

‘Robert Tressell’s Hastings’ - a guide to the sights of The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists with additional biographical information on Tressell - is available from Hastings Tourist Office, Hastings Museum, Olio’s or Albion books, or directly from me at £5 (including return post) payable to T.Hopper at 63 Valence Road, Lewes BN7 1SJ 01273-479557, or email me by clicking here.