The influence of the French Revolution spread through this country and in Failsworth the Revolution found sympathisers as in other parts. It was then that events took an interesting turn and a new phase of Fails-worth’s history began. These sympathisers formed themselves into a society and became known as the “Jacobins”, a name given to them by their opponents who called themselves “The Church and King Party”. The Jacobins met to discuss the new ideas and the great thinkers of the day—Voltaire and Mirabeau—but they also studied Shakespeare and other English poets.

A library was formed which included a copy of Tom Paine’s “Rights of Man” a proscribed book of the time and which although hunted by government spies managed to survive. Strife existed for many years between these two parties but at last the Jacobins were suppressed. Their influence however, continued and in the age of the Chartists their descendants became followers of Robert Owen and became the Reform Party.

A school was established and became the centre of political thought and discussion as well as providing a general elementary education to any who chose to attend. A library was again formed and contained unorthodox books, plays were performed which were denounced by the local Rector of Newton Chapelry. By this time people influenced by the Church and the local capitalists had established their own school. An attempt was made by members of this group to dispossess the Reformers from their building known as “The Old School” in Pole Lane but this failed and the school became a centre of social and ethical training. The Bible was studied but only alongside other books. The school earned the name of the “Secular School”. The members made some of the earliest attempts at co-operation the first of which failed but later success was achieved in the venture with people from Newton and a Co-operative Society was formed which survives to the present day as the Failsworth Industrial Society.

Failsworth can be proud that several inhabitants—members of the Reform Party—took part in the march to Peterloo in 1819 and several Failsworth names were among the list of dead and injured.

Wrigley Head is considered to be the oldest part of Failsworth and is mentioned in surveys made in AD. 1322. It became the centre of hand-loom weaving and hat making, in the little loom houses and hat-shops. Here was the centre of community life, near here the Maypole was erected which was later succeeded by the Pole which became a symbol of political triumph of the Church and King Party, the subsequent one also being regarded with suspicion by the Reformers but a later one accepted by them. Here the annual rush-cart for the rush bearing cere­monies would be built and Morris dancing for which Failsworth became renowned would take place when the weavers had their holidays. Bonfires were lit and during times of political strife effigies were burnt. It is known that those of Tam Paine and Napoleon I were burnt.

The Pack-Horse Inn nearby is a relic of the days when the old pack-horse route from Oldham to Manchester passed through the village and the Inn still has the mounting block. The weavers used this route to carry their cloth to be sold to the merchants of Manchester.

In the vicinity the Old School was built by the Reformers and later the National School was established by the Church. Also nearby the first parish church was erected, that of St. John, in 1846.