(Image: With the enclosure of common land over hundreds of years it became a common saying “the sheep are devouring the men.”)
Edwardrushton.org.uk celebrates the life of the Liverpool poet who, at the age of 19, was blinded helping slaves. Founder of the School for the Blind, Rushton’s world was one of press gangs, revolution and oppression.
One of the first people to look afresh at Edward Rushton’s life was the late Bill Hunter. Bill wrote Forgotten Hero in 2002, and you can listen to a recording of it on the website, in instalments.
This week is Track 17. Rushton’s Times: The Revolutionary Changes. During Rushton’s lifetime whole populations were being uprooted from the land so it could be used for sheep farming. The saying was: “The sheep are devouring the men.”