Wednesday September 18th 1867

A fine day. More people than usual are hanging around outside the police court in Manchester as the prison van prepares to make its regular afternoon journey to the city gaol.

At the last moment there is a delay while the inspector in charge arranges an escort. Seven unarmed police officers are detailed to ride on the van, with another four following in a carriage behind. The long-serving officer whose job it is to look after the prisoners decides to lock himself, & the keys, inside the van for extra security.

The route to the prison takes in Hyde Road, a straight, suburban avenue which leads to the Belle Vue Pleasure Gardens; it has not yet been lined with the kind of dense development found inside the city.

As the van passes under the arches of a railway bridge a crowd of maybe forty men appear from the surrounding brick fields or the nearby pubs & order the van to stop. Shots are fired, wounding the two horses & two of the escorting police.

In the confusion which follows the other police officers retreat behind the buttresses of the arch, or run to the gaol for help. The mob launches an attack on the van, attempting to break in with stones. Several climb to try & gain access through the roof.

In desperation one man decides to shoot at the lock on the door at the back of the van, prompting someone, at last, to hand out the keys. The door is opened & prisoners tumble out, including several women & two men who, unusually, are wearing handcuffs. Attackers & prisoners flee in all directions chased by spectators who had been attracted by the commotion.

On the road, behind the van, the policeman who had been riding inside lies bleeding from a shot to the head.