A collection of descriptions and references to sounds drawn mainly from primary sources such as autobiographies, diaries and statutes, as well as novels written around the times they depict.
| Sub-category | 1st to 10th |
11th to 15th |
16th to 17th |
18th | Early 19th |
Late 19th |
Early 20th |
Late 20th |
| Demonstrations | 2 | 1 | ||||||
| Elections and election campaigns | 1 | |||||||
| Public political oratory | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Strikes and trade union activities | 1 | 1 | Political violence | 1 | 1 |
Period referred to: 1660s
Sound category: Political > Labour disputes
Title of work: The Diary of Samuel Pepys
Type of publication: Diary
Author: Samuel Pepys
Year of publication: 1666
Page/volume number: 19 December 1666
Samuel Pepys witnesses a seamen’s protest over pay
Thence home, and upon Tower Hill saw about 3 or 400 seamen get together; and one, standing upon a pile of bricks, made his sign, with his handkercher, upon his stick, and called all the rest to him, and several shouts they gave. This made me afeard; so I got home as fast as I could.
Period referred to: 1930s
Sound category: Political > Strikes and trade union activities
Title of work: As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning
Type of publication: Autobiography
Author: Laurie Lee
Year of publication: 1969
Page/volume number: Chapter 2: London
Laurie Lee goes on strike with his fellow labourers
We massed in the open outside the manager's office, our tempers suddenly transformed – over five hundred men huddled in the raw cold wind, waiting for our ranks to throw up a leader. At first we were lost; sporadic meetings broke out, voices shouted against each other. 'Brothers! – Comrades! – We got to stand solid on this – Chuck 'em out – Put our demands to the bosses.' The loaded phrases touched off little bush-fires of anger which flickered across the crowd, then died. [. . .]
Just then a tall stoop-backed labourer pushed his way to the front and climbed up on to a pile of timber, and as soon as he turned to address us we knew that he'd do, and that the vacuum was filled.
[. . .]
He spoke briefly, with savage almost contemptuous dignity, and the other gabblers round the ground fell silent. With a few iron words he raised the level of our grievance to the heights of cosmic revolution. We had been vague and wavering; now we had no doubts.