The posthumous cult of Charles James Fox: Whig associations in the 1810s

Abstract

This article seeks to examine the relationship between national and local Whigs in the 1810s, by paying attention to the posthumous cult of Charles James Fox which was expressed in British urban communities through the Fox Clubs, the Fox Dinners and other similar Whig associations. It reveals three significant features of his cult within a Whig associational culture. First, the cult of Fox was popular and influential within the closed Whig circles in the capital. It was explicitly expressed on many occasions, particularly at the dinners hosted by the London Fox Club, and could have actively contributed to the unity between the Whig party and its intimate allies in London. Second, however, the cult was not shared fully among local Whigs and middle-class reformers. Many of these regional allies of the party did not feel sincere or genuine sympathy for Fox. Many local Whigs initially had positive expectations for the Fox Dinners and attempted to use them to engage in promoting the reform movement, but they were soon disappointed with the dinners and felt frustrated that national Whigs were unwilling to initiate a reform campaign. In the third place, the situation was nevertheless different in some regions in Britain. In Edinburgh and Glasgow, the Fox Dinners were popular and long-lasting until the mid-1820s. In Liverpool, the cult of Fox was powerful and influential among local Whigs and middle-class reformers. In conclusion, this essay discusses the broader implication of these features from two specific perspectives: the relationship between national and local politics, and the development of urban Whig politics in the 1820s and the later period.