Now! Then! 2024! - Yorkshire On This Day

Excerpt

On visiting Mr Dewhurst’s mill, the water was let off from the boiler by the mob, and work was stopped. Mr W. Sidgwick’s (Low) mill was next treated in the same manner, and at the High Mill the plugs were drawn from the boilers, the fires were raked out, and a peremptory order was given that the workmen should be turned away. Here money was demanded of Mr John Sidgwick, as a condition of the withdrawal of the mob, and was given. The rioters then left; but with the threat that if the mill was worked without their consent they would return and do mischief. The violence of the plug-drawers was such that at last the magistrates had the Riot Act read in the marketplace, and the mob soon afterwards were persuaded to withdraw from the town. They halted in a field knowu as Annahills, by the side of the road to Carleton. Here again the Riot Act was read. The military was now announced as at hand, and soon a portion of the 61st regiment of infantry, under Captain Jones, appeared upon the scene. Having reached the camping place of the rioters, the soldiers were ordered to charge the mob, and they drove them into the adjoining road, whence were thrown volleys of stones in reprisal. One soldier was so severely injured that he died shortly afterwards. Mr Garforth, the magistrate, also received in the same manner injury to one of his eyes so serious that he was unable afterwards to see with it. But the defence of the rioters was brief, for no sooner did the military prepare to follow them into the lane than they took to their heels as for very life, and clambering over wall and hedge dispersed in all directions. Not a single shot was fired by the soldiers. This bloodless struggle obtained the name by which it is yet known of: Annahills Fight.

Comment

Comment

Israel Roberts:

I may say their primary object seemed to be to get hold of money, as at every place they went to they threatened also to empty the reservoirs unless something was given to them. I remember at Cape Mill [at Farsley] my father got them out of the yard by a gratuity of 3/6d. At some other mills in the neighbourhood they got several pounds… The result of this mad freak was that many were transported beyond the seas and for this generation at least the would-be Levellers were stopped. My friend Philemon Slater used often to tell his friends about a man at Yeadon who used to say, “We shall have a levelling some day, and when we have I shall have Esholt Hall.”(Roberts 2000)

Someone has borrowed a great chunk of Frank Peel re simultaneous rioting in Halifax and other towns (Peel 1968).

Something to say? Get in touch

Original

THE “PLUG-DRAWING” RIOTS OF 1842.

It is impossible to pass over the labour disturbances which extended over a great portion of Yorkshire and Lancashire in the summer of 1842. The town of Skipton was affected in this way only — that it was, on the 16th of August, invaded by a Lancashire mob of some 3,000 persons, who stopped the mills, and put the inhabitants into a state of terror from which it took them several days to recover. The time was one of great national trade depression. Many causes assisted to produce it. Textile operatives attributed it to the substitution of power for hand-worked machinery. By some political economists it was traced to “the increased capital applied to manufacturing purposes;” by others to the state of the currency. Another factor in the distress which prevailed amongst the working classes was the restriction then placed upon the import of corn. To give work to the multitude of unemployed inhabitants, public works, such as the construction of roads, were undertaken. It was so in our own locality. Unfortunately, the textile operatives of East Lancashire did not bear their troubles with the fortitude that characterised their near Yorkshire neighbours. Perhaps it was that they suffered in a greater degree. However that may have been, they declared that man was “born to live and not to clem,”[Clem, to starve, hunger.] and that as they had nothing of their own on which to prolong existence, they should apply to, and if necessary extract from, those in the enjoyment of plenty. It was at the beginning of the third week in August that a foraging expedition started eastward from the neighbourhood of Colne and Burnley. Their mission was threefold. They intended to demand food all along the route, to put a stop to steam-power employment to which in a great measure they attributed their troubles – and, by inviting operatives everywhere to join them, to form a movement so gigantic that their demands should not be withstood. The men were armed with heavy clubs, and walked four abreast. Their staves were carried horizontally, each man having hold of two sticks by the ends; the idea being probably that by marching thus their ranks would with difficulty be disordered in the event of attack. The leaders wore round the arm a strip of white cloth or tape. The rioters obtained the name “plug-drawers” because it was their plan to draw the plugs from the boilers of all the factories they visited, and thus put an end to work. At that time “waggon boilers” were generally used, the fire being underneath the boiler and not in a flue through it, as is usual now. An iron plug was inserted in the bottom of the boiler, and this knocked out, the water of course escaped. Like a ball of snow the mob increased at every step. The fame of the rioters preceded them to Skipton, and when on the morning of Tuesday, the 16th August, it became known that this town was to be visited the good folk were thrown into a state of profound alarm. They arrived in the afternoon, to the number of 3,000 persons, including men, women, and children. They came by Broughton, and were met at a short distance from the town by Mr. T. H. Ingham and other magistrates, who did their utmost to dissuade them against proceeding farther; but without avail. Mr. Ingham then rode on to Burnley to obtain the assistance of the military. Meanwhile, a perfect panic existed in Skipton. Business was entirely suspended; shops were shut, the windows of the private houses were closed or the blinds drawn, and the doors in many cases securely fastened. While a portion of the mob at once visited the mill of Mr. Dewhurst, the remainder went round the town, levying black-mail everywhere. They entered shops and houses, and without resistance carried away the provisions that first met their eyes. In a multitude of instances the householders had provided food against their coming, knowing this to be one of their demands. Where remonstrance was ventured, the only reply given by the plug-drawers was that they had “done as long as they well could, so now they were like to take off ť’ lump!” — an expression about which there could be no misunderstanding. The local magistrates had not been heedless of the expected visit. Mr. M. Wilson, sen., Mr. Cooper Preston, Mr. J. Garforth (all deceased), and Mr. M. Wilson, jun. (now Sir Mathew) were soon busy swearing men in as special constables, pending the arrival of the military.

On visiting Mr. Dewhurst’s mill, the water was let off from the boiler by the mob, and work was stopped. Mr. W. Sidgwick’s (Low) mill was next treated in the same manner, and at the High Mill the plugs were drawn from the boilers, the fires were raked out, and a peremptory order was given that the workmen should be turned away. Here money was demanded of Mr. John Sidgwick, as a condition of the withdrawal of the mob, and was given. The rioters then left; but with the threat that if the mill was worked without their consent they would return and do mischief. The violence of the plug-drawers was such that at last the magistrates had the Riot Act read in the marketplace, and the mob soon afterwards were persuaded to withdraw from the town. They halted in a field knowu as Annahills, by the side of the road to Carleton. Here again the Riot Act was read. The military was now announced as at hand, and soon a portion of the 61st regiment of infantry, under Captain Jones, appeared upon the scene. Having reached the camping place of the rioters, the soldiers were ordered to charge the mob, and they drove them into the adjoining road, whence were thrown volleys of stones in reprisal. One soldier was so severely injured that he died shortly afterwards. Mr. Garforth, the magistrate, also received in the same manner injury to one of his eyes so serious that he was unable afterwards to see with it. But the defence of the rioters was brief, for no sooner did the military prepare to follow them into the lane than they took to their heels as for very life, and clambering over wall and hedge dispersed in all directions. Not a single shot was fired by the soldiers. This bloodless struggle obtained the nameby which it is yet known—of “Annahills Fight.”

The good folk of Skipton now breathed more freely; but it was a long time before the town regained its normal quiet. A contemporary newspaper had the following despatch from Skipton eleven days after the riot:

This town has remained perfectly tranquil since the outrage of Tuesday, the 16th, immediately after which the magistrates present, consisting of M. Wilson, M. Wilson, jun., T. Hastings Ingham, and C. Preston, Esqrs., had a conference with the mill-owners, and pledged themselves to protect them by the presence of the military if they would immediately commence running their mills. This was instantly acted upon, and we believe every workman in the town returned to his work. Some of the above magistrates have remained in the town day and night during the last week. In consequence of the disturbed state of Colne, Captain Jones, of the 61st regiment, was ordered back to that town, and thus Skipton was left without military protection. The magistrates being determined to keep the mills running, applied to Major-General Brotherton for troops, and we are glad to say that a company of the 73rd regiment, under the command of Captain Widdington, marched into the town as early as seven o’clock on Tuesday morning, and took possession of most comfortable barracks in the fine old castle of the Earl of Thanet. An example of energy has been shown by the magistrates and inhabitants of Skipton, which, if it had been acted upon in other places, we are sure the course of these mischievous people would have been sooner checked. Measures are still in progress which it is hoped will ere long lead to the apprehension of more of the ringleaders in these riotous proceedings.

Six men were apprehended — William Smith (46), who appears to have been the ring-leader, John Spencer (50), William Spencer (47), John Harland (38), Edward Hey (32), and James Dakin (27) — and at the York Assizes, held on Thursday, September 1st, 1842, were arraigned “for having at Skipton with force and arms, together with divers other evil-disposed persons, riotously and tumultuously assembled, to the terror of the Queen’s subjects.” It is unnecessary to give the evidence brought against them. Suffice it to say that the men were all found guilty, and were sentenced to varying terms of imprisonment. The late Mr. C. Sidgwick assisted in the identification of several of the prisoners.

It may be noted that soon after the Plug-drawing Riot a farcical imitation took place. About thirty or forty mischievous young men of Skipton banded themselves together, and went as far as Linton and Grassington, terrifying the simple country-folk, who, glad to get off so easily, supplied them with bread and beer from the upper windows, and in some cases with money. Other of the farmers, of a more practical turn, presented their loaded guns, and were thus unmolested. Public-houses were visited, and the mob helped themselves to the best. The terror they occasioned was the greater since they took care to assure every household they entered that additional operatives were coming from Skipton. News of the affair reached Skipton, however, and a handful of men — special constables — hastened after the imposters, who at sight of them fled in all directions.

1626 words.

Tags

Tags are assigned inclusively on the basis of an entry’s original text and any comment. You may find this confusing if you only read an entry excerpt.

• 1842 general strike (2), aka the Plug Riots, and influenced by Chartism: the biggest single exercise of working class strength in nineteenth-century Britain ·
• 61st (South Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot (1) ·
• Assizes (24) ·
• Bradford Moor Barracks (1) ·
• 📌Bradford (72) ·
• British Army (18) ·
• Broughton, Lancashire (1) ·
• Burnley (4) ·
• Carleton-in-Craven (1) ·
• Chartism (5) ·
• Clothing industry (12) ·
• Colne (3) ·
• Corn Laws (1815-46) (7), mercantilist tariffs and other restrictions on imported wheat, oats and barley, which, by keeping prices artificially high, favoured (Tory) landowners but made the poor hungry, the middle classes poor, and (Whig) manufacturers less able to develop their businesses ·
• Craven (8) ·
• 📌Dewsbury (21) ·
• English Civil War (1642-1651) (27), a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians ("Roundheads") and Royalists ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of religious freedom ·
• Farsley (4) ·
• 📌Grassington (3), also Gerston ·
• 📌Halifax (43) ·
• 📌Huddersfield (29) ·
• Lancashire (34) ·
• 📌Leeds (235) ·
• Levellers (2) ·
• Linton, North Yorkshire (1) ·
• Popular sovereignty (3) ·
• Riot Act (7) ·
• Riot (22) ·
• Skipton (6) ·
• Stalybridge (1) ·
• Textile manufacturing (59) ·
• West Riding of Yorkshire (147) ·
• Wharfedale (8) ·
• William Harbutt Dawson (1) ·
• 📌Yeadon, West Riding/West Yorkshire (7), town on the north bank of the Aire northwest of Leeds ·
• 📌York (164) ·

All tags.

Similar

• 23 February 1863: The Rev Samuel Gray of Cundall tries to make school interesting for a nervous William Allison (12)
• 1 December 1843: Unappetising conditions in the police cells and the old lock-up at Halifax
• 7 April 1812: Sheffield cemetery builders and metal-workers riot on market day against potato price inflation
• 12 February 1677: Heavy snow leaves Oliver Heywood unsure whether to cross the Pennines into Lancashire
• 19 October 1816: Serenaded by the military, decorated barges leave Leeds for Liverpool to celebrate the completion, after almost 50 years, of the canal uniting east and west
• 8 January 1844: Members of the 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot stationed at Leeds riot against a graffito
• 15 January 1812: The Leeds authorities foil the first Luddite attack in Yorkshire – at Sheepscar
• 29 February 1824: Prophet John Wroe is baptised on the Leap Day in the Aire near Apperley Bridge before an audience of 30,000
• 15 April 1985: Hervey Rhodes tells his fellow-lords how, on the abolition of the Ridings in 1974, Saddleworth was lost to Greater Manchester
• 3 July 1643: The Royalists take Bradford after the Second Siege, but are warned off massacring the inhabitants by a ghost