Ten Days of Tumult: The Mass Strike of 1842 in the West Riding of Yorkshire

Abstract

Variously termed the ‘Plug Riots’, ‘general strike’, or ‘strike wave’, the industrial unrest that hit northern England in the summer of 1842 was perhaps the most serious in modern British history. This article offers the first detailed account of this mass strike in the West Riding, showing how pickets from Lancashire and Cheshire successfully persuaded Yorkshire communities (including women) to assume the direction of the action. The article also analyses its causes, character, and the factors that led to the mass strike’s failure. Chief among the latter was the rapid militarisation of West Riding industrial centres to back civil authority’s response to the strike. The interpretation (widely circulated at the time) that the strike was a conspiracy by mill owners who supported the Anti-Corn Law League to promote political unrest is refuted. Although some historians have seen the strike as purely a movement to raise wages (typically to their 1840 levels), this article argues that support for the Chartist movement was decisive in shaping it. However, it is shown that not all strikers necessarily identified their actions with Chartism, while key figures in the movement’s leadership suspected ACLL involvement and/or were fearful that official suppression meant strike action could not be sustained.

Keywords:

• Strikes
• Chartism
• textile industry
• mining
• military assistance to civil power

Notes

¹ Jenkins, General Strike, 21.

² Chartism took its name from the People’s Charter. The Corn Laws restricted the import of corn. For general histories see Thompson, Chartists; Chase, Chartism; McCord, Anti-Corn Law League; and Pickering and Tyrrell, People’s Bread. For a fuller discussion of the historiography see Dean, “Ten Days of Tumult,” 6–18.

³ Croker, “Anti-Corn-Law Agitation”, 244–314; O’Connor, Trial, 1–3.

⁴ Hobsbawm, Labouring Men, 7–10, note 22.

⁵ Read, “Chartism in Manchester,” 53–6.

⁶ Mather, ‘General Strike’, 117–8, 120–4; Jenkins, General Strike, 129, 240–4; Thompson, Chartists, 282–7; Chase, Chartism, 209, 213–4.

⁷ Hobsbawm, Labouring Men, note 22; see also his introduction in Engels, Condition, 14; Challinor and Ripley, Miner’s Association, 24; introduction by Foster in Jenkins, General Strike, 13–14; Jenkins, General Strike, 21, 60, 104, 171, 235–8, 240.

⁸ Mather, “General Strike,” 115–6, 131–2, 134–5; Thompson, Chartists, 295; Charlton, Chartists, 47, 29–30; and Chase, Chartism, 212, 225, 209, 221, 223, 224.

⁹ Peel, Risings, 338–49.

¹⁰ Hanson, Old Halifax, 254–7; Dalby, “Chartist Movement,” 100, 101; Webster, “Chartism in the Calder Valley,” 62–6; Hargreaves, Halifax, 87, 97, 115, 116; ibid., Benjamin Rushton, 20; Howe, Halifax 1842, 77–117.

¹¹ Hargreaves, “A Metropolis of Discontent,” 215, 216; Brooke, “Labour Disputes,” 231.

¹² Koditschek, Class Formation, 344–6, 382, 480–1, 489, 491, 504, 514; Wright, Chartist Risings, 27–36.

¹³ Mayhall, Annals, 483–6; Harrison, “Chartism in Leeds,” 88–90; Fraser, “Politics and Society,” 288. There is also an unpublished study touching on Dewsbury: Docton, “Chartism in Dewsbury,” 61–67.

¹⁴ For example: 1842. L[eeds] M[ercury], L[eeds] T[imes], L[eeds] I[ntelligencer], H[alifax] G[uardian], 23 July. Hereafter all dates are 1842 unless otherwise stated.

¹⁵ HG, N[orthern] S[tar] (2nd edn), 9 July. Five editions of the Star were normally produced each week. References are to the first edition unless otherwise stated.

¹⁶ NS, 16 July; LI, 13 August.

¹⁷ NS, 30 July.

¹⁸ LI, 30 July; ibid., 6 August.

¹⁹ NS (2nd edn), 2 July; ibid. (5th edn), 9 April; ibid. (5th edn), 25 June.

²⁰ LI, 3 September.

²¹ HG, 25 June, 2 July.

²² LM, LI, 2 July.

²³ LI, 9 July.

²⁴ LT, 9 July.

²⁵ NS, 9 July; Fyson, “Crisis of 1842,” 206, 207. These are likely to be the two Chartists from Yorkshire that Fyson referred to speaking in the Potteries; Ibbotson had been closely associated with radical literature and a prominent opponent of the New Poor Law. Wright, Chartist Risings, 7; Samuel Holberry was a Chartist who had died following his incarceration in Northallerton Prison. Chase, Chartism, 152–7; see also Holberry, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (hereafter ODNB).

²⁶ Chase, Chartism, 211, 212.

²⁷ NS (4th edn), 22 January; William Tell was said to have been part of an insurrection against the oppressive Austrian Habsburg dynasty.

²⁸ Ibid. (1st edn), 6 August; Catiline and Wat Tyler were killed leading armed rebellions in the ancient Roman Republic and England’s Peasants’ Revolt, respectively.

²⁹ Ibid., 13 August.

³⁰ Ibid., LM, LT, 6 August.

³¹ LT, LM, 13 August; NS (2nd edn), 20 August.

³² NS (2nd edn), 20 August; Wright, Chartist Risings, 19.

³³ Wright, Chartist Risings, 18, 19.

³⁴ B[radford] O[bserver], 18 August.

³⁵ HG, 13 August; NS, 20 August.

³⁶ NS, LM, 20 August.

³⁷ NS, 20 August.

³⁸ LI, 20 August.

³⁹ Ibid., NS, LT, LM, 20 August; London, The National Archives, Home Office Papers (hereafter HO), 45/264, fol. 49, William Moore to Lt Col. Maberly, 14 August.

⁴⁰ HO 45/264, fols 50–1, 53, Moore to Maberly, 14 August; NS, LI, 20 August.

⁴¹ LI, 20 August.

⁴² Ibid., NS, LT, LM, 20 August; HO 45/264, fol. 51, Moore to Maberly, 14 August.

⁴³ Koditschek, Class Formation, 345, mistakenly has strikers parading through Bradford earlier that week.

⁴⁴ BO, 18 August; LT, LM, 20 August.

⁴⁵ LM, 20 August.

⁴⁶ NS (2nd edn), LT, 20 August; Arran was a barber and tea trader, with close ties to the Northern Star office at Leeds, as well as the most senior Bradford Chartist. Fletcher was a woolcomber of Bowling Back Lane. Brook is likely to have been Joseph Brook, who had been a woolcomber of Little Horton. Wright, Chartist Risings, 28, 30, 13.

⁴⁷ BO, 18 August; NS (2nd edn), LT, LM, LI, 20 August.

⁴⁸ BO, 18 August.

⁴⁹ HG, 20 August.

⁵⁰ Ibid., LI, 20 August.

⁵¹ HO 45/264, fol. 77, from Waterhouse, 15 August; NS, LT, HG, LM, LI, 20 August; Peel, Risings, 331, 332; Hargreaves, Benjamin Rushton, 20; Howe, Halifax 1842, 80–2. Hargreaves and Howe located this meeting on Skircoat Moor, while Peel wrongly placed it on 14 August.

⁵² HG, 20 August.

⁵³ Hanson, Old Halifax, 255–6.

⁵⁴ NS, LT, 20 August.

⁵⁵ NS, 20 August.

⁵⁶ Ibid., LT, HG, 20 August.

⁵⁷ Croft, John Fielden’s Todmorden, 76–7.

⁵⁸ O’Connor, Trial, 141.

⁵⁹ LI, 20 August.

⁶⁰ NS, LT, 20 August.

⁶¹ HO 45/264, fol. 80, Bradford magistrates to Sir James Graham, 15 August; BO, 18 August; NS, 20 August. Although a James Smith was identified with Chartism at Bradford, John W. Smyth was also referred to as Smith. It is likely that, insofar as the strike is concerned, Smyth was this Bradford leader.

⁶² BO, 18 August.

⁶³ Ibid.

⁶⁴ Ibid; LI, 20 August.

⁶⁵ HO 45/264, fols 77, 78, from Waterhouse, 15 August; ibid., fol. 81, Bradford magistrates to Graham, 15 August; NS, LT, HG, LM, LI, 20 August; Wilson, Struggles, 4. Wilson actually joined the strikers at the top of New Bank and was with them when they climbed over walls to escape the authorities.

⁶⁶ HG, 20 August; HO 45/264, fol. 78, from Waterhouse, 15 August.

⁶⁷ HO 45/264, fol. 79, from Waterhouse, 15 August.

⁶⁸ HG, LM, 20 August.

⁶⁹ HG, 20 August.

⁷⁰ Ibid.; HO 45/264, fol. 79, from Waterhouse, 15 August; NS, LT, LM, LI, 20 August; see also Edward Akroyd, ODNB.

⁷¹ NS, LT, HG, LM, 20 August; A J. Illingworth had seconded a resolution at a public meeting in the Chartist Room, Swan Coppice, on 28 March. NS (5th edn), 2 April.

⁷² Northern Liberator, 29 February 1840.

⁷³ HG, 20 August.

⁷⁴ Ibid., LT, 20 August.

⁷⁵ HG, NS, LT, LM, 20 August.

⁷⁶ LI, LT, LM, 20 August.

⁷⁷ LT, LM, S[heffield] I[ndependent], LI, 20 August.

⁷⁸ HO 45/264, fols 84, 85, Moore to Maberly, 15 August.

⁷⁹ NS, LT, LM, LI, 20 August.

⁸⁰ HO 45/264, fol. 55, Huddersfield magistrates to Graham, 15 August; ibid., fol. 87, Moore to Maberly, 15 August; NS, LT, LM, 20 August.

⁸¹ HO 45/264, fol. 127, Huddersfield magistrates to Graham, 16 August; NS, LT, LM, LI, 20 August.

⁸² HO 45/264, fol. 127, Huddersfield magistrates to Graham, 16 August.

⁸³ Ibid., fol. 96, Moore to Maberly, 16 August; ibid., fols 127, 128, Huddersfield magistrates to Graham, 16 August; NS, LT, LM, LI, 20 August.

⁸⁴ HO 45/264, fol. 128, Huddersfield magistrates to Graham, 16 August.

⁸⁵ LI, 20 August.

⁸⁶ NS, LT, 20 August.

⁸⁷ NS, LT, HG, 20 August.

⁸⁸ HO 45/264, fol. 114, Leeds reporter to Graham via Leeds magistrates, 16 August; HG, NS, LT, LM, 20 August.

⁸⁹ NS, LT, HG, LM, LI, 20 August; HO 45/264, fol. 112, Leeds reporter to Graham via Leeds magistrates, 16 August; Grundy, Pictures of the Past, 100, 101. However, Grundy made no mention of stones being thrown then nor the presence of a passenger omnibus later. His account may have been affected by the passage of time.

⁹⁰ HG, 20 August.

⁹¹ Ibid., NS, LT, LM, LI, 20 August; HO 45/264, fols 112, 113, Leeds reporter to Graham via Leeds magistrates, 16 August; Grundy, Pictures of the Past, 102, 103.

⁹² Grundy, Pictures of the Past, 103.

⁹³ HG, NS, LT, LI, 20 August; HO 45/264, fol. 113, Leeds reporter to Graham via Leeds magistrates, 16 August.

⁹⁴ Mather, Public Order, 175.

⁹⁵ NS, LT, HG, LI, 20 August.

⁹⁶ HG, 20 August.

⁹⁷ NS, LT, LM, 20 August.

⁹⁸ HG, LI, 20 August.

⁹⁹ HG, NS, LT, LI, LM, 20 August.

¹⁰⁰ BO, 18 August; NS, LT, LM, LI, 20 August.

¹⁰¹ HO 45/264, fol. 157, Bradford magistrates to Graham, 17 August; BO, 18 August; LM, NS, LT, LI, 20 August; Rand’s mill was located on the site of the Alhambra Theatre. It is likely that Horsfall was a wealthy Tory employer named John Garnett Horsfall. Wright, Chartist Risings, 33, 35.

¹⁰² HO 45/264, fol. 89, Bradford magistrates to Graham, 16 August.

¹⁰³ Wright, Chartist Risings, 31, confuses an Ackroyd of Bradford with an Akroyd of Halifax, relating comments made about Halifax to Bradford; HO 45/264, fol. 114, Leeds reporter to Graham via Leeds magistrates, 16 August.

¹⁰⁴ BO, 18 August; LT, LM, 20 August.

¹⁰⁵ HO 45/264, fol. 98, C. Tindal to Maberly, 16 August; ibid., fol. 153, E. Tindal to Maberly, 17 August; ibid., fol. 164, from Wilson, Skipton magistrate, 17 August; NS, LT, LM, LI, 20 August; LI, LT, NS (2nd edn), 3 September; LT, 17 September; Jenkins referred to Sir James Graham informing Queen Victoria that soldiers had opened fire at Skipton. However, this does not appear to have happened. His source was a report written by Graham to Victoria. Jenkins, General Strike, 193, 194, 204n4; Parker, Life and Letters, 321.

¹⁰⁶ LM, LT, NS, 20 August; HO 45/264, fol. 133, J. B. Greenwood, Dewsbury magistrate, to Graham, 16 August.

¹⁰⁷ HO 45/264, fol. 133, Greenwood to Graham, 16 August; ibid., fol. 204, Greenwood to Graham, 18 August; LT, NS, LM, 20 August.

¹⁰⁸ NS, 20 August.

¹⁰⁹ Ibid.; HO 45/264, fols 204, 205, Greenwood to Graham, 18 August; LT, 20 August.

¹¹⁰ SI, NS, 20 August; NS (2nd edn), LI, 27 August; see also Harney, ODNB.

¹¹¹ University of Leeds, Brotherton Library Special Collections (BLSC), MS 739/2, 16 August.

¹¹² HG, 27 August.

¹¹³ NS, LT, LM, LI, 20 August; see also Beckett, ODNB and Prince George, ibid.

¹¹⁴ Leeds Central Library, James Garth Marshall, Placard, 16 August.

¹¹⁵ NS, LT, LM, 20 August; Lawson, Progress in Pudsey, 150, 151.

¹¹⁶ NS, LT, LM, 20 August.

¹¹⁷ HO 45/264, fols 142, 144, William Pawson, Mayor of Leeds, to Graham, 17 August; ibid., fols 147, 148, resolutions of Leeds magistrates, 16 August.

¹¹⁸ LM, 20 August.

¹¹⁹ Ibid., LT, 20 August; BO, 18 August; HO 45/264, fol. 142, Pawson to Graham, 17 August.

¹²⁰ HO 45/264, fols 143, 144, Pawson to Graham, 17 August.

¹²¹ Ibid., fol. 144, Pawson to Graham, 17 August; BLSC, MS 739/3, 17 August; ibid., MS 739/4, 17 August; LT, LM, LI, 20 August.

¹²² HO 45/264, fol. 144, Pawson to Graham, 17 August; NS, LT, LM, LI, 20 August.

¹²³ BLSC, MS 739/5, 18 August.

¹²⁴ Harrison, “Chartism in Leeds,” 89, exaggerated when he stated that ‘All mills in the town were stopped’; LM, 20 August.

¹²⁵ Charlton, Chartists, 44, 45, contends that part of the explanation for the weakness of the strike at Leeds could be found in the nature of production. The town did not have a high concentration of big factories, at this time, which would have made it relatively difficult to draw in large numbers of strikers. This could have been an issue across West Yorkshire since woollen and worsted processes were often carried out in workshops and cottages.

¹²⁶ NS, LT, 20 August.

¹²⁷ HO 45/264, fol. 184, Pawson to Graham, 18 August; LT, LM, LI, 20 August.

¹²⁸ LT, LM, 20 August.

¹²⁹ LM, 27 August; Harrison, ‘Chartism in Leeds’, 88–90, omitted this episode, though he noted that of the fourteen people apprehended on Friday, the majority were colliers from Beeston and Churwell.

¹³⁰ LM, LT, LI, 20 August; BO, 18 August.

¹³¹ HO 45/264, fol. 158, Bradford magistrates to Graham, 17 August; NS, LM, LI, 20 August.

¹³² HG, LT, LM, LI, 20 August; see also Wharncliffe, ODNB and Cardigan, ibid.

¹³³ HO 45/264, fol. 151, R. Hunt to Maberly, 17 August; ibid., fols 205, 206, Greenwood to Graham, 18 August; NS, LT, LM, 20 August.

¹³⁴ SI, LT, LI, 20 August.

¹³⁵ SI, 20 August; NS (2nd edn), 27 August.

¹³⁶ SI, 20 August.

¹³⁷ HO 45/264, fol. 184, Pawson to Graham, 18 August.

¹³⁸ Chase, Chartism, 223.

¹³⁹ LM, 20 August.

¹⁴⁰ Ibid., LT, LI, NS, 20 August.

¹⁴¹ LM, NS, LT, LI, 20 August; HO 45/264, fols 184, 185, Pawson to Graham, 18 August; see also Brotherton, ODNB.

¹⁴² LM, HG, LT, LI, NS, 20 August.

¹⁴³ NS, LT, LM, 20 August; see also Leach, ODNB.

¹⁴⁴ HO 45/264, fols 177, 178, Tempest (Bradford magistrate) to Graham, 18 August; ibid., fols 247, 248, Tempest to Graham, 21 August; BO, 18 and 25 August; LM, HG, LT, NS, 20 August.

¹⁴⁵ NS, LT, LM, 20 August.

¹⁴⁶ NS, 20 August.

¹⁴⁷ Jenkins, General Strike, 270–4, 163–5.

¹⁴⁸ NS, LT, LM, 20 August.

¹⁴⁹ LT, LM, SI, LI, 20 August.

¹⁵⁰ SI, 20 August.

¹⁵¹ Ibid., LT, LM, LI, 20 August.

¹⁵² HO 45/264, fol. 223, Bradford magistrates to Graham, 19 August; NS, LT, LM, LI, 20 August.

¹⁵³ NS, 20 August.

¹⁵⁴ Ibid. (2nd edn), LI, 27 August; SI, 20 August.

¹⁵⁵ SI, NS (2nd edn), LI, 27 August.

¹⁵⁶ SI, NS (2nd edn), LI, 27 August.

¹⁵⁷ LM, LT, 20 August; LI, LM, LT, SI, 27 August.

¹⁵⁸ LT, 20 August.

¹⁵⁹ HO 45/264, fol. 264, Dewsbury magistrates to Graham, 23 August.

¹⁶⁰ HG, 20 August.

¹⁶¹ NS, 27 August. LM, 27 August, probably reporting on the group, gave slightly different figures, but the proportions were similar.

¹⁶² BO, 25 August.

¹⁶³ LM, LI, LT, 10 September.

¹⁶⁴ HO 48/34, fol. 43, Case respecting the conduct of a Magistrate.

¹⁶⁵ NS (2nd and 4th edns), LT, LI, 3 September.

¹⁶⁶ LM, LT, 3 September.

¹⁶⁷ LM, LI, 3 September.

¹⁶⁸ NS, 10 September.

¹⁶⁹ BO, 25 August; West Yorkshire Archive Service, Bradford, DB4/C1/1 (Great Horton Chartist Association Account Book of Members and Contributors, 1840–1866).

¹⁷⁰ LT, LM, 10 September.

¹⁷¹ For example: LI, 3 September; ibid., 10 September.

¹⁷² NS (2nd and 4th edns), 3 September.

¹⁷³ LI, 3 September.

¹⁷⁴ Thompson, Chartists, 287.

¹⁷⁵ LI, 3 September.

¹⁷⁶ Challinor and Ripley, Miner’s Association, 60–73, contextualise these meetings in the history of the Miner's Association.

¹⁷⁷ HG, NS, LT, LM, 6 August.

¹⁷⁸ LM, NS, LT, LI, 20 August; in 1833, Auty was linked with a miners’ union at Wakefield, holding the office of Paymaster General. He was targeted by mine owners for his trade unionism. Machin, Yorkshire Miners, 36, 40.

¹⁷⁹ Chase, Early Trade Unionism, 191, 192.

¹⁸⁰ LM, NS, LT, LI, 20 August.

¹⁸¹ Chase, Chartism, 223.

¹⁸² NS, 13 August.

¹⁸³ Chase, Early Trade Unionism, 190, 191; see also Mather, Chartism and Society, 246–53.

¹⁸⁴ NS (4th edn), 26 February.

¹⁸⁵ Ibid. (2nd edn), 27 August; LM, 20 August.

¹⁸⁶ NS (2nd edn), 27 August; the Sheffield trade unions retracted their endorsement of Chartism following suppression in 1839 and backed repeal of the Corn Laws instead. The Anti-Corn Law movement posed a constant threat to Chartism in Sheffield. The economic context should also be considered since the sharing out of work meant that the proportion of the population who were destitute, in 1842–1843, was 16 per cent lower in Sheffield than across the industrial districts as a whole. Furthermore, the prospect held out to artisans of becoming small employers, combined with their ownership of the means of production, militated against class conflict. Pollard, Labour in Sheffield, 42, 39–41, 46n6.

¹⁸⁷ SI, 20 August.

¹⁸⁸ O’Connor, Trial, 126–8, 153, 154, 235; Schoyen, Chartist Challenge, 114–23, gives an account of Harney’s involvement in, and attitude towards, the unrest; for O’Connor see Epstein, Lion of Freedom, 296–302.

¹⁸⁹ NS, 20 and 27 August.

¹⁹⁰ SI, 20 and 27 August; LI, 27 August.

¹⁹¹ NS, 10 September.

¹⁹² Ibid., 27 August.

¹⁹³ Ibid., 20 August; O’Connor devoted a whole chapter to setting out his own case against the ACLL. O'Connor, Trial, 415–39.

¹⁹⁴ NS, 27 August.

¹⁹⁵ LM, 13 August.

¹⁹⁶ NS, 20 August.

¹⁹⁷ BO, 28 July.

¹⁹⁸ NS, 20 August.

¹⁹⁹ LT, 20 August.

²⁰⁰ Pye, Protest and Repression, 130–2; see also ODNB for Graham, Wellington, Arbuthnot and Warre; for the context see Saville, Capitalist State.

²⁰¹ Wilson, Struggles, 6.