Event - 200 years on the Luddites' cry echoes down the years as technology marches on (Nottingham)

NOTTINGHAM'S most famous outlaw may be Robin Hood, but 200 years ago today another band of men fought the law.

On the night of November 4, 1811, in Bulwell, a group of men gathered weapons, broke into a workhouse and smashed six looms used to make stockings. From this, the Luddite movement was born and over the next few years battles occurred with the Government as the Luddites tried to resist new technologies.

But David King, of the Luddite 200 movement, said there was a lot of confusion about what 'Luddite' actually meant.

He said: "The idea that Luddites are against all technology is completely wrong – we're not opposed to technology, we just believe that people should be mindful of the consequences of technology.

"Rather than saying technology is good and subscribing to the cult of technology that exists, Luddites have a more sceptical approach to these advances.

"Luddism is still applicable in modern-day society – one of the recent movements that echoes the movements in the 1800s is against GM crops. Just as people smashed up looms 200 years ago, people have torn up fields of crops to protest against this form of technology."

The Luddite uprising was a direct protest against changes to work caused by the industrial revolution.

As factory owners began to invest in machinery to speed up production, the skilled workers felt their trade was under threat. Mr King said: "The workers destroyed their machines to complain against what they saw as the negative impact of the new machines on their trade.

"Something like this could only have started in Nottingham – it was the centre of textile manufacturing and there was a strong sense of community among the workers in places like Bulwell.

"But you also have to consider the historical context of the movement too – people were starving because of the depression and felt they had to take the law into their own hands."

The Government made 'machine breaking' a capital offence in 1812, and many Luddites were either executed or sent to Australia as prisoners over the following years.

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Luddite movement, a talk will be given by local historian Chris Wer about the uprisings in 1811 and 1812 as well as discussions by Michael Reinsborough about the Luddite movement in the 21st century.

It will take place tonight at 7pm at the Sumac Centre, in Gladstone Street, Forest Fields.

Organiser Ian Hewitt said the messages of the movement are still applicable in today's society.

He said: "In the current recession, the Nottingham Luddites' crusade against 'machinery hurtful to Commonality' resonates strongly."

From: http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/200-years-Luddites-echoes-years-technology/story-13753511-detail/story.html

Article- Ill-fated uprising is remembered (Pentrich/Nottingham)

It was during a fateful day in June, 1817, that the shape of our towns was changed forever.

Unrest was rife in England as the soldiers returned from the Napoleonic wars.

Poverty had spread in our towns in a tough economic climate.

With major employers the Butterley Company no longer required to make weapons for the war and local dyeworks no longer called upon to colour soldiers’ uniforms – few jobs were to be found.

And the extraordinarily dark summer of 1816 saw an ash cloud from an Indonesian volcano block out sunlight in Britain and ruin farmers’ crops.

Next week, June 9, marks the 194th anniversary of the day a band of people decided to take action against what many saw as an indifferent government.

The Pentrich revolution saw nearly 300 villagers from the area march on Nottingham with only a handful of weapons in an attempt to overthrow the government.

Led by Pentrich man Jeremiah Brandreth, they expected to meet up with thousands coming from the north of England and join with them in a great march towards London, where they hoped to overthrow the government and establish a republic.

But there was no revolution and soldiers soon rounded up the rebels. After a trial, three, including Brandreth were hanged for treason and around 20 were sent to a penal colony in Australia.

The events of the Pentrich Revolution have proved a fascinating topic to local historian, Eric Galvin, 60.

“They were a tough community back then,” he said. “People decided to take things into their own hands on this occasion.

“The leaders had travelled around the country at the time and would have met a number of like-minded people who were keen on revolution.”

“They were hungry and their land had disappeared, their crops had failed. They knew things had to be better and they thought they could change things. But they thought they had the support from across the country, but it wasn’t to be.”

There were a number of reasons the revolution failed, Eric said.

The band of men had little luck in rounding up weapons before arriving in Nottingham, calling on several farms and homes and the Butterley Company itself in the process.

Walking along a route we would now roughly know as the A610 through the night, the men stopped and drank dry a number of pubs on the way – offering to reimburse landlords when the revolution had come to power.

But poor communication between the northern towns and the Pentrich rebels, spies and a lack of will had already doomed the ill-fated uprising.

“The revolution had a lot of negative consequences on Pentrich,” added former senior civil servant Eric, who moved to the village in 2004 and is a former chairman of the Pentrich Historical Society.

“Some had to run away and find new lives for themselves. As far as we can see the village was roughly twice the size it is today. As a result neighbouring Ripley and Swanwick flourished in comparison.”

From: http://www.belpernews.co.uk/news/local/ill_fated_uprising_is_remembered_1_3479957