14th April 1817: Louis Allsopp updates the Home Office on the mood in Nottinghamshire

Nottingham
14 April 1817.

My Lord.

I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Lordships letters this Afternoon.—

Your Lordship will have received a Copy of the Letter I procured respecting Henson's reception by Mr Smith, which I obtained from the man to whom it is it was addressed

Mr Mundy returned by the Mail, I expected he would have slept at my house, but he went on with Mr Rollestone, & as I must go into Warwickshire in the morning for a few days I shall not be able to see him to my return, but I will forward your Lordships letter to him tomorrow—

Henson's Apprehension has caused great alarm; no Information has been obtained thereon at the Post Office at present; Mr Hart, the Surveyor, informed me that the Letters coming into the Office here shew that there is great Consternation, at the intended Execution—

Lord Middleton made a foolish Speech at Mansfield on Wednesday at the Meeting to address The Regent, reflecting on the Conduct of the Hosiers to their Men; stating it as coming from Savage; this is given umbridge to the Hosiers, & they are to have a private meeting tomorrow; I hope the matter will drop, the business will do harm, & these sort of observations lead to encourage the Luddites—

I shall hope to see Mr Mundy very shortly after my return the latter end of the Week

I have [etc]

L Allsopp

Mr Hooley will be in London on Saturday, if your Lordship wishes to see him, will do himself the Honor of waiting upon you any day after 3 oClock he is detained at the India House in the Morning—

[To] The Right Honorable Lrd Visct. Sidmouth—

8th April 1817: The Hosier, James Hooley, informs the Home Secretary that he will swear that Gravenor Henson is engaged in Treason

Nottingham 8th Apr: 1817

My Lord

By this days post I received a letter from Mr. Allsop informing me that it is your Lordships wish to have my affidavit that I believe G Henson to be engaged in treasonable practices against his Majesty.—As I conceive it to be the duty of every honest man to aid your Lordships views for the protection of the State I have no hesitation in complying with your Lordships request. But I do not possess sufficient knowledge to make a similar affidavit respecting the character of F Ward, M Adkin & J Lowater.—I am informed—and I believe correctly—that Henson is gone to London this morning by the mail—The ostensible reason given is that he is to endeavour to save the lives of the Ludd's now under condemnation at Leicester—but, in my opinion, more likely to meet some of the deputies on treasonable practices—I regret that I cannot give your Lordship that information, but if I can learn any thing satisfactory I shall hasten to communicating

I have [etc]
James Hooley

PS

It may be proper to give your Lordship a short description of Henson's person—He appears to be about 35 years of age—about 5 feet 4 or 5 feet 5 inches high—well made—fresh complexion—dark hair—is a sensible fellow—and very fond of talking—Mr Enfield writes your Lordship by this post.

16th March 1817: Louis Allsopp accuses the frameworkknitter union leader, Gravenor Henson, of being the 'chief instigator' of the Hampden Clubs

(Private)—

Nottingham
16. March 1817.—

My Lord—

I  have had a Communication since my return with Mr Hooley, who is prepared to state his firm Belief & Conviction; that G. Henson is the chief Instigator of the Hampden Clubs here, tho’ not known to be a member of any one Club; that prior to the Establishment of Hampden Clubs Henson had the Charge of the Books & papers belonging to the Society of the associated Counties of Lancashire, Yorkshire, Leicestershire & Nottinghamshire, whose object was to overthrow the [Government] & effect a Revolution; & that these books & papers are in the possession of G Henson. at a Meeting of the Deputies from the different Counties in December at his house; that it was determined at this meeting that it was then too early to make any attempts, but that they [should] wait till the Spring, by which time the Country would be irritated by the Rejection of the Petitions in the mean time to be presented, & would be ripe for the purpose & a Revolution might be effected; that as soon as Parliament evinced a determination to support the measures brought forward by yr Lordship, Henson concealed, or destroyed these books & papers, & no Traces can be obtained of them, nor any Evidence of their contents procured; that Henson avoids appearing openly, & is too cautious to commit himself to any but a few he thinks he can confide in;—that tho he may appear to be quiet, yet that all his attention & Views are directed for his favorite objects of a Revolution; that in these Views he is assisted by a man of the name of [Matthew] Atkin, who is also a very shy & cautious man—Mr Hooley has obtained his Information from a person to whom Atkin has communicated these matters, & though he can take upon himself to swear to the his firm belief & Conviction in these Circumstances & that Henson & Atkin entertain at this time Views of a most dangerous & treasonable nature, yet as no conviction [could] take place without further Evidence, & as there is little or no probability of getting at any of the papers, Mr Hooley entertains an opinion that no good would be derived from an arrest of these men or either of them; they would be considered as Martyrs & only comfortable from their Confinement hereafter, possessed of more influence and Consequence than they now know, & that by waiting there is a Chance they may become bolden, & their papers may be got at—At the same time as yr Lordship possesses much more general Information of what is going on here & elsewhere, Mr Hooley & myself have thought it right to transmit these points to yr Lordships Consideration with this an observation, that we shall most readily adopt any measures your Lordship may advise—G.Henson is a most skilful man, he has quiet Caution & Command of himself—

every thing is going on with Spirit & Courage all will, I understand, be quiet—Your Lordship will of course have heard of the Conduct of the Prisoners at Leicester, I have no doubt the Magistrates there will do their duty—

Mr Hooley has made a sacred promise to the person who gave him the Information not to divulge  his name, but he has the greatest [illegible] in his Veracity.

I have [etc]

L. P. Allsopp

PS – I have this morning seen Blackburn & Burton who were brought over Yesterday from Leicester to give Evidence—The former says G.Henson has now nothing whatever to do with Luddism, only with politics—but there is a man of the name of Ward (whom I know) who is a very bad fellow in every respect, he was the person who suggested & instigated the men to the murder of the Judge—

16th October 1816: The Nottingham solicitor, Louis Allsop, updates the Home Secretary about the situation in Nottingham

Nottingham
16. October 1816.—

My Lord—

Having been from home a great deal lately, I had nothing to communicate your Lordship I did not therefore call, when I was in London, which, I left only on Sunday—On my arrival home Yesterday I found this Town & the County was under a considerable State of Alarm, in consequence of a great number of Frames having been destroyed, & of a general Impression that this System of Frame-breaking was to be continued, not only for the purpose of avenging private fancied Wrongs on the part of the Workmen, but to aggravate the distresses of the present times to such a degree, as would cause some open & public Commotion.—There can be no doubt of a considerable number of bad, but able men, in the lower Classes of Society, being engaged in these Scenes of Disorder—The County Sessions being on Monday, the Magistrates continued their Sitting till Yesterday afternoon, for the purpose of taking into their Consideration, the Situation in this part of the Country; I learn that an address is [illegible] to His R:H: the Prince Reg. (which your Lordship will have seen before You receive this) & that some further Steps are to be taken, which, of course, will be communicated by the Magistrates to yr Lordship—

There was a strong attempt made by Mr. Sherbrooke & some of the Magistrates to introduce a Requisition in the address to the Prince, to call the Parliament together without delay, to take into Consideration the Situation of the Country; this has been got over by the good Sense of [illegible name], Dr. Wylde & the majority of the Magistrates; It has occurred to me, that your Lordship might wish to know this, & I have mentioned it in Confidence, that yr Lordship may be upon your Guard—I find the Magistrates a good deal irritated by the attacks made upon them in the newspapers & many of them turn these Attacks on to the administration—All this is bad, it makes Gentlemen dissatisfied, cool & careless; & the Country suffers—It must be confessed that a Set of Country Gentleman meeting once a month, or once a Week, cannot do any permanent good—As in the present Case & while the effects of the present [Impressions] continue, they will do all in their power, but it will die away in a day or two, & We shall be quiet as We were; it cannot be expected that the Gentleman will voluntarily & gratuitously give up their time—

I find all descriptions of people finding fault, but no one proposing any thing, only confessing that something must be done—nothing specific has been recommended by the Magistrates—& I have said to some of them, why find fault with Ministers, unless You point out such Steps, as your local knowledge induce You to conceive, likely to be productive of some good—. they reply, it is useless, it would not be attended to—I press them to do it [now] to the immediate [illegible]—It has always occurred to me, that a permanent police should be established here, with regular police magistrates, a Gentleman well acquainted with the Laws of his Country, whose Education & habits are such as to enable him to associate with [illegible], & to have an Influence over the magistracy, & Gentry, & respectable Manufacturers of this County, that he [should] have Constables or people about, whose sole time & Attention, like his own, [should] be directed to the one great & leading [illegible], that the Jurisdiction of him & his Men should extend into the County as well as the Town, that he [should] not be embarrassed by any Ceremony as to particular Magistrates acting for particular districts that a full understanding [should] take place as to the Employment of the Military, & that, in case the present Laws are not sufficient, [that] the other magistrates will [should] be armed with sufficient Authority to enter Houses or other places to search for Books papers & Documents, of their own Authority, & that suspected men may be apprehended—

I am aware that great difficulty & objections exist as to this latter proposal & I state it with much Diffidence, for your Lordships Consideration; it would be better if it [could] be effected; there can be no doubt that such a power in the Hands of an efficient Magistracy, would do more than any thing else, the men engaged in these Excesses, & what is of more Importance, the advisers behind the Scenes, would tremble, they would never feel safe, it [would] cause a panic—Your Lordship will consider this; I have no doubt it has & will be submitted to your Lordships Consideration by others—The Placards & Language made use of in the public Houses, shew an encreasing spirit of disaffection amongst the lower orders—They have unfortunately had nearly seven Years Experience; & common measures will not now do—My Friend Mr James Hooley, one of the principal manufacturers of this Town & a Gentleman of considerable property will be in London on Saturday on business—He is one of the Secret Committee, & well acquainted with what is going on amongst the men—It has occurred to me that he might give your Lordship some useful Information if your Lordship thought it worth while that You or Mr Beckett [should] see him—if so, I have settled with him to call upon at the Home Office, & he will do so, any day after three oClock; He will be at the Guildhall Coffee House, at which place a note will find him—& your Lordship can [illegible] your discussion, all I can say is that your Lordship may rely upon him—

I have [etc]

L Allsopp

PS –
Your Lordship, or Mr Beckett if he sees Mr. Hooley will obtain some useful information from him: He much tells his Story in his own Way—but he is very well disposed well meaning, with a good plain, strong, understanding.—

PS.

The address by the Magistrates will I, I understand touch upon the general distress of this part of the Country, the parishes, on the North Side of Town, on the forest, where the Land is very bad, & the population numerous, certainly being in a distressed State—When Men are distressed they are the more likely to be compelled, by the awful Scoundrels, with which this County abounds—

9th July 1816: A Nottingham Hosier writes to the solicitor Louis Allsop

Nottingham 9 July 1816

Dear Sir

I am favoured with yours the 6th Inst. and in consequence have made the inquiry (as private as possible) and have the satisfaction to inform you that I have every reason to believe our Luddites have no intention of petitioning the Prince Regent. However should such an event be in agitation in all probability I shall be informed of it—and will immediately communicate what may come to my knowledge—In the interim I would recommend that no notice should be taken of what the cole people have done—Altho the paragraphs you suggest might in some instances have a good effect yet there would not be wanting such men as Blackner and that would affirm that it was the work of government or their agents—& you well know how desirous they are to avail themselves of every opportunity that offers to decry the government.—If contrary to my expectation any stir should be made to petition &c I am most decidedly of opinion that the magistrates here are the proper authorities to put down a effort they may make to march in a body with such petition—& have no doubt but it may be effected.

Yesterday, being the election for the County, by some it was thought a good opportunity for a row; notwithstanding there were a great number of country people in the town all passed off very quiet.

You probably may have heard that Ben Badder & Jack Slater were taken up in the Loughboro business—this was in consequence of certain information given to Mr. Lockett (who is the Solicr on the occasion) who writes "I hope confidently hope & think one or both of them will be identified"—These two men are in the first class of our very bad set

I am
Dear Sir
Yours very sincerely
James Hooley

[To] Lewis Allsopp Esqr

PS
In your letter you say "I have written to you fully this morning on our private concerns"—no such letter has come to hand.

4th April 1814: The Town Clerk of Nottingham reports an outbreak of framebreaking

Dear Sir,

I am very sorry to inform that in the Neighbourhood of this Town the organized System of Combination among the Frameworknitters has begun to act in the former mode of breaking Frames. Three Frames were the Night before last broken at Kimberley in the County of Nottingham by a great number of Persons who broke into the Shop in which they stood in the Night. The Workman in whose possession they were behaved very well refusing most distinctly to give them entrance which they obtained by absolute force. The Frames belong to Messrs Needham & Nixon who have declined to give the advance and are very intimate Friends of Mr Hooley. We have as yet had no Attempt made in the Town. Since writing my Letter respecting Mr Hooley to you I learn that he has shewn that Letter to a Deputation of the Master Workmen who have reprobated it in very strong Terms. The Officers of the 9th Regiment have communicated with the Magistrates on the Subject of the Swords sold & were assured by them that only 70 were actually sold. I write by order of the Mayor & beg that you will lay this Letter before Lord Sidmouth.

Yours [etc]

Geo Coldham

Nottm 4th April 1814

29th March 1814: The Town Clerk of Nottingham informs the Home Office of threats made against a Hosier

Nottingham, 29th March 1814.

Dear Sir,

Yesterday a most respectable Manufacturer of this Town with whom I have the Honour to be upon the most amicable footing one of the Gentlemen who were deputed to go to London during the Discussion of the Bill brought into Parliament by the Frameworkknitters during the last Sessions Mr James Hooley brought me the Original of the Letter of which you have a Copy on the other side. The Men are endeavouring to procure from the Manufacturers an advance in the rate of Wages which Mr Hooley has been adverse to grant from a Conviction that if it be extended as far as they wish it will increase the Price of the Manufactured Article so as to injure if not destroy the Sale of it in the foreign Market. Mr Hooley is a Man of a most intrepid & decided Character but one who has acted with great kindness & Attention to the real wants of the working Hand during the time of their Distress. He has now informed his workmen that if any of the Manufacturers choose to employ his Men at a higher rate of Wages he will suffer them to work his Frames to the [other] Houses at the increased rate & be contented with receiving only his Frame Rent. Mr Hooley has done me the Honour to state that he has made this Communication to me from his entire confidence in the Attention & Exertion of the Mayor & Aldermen if they should be required. He has desired me to communicate the Letter to Sir George Wood & has authorized me to send a Copy of it to you for the Information of Lord Sidmouth. He is not apprehensive of a personal attack upon himself altho’ he is of all Men the most liable to it from his residence is about a Mile & an half out of the Town. If Mr Hooley had not adverted to the circumstance which I took the liberty of mentioning in my last Letter you must be convinced that this Letter could not have done otherwise than bring it forcibly to my recollection, but he was aware of that occurrence & adverted to it in very strong & pointed language imputing considerable blame to those who might be considered responsible for it. I told him that I had written to you on the subject. Mr Hooley is Disposed to fear that we shall have some Trouble with these Frameworknitters & that it will arise out of their Organization & the Funds they have provided for controlling the Masters in the Conduct of their Business. I shall therefore immediately set about procuring Information on this point & you may Depend upon hearing from me on the subject as soon as I can learn anything that is worthy of Detail. I do not think that any good but much mischief would arise from any Publication of this Letter in the Gazette with Rewards offered for the Discovery of the Writer & so strong & decided an opinion does Mr Hooley entertain on this point that he would not have consented to my sending it you without speculating that this use should not be made of it. I beg that you will communicate this Letter to Lord Sidmouth in any way you may judge proper & assure him that I shall always have great pleasure when I can be of Service in promoting the Peace & good Order of the Country

I am Dear Sir

Yours very truly

Geo Coldham
Town Clerk

28th March 1814: Threatening letter from 'Edwin Lud' to Mr Hooley, Hosier at Nottingham

Sunday night 12 o'Clock [28th March 1814]

Sir

I have to inform you that I was called out Friday night about 8 o'Clock by 2 of my Companions on purpose to form a plan out to murder you on my asking what you was to be murdered first for one of them said he knowed you and your father very well but you was not so bad as trantem, parker, Ray and some of them but it was more convenient to kill you and that would do for example tho you was not as bad–Mary's Clock struck twelve while we was at the spot where you was to be killed not far from Nottingham Gallows we went in one of the Sand Holes and there we was about agreeing to finish Ray but for a Charitable act to a poor Workman of hees that was badly lately. We have picked out 5 of the worst for if there is more danger in killing the worst Rogue there is the more honour Sir about 30 years ago Provisions was about a quarter the Price O good God is it Bearable to work and famish. On Friday night when we met we all took a solemn Oath that were ever we could have a chance to finish one of 5 as we have picked out and solemnly in the dead of the night when we parted we neeled down on our bare knees and in the presence of the almighty God we 3 times wished Hell might be our eternal damnation if we did not &c. &c if we are not raised 8 pence next Friday.

Edwin Lud

[To] Mr. Hoolley, Hosier
High Pavement
Nottm