7th June 1815: Informer's report about the activities of Nottingham Luddites

7th June 1815.

I went with Badder last night to the Leather Bottle.―There were many there that I knew to be Ludds and well wishers to them.—They don't go to the Goat so much as they used to, because there is so much rabble and noise there by the Company gambling &c.—Sherwood was amongst them at the Leather Bottle and asked me when I should be ready to go into Yorkshire.―He said there was a man to go this morning who has some connections there.—I proposed to go with him and asked who he was.―He said he did not know his name, and you might not like any one to go with him, and he thought I had better stop till he came back which would be next Friday or Saturday and he said they would not take so much notice of one man as they would of 2 or 3, in a Company―I told him it would require about a fortnight to be to do any good and it would be a considerable expence and that I should like to have some money raised for me—He said I must get some goods and sell there, as money was very scarce and he told me there had been a man there but he came back sooner than was intended for want of money and that those he got amongst on learning he was a Nottingham Ludd were very fond of him.—He gave me the address of “John Holden Junr Bottom of Broad Lane Sheffield” which he wrote in my presence (and told me to mind and not get the old man) who would, introduce me to the persons I was to confer with & that he would not say much to me himself.―Some of the Company heard this discourse I joined in it and approved of the plan.—I was there from 7 till about ½ past 9. I then went with Badder to the Fox the bottom of Wood Street, stopped there about ½ an hour but as nothing was doing there we went to the Cricket players and there saw 4 or 5 I know by sight and to be Ludds or Friends to them.—One of them began to talk to Badder about the Revolution and said he hoped it would be while he lived and not long first.—He said he thought it would be very soon and said Hill (who used to be employed by Mr. Nunn as a Mechanic) told him it would be in a fortnight—Badder told him he must not mind what he said before he was a rogue and a madman and not to be trusted.—They don't mention any plan of operations to be acted upon to effect the Revolution and say there is somebody concerting a plan and will make it known in proper time but I cannot learn who these persons are and I think they don't know.

What they do know appears to come to them through Delegates.―There was a great deal of talk about the Revolution and they said there were somebody at work who we did not know of that they would not be known until the minds of the people were shown.—Badder says Hill talks too much and will be getting himself hanged and advised me not to trust him He asked me if I were at Heald’s last Monday where he said there was a Meeting and I think from what he said the man who is going into Yorkshire, is sent from there—He said Hill was there―He lives somewhere, in or about the Meadow Platts and works in Barker Gate between the Punch Bowl and Cricket Players on the same side.—Jack Dann (proper name Rand) was at my house last Sunday—A woman named Lomas at Bulwell, has been talking publicly about my being a Ludd and a man of Arnold has been doing the same as to Dann.―Dan told me he had been talking to Jack Slater about it,—He said they both agreed that it was necessary either to shoot them or do them some injury to deter them and others from the like practice―He swore he would take care Lomas’s Frames should be broke when I should be in Yorkshire and he asked me for a Pistol—I told him he should have one, in the course of a week.—He said Slater urged the shooting the woman (Lomas) I endeavoured to prevail upon him not to do anything on my account and told I thought I could settle Lomas a different way.—He said he always liked to be revenged and he should not have felt easy if he had not revenged Bamford's death at Garton before he came off the ground (He shot Kilby)—Badder told me they had sent Lincoln (a Ludd in the Gaol, for assaulting 2 Constables) a pound last Monday and that Peter Green had been sending for some money.—He said he had been rather neglected the last week and had been complaining—I think Peter was not at Bulwell when the man was shot at Hollingsworth's if he had I think he would have boasted of it as he always tells of his exploits—Peter's wife has been blowing up Badder and told him if she were Peter she would have somebody else there where he is—Badder said he damned her for a Fool and told her to get home.—I think Badder would tell if he knew there was any thing could be brought home to him. Peter's wife is a very industrious woman and wants the Ludds to see why he is detained and their not having done any thing to obtain his release has provoked her—Badder told me Peter was such a fool he had told her every thing and from what she had said he knew Peter had told her that he, Badder, was at Garton's.―

17th May 1813: Meeting at the Yew Tree Inn, Roberttown, in support of William Cartwright & Joseph Radcliffe

The Leeds Intelligencer of 24th May 1813 carried an article about a meeting in Roberttown held to organise a reward and recognition for William Cartwright & Joseph Radcliffe, as well as the minutes of the meeting, which are reproduced below:

On Monday the 17th inst. a number of respectable Gentleman from Leeds, Halifax, Huddersfield, Wakefield and the intermediate district, met at the Yew Tree Inn, Robert-Town, to co-operate in expressing the high sense entertained by the West-Riding, of the services of Joseph Radcliffe, Esq; and Mr. Wm. Cartwright, of Rawfolds, during the late disturbances. Wm. Rawson, Esq; of Halifax, was called to the Chair.—A letter was read from Bradford, stating, that it seemed to be the general sense of the inhabitants of that town, to limit their co-operation to the object expressed in the Resolutions, (see advertisement in our first page.) The Members of the Huddersfield Committee laid before the meeting the proceedings of their town’s meetings on the 6th inst. the Halifax Committee the proceedings of a public meeting of their town and parish on the 12th inst. and the Wakefield Committee the proceedings of their town’s meeting of the 13th inst. The Gentleman from Leeds stated, that no town’s meeting had been held there, but expressed their cordial concurrence as individuals, in their own names and that of many others, in the objects of the meeting. The Gentleman of the intermediate district did the same. A Committee of five was formed to prepare the Addresses, and consisted of a Gentleman from Huddersfield, from Wakefield, from Halifax, from Leeds, and one from the intermediate country. The Addresses and Resolutions were all passed unanimously; and there were one heart and mind to promote the objects of the meeting.

The Late Disturbances.

AT a MEETING of GENTLEMEN, Inhabitants of the West Riding of the County of York, held at the Yew Tree Inn, Robert-Town, on Monday, May 17, 1813, for the Purpose of co-operating in carrying into Effect such Measures as may best express the high State entertained by the Riding, of the meritorious Services of JOSEPH RADCLIFFE, Esq; and of Mr. WM. CARTWRIGHT, during the recent Disturbances.

WILLIAM RAWSON, Esq; in the Chair,

An Address of Thanks to Joseph Radcliffe, Esq; was proposed and unanimously adopted.

An Address of Thanks to Mr. W. Cartwright, was unanimously adopted.

These Addresses remain for the Signatures of such Gentlemen as were not at the Meeting, in the Hands of

Rev. Samuel Sharpe, Vicar, Wakefield,
Rev. Hammond Roberson, Heald’s Hall,
Mr. James Knight, Halifax.
Mr. George Oates, Leeds,
Mr. Battye, Huddersfield.

The following Resolutions were passed unanimously:

1. That Donations, to be offered as some Acknowledgement of Mr. Wm. Cartwright’s Services, be received the following Banks, viz.

Messrs, Beckett, Blayds, and Co. Leeds.
Fields, Greenwood and Co. ditto.
Thompson, Holtby and Co. ditto.
Crowder, Perfect and Co. ditto.
Nicholson, Brown and Co. ditto.
Milnes, Leatham and Co. Wakefield.
Wentworth, Chalenor and Co. ditto.
B &  J. Ingham and Co. Huddersfield.
John Dobson and Sons, ditto.
Hirst and Sykes, ditto.
Wm. Brook and Sons, ditto.
J.W and C. Rawson, Halifax.
Rhodes, Briggs and Co. ditto.
Peckover, Harris and Co. Bradford.
Hagues and Cook, Dewsbury.
Taylors, Gomersal.

2. That Thomas Allen, Esq; of Huddersfield, be appointed Treasurer to the Fund now instituted; and that, after presenting a handsome Sum to Mr. Cartwright the Residue be secured upon his Family—The precise Sum to be so presented, and the Manner of securing such Residue, to be determined by a Meeting of the Contributors, expressly called for that Purpose by the Treasurer, and to be held at the Yew Tree Inn, in Robert Town, on a Day to be advertised in the Leeds, and Wakefield and Halifax Newspapers.

3. That the Names and Sums subscribed be published in the Two Leeds papers, and in the Wakefield and Halifax Newspapers by the Treasurer, in the Order in which they are received by him.

4. That these Resolutions be published in both the Leeds, and the Wakefield and Halifax Newspapers.

Arrangements were made towards establishing a Co-operating Committee London; and the Meeting was adjourned until Monday, June 7, to be held at the Yew Tree Inn, at Nine in the Morning precisely.

W.M. RAWSON, Chairman.

The Cordial Thanks to the Meeting were unanimously given to the Chairman.

19th September 1812: An Officer reports the Star Inn, Roberttown, for being open after hours

The Star Inn, Roberttown. Image copyright Humphrey Bolton. (geograph profile)

Mill bridge Sept 19th. 1812.

Sir

I have the honor of reporting to you that while patroling on Thursday Evening I observed the Land lord of the Star publick House serving out Liquor to two Men after ½ past nine oclock—The men appeared very drunk & inclined to be riotous—The publick House is situated at Roberton— I have the Honor to be

Sir
Your obt. H. &c &c
Edw Barrett Lieut.
15th (King’s) Hussars

11th September 1812: Seditious words lead to an arrest in Huddersfield

Richard Farrington was a book-keeper at Huddersfield, and at 9.20 p.m. on Friday 11th September 1812 he had had enough - both to drink and of the soldiers in the Horse Shoes pub. He shouted at them "Damn the soldiers, they are damned scamps - damn the General, he's a rogue & rascal for bringing you here". He was arrested by three members of the Norfolk Militia present - Mark Custance, Thomas Spink & Robert Fortune, all privates - and brought before Joseph Radcliffe. A day later, he had paid £100 (being two sureties of £50 each) for his appearance at York Assizes in due course. Radcliffe would not brook any dissent.

25th July 1812: Captain Francis Raynes informs General Maitland of a Luddite meeting near Stockport

The Arden Arms on Ashton Road, Bredbury - photo copyright David Dixon

Roe cross near Mottram
25th July 1812

Sir,

I think it necessary to inform you a meeting of the Luddites, is to take place tomorrow afternoon about 4 o'clock in the Ardens Arms Castle Hill two miles from Stockport

The Meeting as far as I can learn is for the purpose of collecting money for the Prisoners in Lancaster Jail—

I request Sir, to be informed of the result, tomorrow night, by two or three persons I know will be there.

I have [etc]
Francis Raynes Capt
Stirlingshire &c Militia

To
Lieutenant General Maitland
&c &c &c

14th July 1812: Extensive arms raid at Clifton, West Yorkshire

The former Black Bull Inn, Towngate, Clifton, today (as seen on Google Street View)

In the early hours of Tuesday 14th July 1812, a group of up to 30 Luddites conducted a number of raids for arms in the village of Clifton in West Yorkshire. The raid was particularly audacious, as Clifton was the home of Sir George Armytage.

It seemed the Luddites had left behind a sledgehammer (or 'Enoch') on a previous visit, and one of their first actions was to procure another from the shop of a local blacksmith.

The Luddites chose to start their raids at one of the ends of the village, at the home of Abraham Fairburn, a cardmaker. Fairburn was knocked up and he stood behind his door asking what they wanted: the men on the other side demanded his gun - he denied having one, but they didn't believe him, and growing impatient threatened to blow his brains out. He then heard a hammer smashing on his door and he shouted for them to stop - he would open the door. As he opened it, a pistol was put to his head and his gun demanded again - this time, he agreed to find it. The Luddites wished him 'good night', and fired a gun into the air.

The Luddites next appeared at the home of Joshua Goldthorpe, another cardmaker. Joshua senior was in bed, and was woken by shouting and banging on his front door. He got out of bed, went to his window and pulled the curtain and shouted "what do you want?" - he peered out to see 14 or 15 guns pointing up at him - the men demanded his 2 guns - he said he hadn't any in the house, and shouted for his family. The men outside levelled more threats. Joshua senior went back to the window, but was warned if he peeped again, they would fire, and followed this up with a shot in the air. While this was going on, Goldthorpe's son, Joshua junior, had gone downstairs and opened the front door: he explained the family's guns were at their workshop, a quarter of a mile away. Undaunted, the Luddites posted a guard at the Goldthorpe house and took him to the shop to procure the weapons. When they returned, they noticed a light at the nearby Black Bull Inn which annoyed the Luddites: Joshua junior was brought to the front door of his house, but found it locked - one of the Luddites said "damn you, open the door", and when it eventually was, the family were warned to re-lock the door and not to open it again for at least two hours.

At the Black Bull Inn, the inkeeper George Pratt was asleep. He was brought sharply out of his slumbers by a number of shots from pistols outside. He went downstairs to the parlour to see what the fuss was and heard angry voices "put that light out". He had left a candle burning inside and went to snuff it out. Returning, the voices demanded his gun: Pratt protested he not dressed and he could not see in the dark - a voice said "no clothes, no light, fetch your gun". Pratt complied, and opening the front door was ordered to deliver the gun up to the men butt-end first. One of the men said that he would get it back - Pratt asked "when?", and the reply came "very soon". After wishing him good night, one of the men went to the window of the parlour, where Pratt's wife and child were, and asked them if they were alright, apologising for the shots fired earlier.

The Luddites also appeared at the home of William Armitage, another cardmaker. Armitage told them his gun was in his workshop, and the Luddites went with him to fetch it. They knew he had had two guns, which startled Armitage, and he said one belonged to his uncle and it had been returned. Armitage was ordered back into his house, and one of the Luddites asked him if he had got the Enoch and the gun which had been found nearby recently - he said he had not, and the men wished him good night and left.

On the same evening, the Luddites also raided the homes of John Wilkinson, William Earnshaw & Crispin Wilkinson in a similar manner, procuring a gun from each of them.

22nd June 1812: Drunken boasts of involvement at Rawfolds lead to trouble at the Black Bull, Mirfield

Anti-Tesco protesters outside the Black Bull in August 2011

At 8 p.m. on the evening of Monday 22nd June, 3 men were returning from Wakefield to Elland, when they stopped at a coaching Inn, the Black Bull at Mirfield, for some refreshment. The men were a Mr Cartledge (of Brow Bridge, Elland), a Mr Ashworth and a Mr Woodhead.

The three men were taking a drink in one room, when they overheard a conversation from an adjoining room. One individual was speaking in a loud voice, and the content of his words made they stop their conversation and listen carefully. The man said "I was at Rawfolds on the night of the attack: I was engaged there, I was close by the two men that fell". The man went on to say "I was never engaged in any association or society in my life but that of General Ludd, I have ever been true to it, and I have been in it for three years". Another man retorted "hold thy peace, if there be a good trade and meal come down, Ned Ludd will die" which amused the group and they all laughed.

Cartledge, Ashworth & Woodhead were horrified. Ashworth said he would fetch a Constable, and left. Cartledge felt bold enough to get up and proceed to the adjoining room and challenge the men: up to 10 men were gathered there, and Cartledge asked who had spoken of Rawfolds and General Ludd. One of the men pointed to another man called James Oldroyd. In the meantime, Ashworth had returned without a Constable and the three travellers took Oldroyd into another room and questioned him. Oldroyd denied having spoken about Ludd and Rawfolds, and said he knew William Cartwright and could get a letter of recommendation from him if they thought he was a Luddite. Ashworth was not convinced, and thought his voice was the same as the one he had heard earlier that evening.

Despite being unable to find a Constable before they left, the three travellers from Elland were determined not to let their experience go unreported.

11th June 1812: 37 men arrested at Peace & Parliamentary Reform meeting in Manchester

The White House (previously the Prince Regent's Arms) in 1967

In the evening of Thursday June 11th 1812, political repression in the North of England plumbed new depths.

Ever since the rioting in and around Manchester of April, the voices for parliamentary reform inside the workers organisations had been stronger than those urging direct action and machine-breaking. Colonel Fletcher's spy, John Bent, had recorded those debates and the activity of the Manchester Committee which was now concerning itself with petitioning Parliament and addressing the monarch. The meeting to finalise these documents was to take place at the Elephant public house on Tib Street in Manchester at 8.00 p.m. on that Thursday night.

John Knight, a 49 year-old manufacturer and ex-handloom weaver, as well as a political radical, seems to have been one of the driving forces behind the meeting. He had previous personal experience of repression, having been sent to prison in 1794 for 2 years for making a seditious speech in Royton, Lancashire. So when he arrived at the Elephant and was told by someone present of the strong rumours that the Manchester Deputy Constable Joseph Nadin would interrupt the meeting, his initial instinct was to stand firm.

But Knight then heard that a sizeable number had already assembled at another public house nearby - the Prince Regent's Arms on Ancoats Lane - the old haunt of the Manchester Secret Committee. Knight therefore decided that the meeting should reconvene there, and upon arriving, they found a room that he estimated could hold between 40 and 50 people.

By 9.45 p.m., all of those expected were present and everyone had got a drink and the meeting began to proceed to business, by now 2 hours late. Knight made sure that everyone present introduced themselves, stating their occupation and place of residence, and then proceeded to read the resolutions of the 26th May meeting, and then the address and petition. A debate followed, with Knight making it clear that he was not in favour of direct action and machine-breaking, but that he considered that petitioning was the way forward. The meeting was interrupted by the landlord, John Brown, informing the group that it was 11.00 p.m. and that pub was now shut to new customers and he wanted to close, and so Knight decided to move to financial matters and to close the meeting as soon as possible.

As the contributions were being paid on the top table, the Deputy Constable of Manchester, Joseph Nadin, entered the door carrying a blunderbuss, quickly followed by around 30 Scotch Greys with muskets, all with fixed bayonets. Nadin advanced to the top table, and challenged Knight and another man who had only been there around 15 minutes, William Washington, to declare the purpose of the meeting: upon being told 'peace and parliamentary reform' and being handed a copy of the printed resolutions, Nadin said he didn't believe them - that the meeting was a pretence and a cover for something else.

Joseph Nadin, the Deputy Constable of Manchester

Nadin then set about ordering the arrest of all of the 37 men present. They were all searched, and their names, occupations and addresses were taken. Finally, their hands were tied and they were taken to the New Bailey court-house/prison at Salford. Knight challenged, who admitted he had no warrant, but told the men that Magistrates were already sitting at Salford.

The names, residences and occupations of the 37 men arrested subsequently appeared in the Lancaster Gazette of 20th June 1812, and are as follows:

From Manchester: John Knight, manufacturer; William Washington, agent (debt collector); Simon Simmons, spinner; Charles Woolling, spinner; Robert Thorneley, spinner; William Coppock, fustian-dresser; John Kershaw, joiner; Charles Smith, cutter; Thomas Harsnett, shoemaker; Thomas Cannavan, calico printer; Joseph Tilney; Daniel Jevins, turner and filer; Stephen Harrison, tinplate worker; Edward McGinnes, bricklayer; James Hepworth, broker; Rycroft Hepworth, weaver; James Lawton, spinner; Robert Slack, turner and filer; James Buckley, spinner; James Boothby, weaver; Edward Phillips, weaver.

From other places: John Howarth, a cutter from Salford; Thomas Cooke, a weaver & Eric Oldham, a hatter , both from Denton; Randal Judson, a warper from Audenshaw; John Haigh, a weaver of Brody Lane, near Oldham; Thomas Wilkinson, a weaver from Failsworth; Charles Oldham, a hatter & James Knott, a hatter, both from Hyde; John Oldham, a sawyer from Stalybridge; Aaron Marvel, a weaver, from Hollingworth, near Mottram; John Godly, a hatter, from Newton, near Hyde; Edmund Newton, a spinner, from Hadfield, Derbyshire; Aaron Whitehead, a Weaver, from Ashton-under-Lyne; John Newton, a bricklayer, of Roundthorn, near Oldham; James Greenwood, a weaver & Isaac Birch, a Weaver, both from Droylsden.

Knight was not to know at that stage, that it was one of those initially present at the meeting - a weaver called Samuel Fleming - who had brought the authorities down on the men present. He had previously approached a Manchester Magistrate and former commanding officer of the local militia he had belonged to, Colonel Silvester, informing him that he was being urged to take an illegal oath by a man called Thomas Broughton. Silvester set about arranging for Fleming to become involved with and to be twisted-in by Broughton and any co-conspirators, leading the authorities to them. On the 11th June, Fleming had seen his opportunity - after meeting with Broughton and going to the Prince Regents Arms, he left the meeting early at around 10.00 p.m. and informed Silvester and Nadin about it & his alleged 'twisting-in'. We know the rest.

26th May 1812: Peace & Parliamentary Reform meeting at the Elephant, Tib Street, Manchester

As noted previously by Colonel Fletcher's spy, John Bent (aka 'B'), the meetings of the delegates of various trades had now shifted their position to campaigning for peace & parliamentary reform. On the evening of Tuesday 26th May 1812, they held a meeting at the Elephant public house on Tib Street in Manchester and finally agreed on 12 resolutions, as well as the wording for petitions. The resolutions were subsequently printed into a handbill, below.

4th May 1812: Two weavers from Failsworth meet the Manchester Secret Committee at the Prince Regent's Arms

Joseph Taylor, a weaver from Failsworth recently moved to Club Row, Newton Lane in Manchester, was a curious type. On the day of the first Manchester Food Riot, he had met a relative, called John Blakeley, in the streets on Manchester. Blakeley had greeted him with a gesture which piqued his interest: he put his finger to his lip and asked Taylor if he could answer it. Taylor could not, but made it clear he wanted to know more.

Blakeley made it clear to Taylor that Manchester would soon be witnessing something akin to the French Revolution, but that he would have to be conversant in signs and signals before he could know more. Blakeley taught him the following:

Question: put the two forefingers of the right-hand to the right eye; Answer: present the forefinger of the left-hand

Question: place the little finger of the right-hand under the lip - at the same time advance the right leg; Answer: stroking or rubbing the chin with the left-hand

Taylor knew a man called Joseph Duxbury was involved in something secretive, and decided to try to the signs he'd learned on him. It worked. Duxbury subsequently got Taylor to swear an oath and gave him hints about how he would find the 'principal persons' involved in what he wanted to know more about.

On the morning of Monday 4th May, Taylor set off with his friend Thomas Whitehead, a weaver from Failsworth to find out more. On Port Street, off Ancoats Lane, they met a young man whom Taylor suspected was involved in the secret business. He tried out the second signal on him, and the man, called Ben, responded with the counter-sign. Ben took them both to a cellar at No. 21 where he worked as a weaver. They talked about being twisted-in and then agreed to go for a drink at the White Lion. Ben went ahead, and Taylor & Whitehead joined him later.

At the White Lion, Taylor asked Ben if anyone could help twist-in Taylor. Ben said he knew someone who could and left, returning later with a man he called 'the Secretary'. The man introduced himself as Yarwood and gave Taylor the signal: Taylor responded with the counter-sign. Yarwood questioned Taylor, and then said they needed to go somewhere safer.

Taylor, Whitehead and Yarwood now headed for the Prince Regent's Arms on Ancoats Lane. In private in a room in the pub, Yarwood asked Taylor to tell him the oath, and although Taylor couldn't remember the oath, Yarwood was satisfied. As the landlord, John Brown, entered the room to bring coal to the fireplace, Yarwood then said he would like to read Taylor some verses from the Bible, and asked the ladlord to fetch a Bible. With the landlord present, Yarwood read to Talyor verses 25, 25 & 27 of the 21st chapter of the book of Ezekiel. The landlord left, and then Yarwood administered the oath to him, whilst he held the Bible in his hand.

I, A.B., of my own voluntary will do declare and solemnly swear that I will never reveal to any person or persons in any place or places under the canopy of heaven the names of the persons who comprise the secret committee, either by word and deed or sign, their proceedings, meetings, place, abode, dress, features, marks, complexions, connections nor anything else that may lead to the discovery of the same on the penalty of being put out of this world by the first brother that shall meet me, my name and character blotted out of existence and never to be remembered but with contempt and abhorrence. I further swear that I will use my best endeavours to punish by death any traitor or traitors should any rise up amongst us he or them and though he should fly to the verge of nature I will pursue him with unceasing vengeance so help me God to keep this oath inviolable

At the end, Yarwood asked him to kiss the Bible, which he did. Yarwood then told him the signs and counter-signs to ensure he could safely introduce himself and/or reply to others twisted-in, and said these were changed every fortnight for security reasons, and also that subscriptions were 2 pence per week. Yarwood agreed that Whitehead should be admitted as a 'friend to the cause', and swore Whitehead in too in a similar manner.

After Yarwood had told Taylor some poetry ridiculing the Prince Regent, he said there was a meeting later today, and if he was interested, he should remain at the pub: the location would be announced within 10 minutes of the meeting, again for security reasons.

Yarwood then proceeded to paint a vivid picture to both men of revolutionary proceedings in the country: that 400,000 men were ready to rise, although London was lagging behind somewhat; that army officers and sergeants were twisted in, and that one half of the army would 'be organised before the blow'; that even the Duke of York may join them and they would 'pluck him from the ungodly'.

By 6.30 p.m., up to 18 people were assembled at the Prince Regent's Arms, waiting for the meeting venue to be announced. A little man came in, who seemed to be looked up to by those present. Whitehead knew him, and shook his hand. This was John Buckley Booth, and Whitehead heard from others that he was a Calvinist preacher and he heard others called him 'Parson'.

The meeting eventually convened in the Prince Regent's Arms itself. Delegates were present from Stockport, Oldham, Middleton, Huddersfield, Bolton, Preston, Ashton-under-Lyne, Stalybridge, Bury, Blackburn, FailsworthYarwood's words to the two men earlier, the content of the meeting proved to be agitation for a 'general reform' and a 'general change'.

Later, Taylor and Whitehead became concerned for their welfare. Accusations flew that they were spies - that they would not be allowed out of the pub until someone who had been sent to check their credentials came back - that if it were proved they were spies, their lives would be at stake. The men perceived that the landlord was refusing admittance to the room, but all the while, the numbers outside the room were increasing. Somehow, the men found a back way out of the room, but discovered that all the doors they tried to escape through were locked to them. They were detained again by one of the weavers from the meeting.

Somehow, Taylor & Whitehead eventually managed to leave the Prince Regent's Arms. Three days later, they had fled to London, and gave dispositions about their experience in Manchester before the Home Secretary, Richard Ryder, in Whitehall. They had been acting undercover all the time - most likely employed by the Stockport Solicitor & Magistrates Clerk, John Lloyd, for the purpose of incriminating the weavers present.

20th April 1812: Delegate meeting of Manchester Executive Committee at Ardwick Green

The next General delegate meeting of the towns around Manchester took place on Monday 20th April. The disarray that was displayed in the convening of the meeting was reflected in what occurred later at the meeting itself, and against the backdrop of widespread & escalating disorder in the North West. It would also herald the beginning of the end of the system that had been maintained up until that point by the committees of trades. We know about the meeting because of two sources: the weaver, Humphrey Yarwood, and Colonel Fletcher's spy, 'B' alias John Bent.

John Buckley Booth, of the Manchester Secret Committee, felt that it was not safe for him to attend at the original intended Venue, the King's Arms at Oldfield Lane, Salford. He suggested to another Secret Committee member, George Royles, that delegates should be directed to the Shakespeare at Ardwick Green and deputised him to go to the King's Arms and direct people there. Yarwood said that Royles did not stay long enough to direct all the delegates, and several who had arrived at the public house a 3.00 p.m. did not know where the meeting was. One of them, the treasurer of the Spinners committee called Burslem, took some delegates with him to Yarwood's house to make enquiries, who directed them to assemble at the Plough in New Islington for 4.00 p.m. where he would meet them and inform them where to finally go.

Meanwhile, according to Bent, Buckley Booth had convened some of the delegates at a public house in John Street, Ancoats before adjourning to the 'Place & Park' in New Islington. They were proceeding to business when the pub was entered by a party of Special Constables & some Scots Greys, who proceeded to clear the room. It's likely that they moved onto the Prince Regent's Arms in Ancoats, as that is where Yarwood caught up with them later in his efforts to find out the final meeting place.

When the meeting was eventually convened at the Shakespeare later that evening, Buckley Booth was surprised at the numbers of delegates present. Bent reported to Colonel Fletcher that delegates came from Saddleworth, Ashton-under-Lyne, Newton, Droylsden, Hollinwood, Stockport, Withington, Northenden, Stretford, Urmston, Eccles, Worsley & Astley Green. Yarwood heard that delegates were also present from Stalybridge and even Huddersfield. It is notable that that there was no delegate from Bolton that night, something that Bent pointed our to Colonel Fletcher in his report. Bent was not to know that the Bolton delegates to the previous meeting, John Stones and Waddington, had been traversing the countryside around Bolton and Atherton in the early hours of that morning.

The meeting set to business, and elected Bent as treasurer. Colonel Fletcher's spy now had a firm foothold in the regional organisation, and presumably access to personal details of the delegates.

But Buckley Booth was dismayed that the town of Manchester itself could not raise enough subscriptions to support it's own Committee, and proposed that the town should drop out of the association altogether. The meeting was to be rescheduled for just over a fortnight's time, 4th May at 11.00 a.m. in the Three Crowns at Failsworth, when subscriptions would be due. The proposal was to use the subscriptions to fund a delegate to travel to London. Following the disorder that had taken place in and around Manchester that day and the days before, there was an agreement to recommend that the people 'be peaceable' and that anyone involved in rioting would not be twisted-in.

A sign and countersign were agreed, and noted later by Bent in his report to Colonel Fletcher:

The sign to be admitted is: to clasp the forefinger of the right-hand into the right eye; the answer by the left in the same manner.

17th April 1812: Colonel Fletcher's Manchester spy, John Bent, meets an Irish Rebel, Patrick Cannovan

On Friday 17th April, Colonel Ralph Fletcher's spy in Manchester, the cotton dealer John Bent or 'B' submitted another report.

Two days earlier, he had met with a man called Smith from Northenden. Smith was an activist who had been travelling as far as Congleton to further 'the business', and his group was receiving help from Stockport and were familiar with the use of arms.

Bent remarked that he felt the country was in a bad state: people openly damned the government, and that discontent was widespread, so much so that no one is surprised when such sentiments are expressed.

On the 16th, he had met a man called Eastwood from Burnley. Eastwood had observed that 'jacks' (i.e. Jacobins) were beginning to take an interest in affairs given the atmosphere. He and Bent discussed the situation at Accrington, noting that many of the 'bad set' of shawl printers in that town had left because business was so bad. They had gone to Scotland, where the trade was less mechanised.

At 7.00 p.m., Bent was passed a note, informing him that the Irish delegate, Patrick Cannovan, had arrived in Stockport, and he made his way there to meet him. They met with some others at an un-named public house on Edward Street, and Cannovan proceeded to relate to them his travels in Scotland and Ireland and dealings with underground Committees in Belfast and Glasgow. He related the numbers enrolled in 'the business' in each town that he learned about and spoke about the Belfast Committee in details and at length. The committee gave Cannovan £6 towards his expenses and pledged their support for anything that might occur in England.

Bent stayed at his sister's overnight, and went to meet Cannovan again the next day, this time alone. They met at the Brown Bull on Hillgate, and talked in detail about Cannovan's dealing with a secret Committee in Dublin, who pledged their support for fellow Committees in England and Scotland. They talked of how the authorities in Ireland had seized arms and how they were hard to come by, which meant that Dublin castle would have to be seized to gain control. The Dublin Committee were so impressed with Cannovan that they gave him a silver medal with the word 'integrity' emblazoned on it. They met in a 'genteel house' on St Stephen's Green in the city where 'no one would suspect' them.

Cannovan told Bent he was due to leave for London on Monday 20th and planned to travel via Birmingham and return via Derby to take in as many towns as he cold before returning to Stockport.

In his report, Bent described Cannovan as "one of the dengerst men I heaver was with in all the that I have Been Concerned with", and revealed he had been an officer under General Holt in the 1798 rebellion in Ireland. He gave a physical description too: he stood 5 feet 10 inches high, with a wound on his left arm above the elbow, which he had shown to Bent. He was aged about 40, had a dark complexion, dark eyes and was slender, with a genteel appearance and a sharp nose, well-dressed in Black with Hessian boots. Bent said he spoke good English and was "free from the Irish Twang as maney of the Irish Make use of in their discors".

12th April 1812: Rawfolds aftermath - the wounded, the dying (known and unknown) and secrets taken to the grave

The Star Inn, Roberttown. Image copyright Humphrey Bolton. (geograph profile)

For what occurred after the Luddite raid at Rawfolds Mill, we can only rely on one or two contemporary documentary sources. The rest is folklore, recorded and probably embellished over 66 years later by the local journalist Frank Peel, and arguably embroidered further still by many other authors since.

The facts documented at the time tell us that an hour elapsed between the commencement of the attack on Rawfolds and a detachment of Queen's Bays arriving, by then too late to intervene. Why they did not arrive sooner given that they were only stationed but a mile away is not known, but a clue may be found in the reluctance of two of the soldiers of the Cumberland Militia to take part in the defence of Rawfolds.

William Cartwright did not emerge from the Mill until he was sure it was safe, and the familiar face of Mr Cockhill appeared outside. His attitude and actions towards the two mortally wounded men lying in the Mill yard are not recorded for posterity, but Frank Peel decided that he failed to do anything to help them, and has a cast of other colourful characters appearing and doing their bit to soothe and comfort the wounded instead, or not as the case may be.

We do know the identities of the two wounded men. One of them was a 24 year-old cropper, a bachelor called Samuel Hartley who had once worked for Cartwright before he had mechanised Rawfolds. He was also a private in the Halifax Local Militia of which Cartwright was a Captain. Because of his familiarity, it is likely that Cartwright felt particularly sourly towards him, but if so, he did not write of it in the letters that have survived. Hartley had been wounded by a musket-ball passing through his left breast, and the ball was lodged beneath the skin under the left shoulder.

The other man was 19 year-old called John Woodhead Booth. Booth was the son of a clergyman, the Reverend Booth of Kirkby-Malhamdale at Craven, who was also master of the Free Grammar School there. John Booth was an apprentice to a Mr Wright, a tinner at Huddersfield. Booth was wounded in one of his legs, which had apparently been shattered by a musket ball.

One can only imagine the agony these men must have been in.

They were eventually transported by litters to the Star Inn at Roberttown (the folklore has it that they were conveyed to the Yew Tree Inn first, but crowds appearing there led to them being moved). Once there, surgery was attempted on both of them.

Booth has lost copious amounts of blood before the surgeons had arrived. A decision was made to amputate his wounded leg, but he died after going into convulsions during the operation at 6.00 a.m. on the 12th April, 6 hours after the attack had begun.

(Frank Peel has the dying Booth playing a trick on the Reverend Hammond Roberson, giving him the impression he is about to disclose some information before quietly slipping into death. But this directly contradicts the report in the Leeds Mercury which clearly states that Booth died in convulsions. The latter is clearly the most likely story, despite reputable historians like EP Thompson repeating Peel's fiction, given his horrendous wounds and the equally horrendous operation being attempted upon him. Bizarrely, the journalist Robert Reid has it that both versions of the tale happened!)

John Booth has a road named after him in Roberttown, near to where he died.

The musket ball was extracted from beneath Hartley's shoulder, along with a fragment of bone. But like Booth, he too was very weak from blood loss. He died at 3.00 a.m. on the 13th April, 27 hours after the attack at Rawfolds had commenced.

The folklore says that the men were tortured, but as the Hammonds (1979, p.250) point out, the screams and cries that must have emerged from their surgery would have sounded not dissimilar. In a tight-knit community that overwhelmingly sided with the Luddites, the loss of two youthful men would have been difficult enough to bear.

What is true is that, despite their anguish, the men did not give away any of their comrades. The Leeds Mercury has one of them crying out in the Mill yard "help! help!—I know all, and I will tell all." But even if this was the case, in a letter written 11 days later, Cartwright admitted to his friend Robert Rayner that the two men "however from untoward circumstances made no Disclosure of their associates."

In most of the literature, Booth and Hartley are presented as the only fatal casualties of Rawfolds, and whilst it is true that they are the only people whose names we know, there are clues about others who may have died later and whose names may yet be discovered with more applied research.

In 1979, Lock & Dixon in their biography of Patrick Brontë, who was the priest at Hartshead Church at the time, alleged that Luddites had secretly buried un-named Rawfolds dead in an unmarked grave at the south-east corner of the graveyard, which Brontë observed but did not prevent. The story is essentially make-believe as they presented no sources for this information.

More real is the letter from a pseudonymous 'John Bull' at Wakefield to the Home Office written on the 15th April 1812, who states that two more men had died by then, and neither of them Croppers - one of them being a tradesman, the other a grocer.

A day later, Colonel Campbell at Leeds wrote to his Commanding Officer General Grey saying that two men had died at their homes after being carried there wounded from Rawfolds, one from 'Hatchet Bar', the other from Birstall. It's not clear if these are the same men mentioned by 'John Bull', or if Campbell was merely repeating rumours.

A month later, the Lancaster Gazette of 16th May 1812 reported that an un-named man had died in Halifax on 7th May from wounds received at Rawfolds. He had apparently not ventured home since, nor sought any medical advice.

7th April 1812: Manchester Secret Committee members borrow money from the spy 'B'

On the evening of 6th April, the Manchester Executive Committee had cancelled the plans of the General Delegate Committee to launch attacks on factories in the surrounding towns over the following week. After the meeting had broken up, two members of the Secret Committee that had been delegated to inform Bolton & Stockport - George Royles & George Haworth - had approached another member, the weaver Humphrey Yarwood, explaining that they could not afford to travel.

Yarwood had reminded Royles and Howarth of someone present at the meeting who had the means to make them a loan. He asked them to call on him the following morning and they would visit the man tomorrow.

The next day, Yarwood took Royles and Howarth to the warehouse of a John Bent, apparently a buyer and seller of cotton waste, and a well-known face at both public and secret meetings of weavers, spinners and those of other trades.

Bent agreed to lend Royles and Howarth sufficient money to fund their trips out to Stockport and Bolton. He had to get change for a £10 note, and when he returned he gave them 19 shillings each. They agreed terms of repayment - Bent was flexible, but wanted regular payments whatever period they chose. The men agreed to repay the money within a month.

The 3 men then went to meet the other member of the Secret Committee, John Buckley Booth, at the Prince Regent's Arms, where he gave them the tickets that would enable them to meet & converse with the Secret Committees at Bolton and Stockport and they made the trips out the same day.

The three men were not to know that the cotton trader John Bent was in fact Colonel Fletcher's spy 'B'. We know this because 'B's' report to Fletcher of the 7th April mentioned their visit:

"three of they Committee Came to me to Borrow one pound I lent them 19 shillings they will pay me in the Cors of a month"

6th April 1812: Manchester Executive Committee cancel plans for factory attacks on 9th April

On Monday 6th April 1812, the 'Manchester Executive Committee' met at the Prince Regent's Arms on Ancoats Lane in Manchester to discuss various matters. We know about this meeting from 2 sources - the weaver, Humphrey Yarwood, and Colonel Ralph Fletcher's spy, 'B', both of whom either wrote or gave statements about what occurred subsequently.

B reported that some delegates had returned from a trip to London to report on the situation there: It was said that London was relatively unprepared compared to the North; that the city had been divided into 10 districts and subdivided into 120 other divisions, and that only 7400 had been twisted-in. It was also apparently suggested to B that he should be a delegate for Yorkshire.

Both B and Yarwood also explained that the committee was aware of the preparations for a Loyalist meeting in Manchester that would take place on that coming Wednesday 8th April. On the same night that the Executive Committee was meeting, there was another meeting of 'Gentlemen' taking place at the Bridgewater Arms to oppose the Loyalists, and Yarwood explained that John Buckley Booth of the Manchester Secret Committee was sent to weigh up the likely strength of opposition. B said that another of the executive committee was also deputed to attend, but does not mention any names. Apparently, Buckley Booth eventually returned telling the Executive Committee that he had been asked to sign a petition by the 'Gentlemen'.

At some point in the evening, the plans of the General Delegate meeting that had taken place the previous night in Salford was discussed. That meeting had held that the Manchester Districts would decide if the plan to attack factories should go ahead. In his report for Colonel Fletcher, B explained the plan was to involve seizing all military officers and put them to death along with all the magistrates.

The District rejected these plans, and ordered that delegates must be sent out to the various towns to countermand any planned operations. But there was concern about how this would be financed. Yarwood noted that not enough money had been collected to even pay for that night's ale and that this, allied with discovering the plans of the Kings Arms meeting, meant that 'nothing but dischord reigned amongst them that night'.

After the meeting broke up, the two other members of the Manchester Secret Committee that had been deputed to cancel operations in Bolton and Stockport, Royles and Howarth, told Yarwood they simply didn't have the money to travel out to those towns. Yarwood had an idea who might help...

5th April 1812: Delegates from many North West towns meet at the Kings Arms in Salford

The Kings Arms, Salford in the 1970s. Image copyright Salford Pubs of the 70s on Flickr.

At 6 p.m. on Sunday 5th April, an important meeting was held at the Kings Arms (previously the Good Samaritan) on what was then Oldfield Lane in Salford. Evidence from one participant exists in the Home Office archive - that of one of Colonel Ralph Fletcher's spies, John Stones, mediated through his handler, James Warr of the Bolton Local Militia. The weaver Humphrey Yarwood also mentions the meeting, although he was not present, as did a weaver from Stockport, Thomas Whittaker, in a statement later taken when he was in prison.

The delegates present came from a number of different towns in the North West. According to John Stones, there were 10 present, including 1 from Stockport, 3 from Manchester, 1 from Eccles, 1 from Blackburn and 1 from Bolton. Stones also tells us that the Bolton delegate was a man called Waddington (probably Robert Waddington), who had introduced him to the meeting. Yarwood tells us that a member of the newly-formed Manchester Secret Committee - John Buckley Booth - was there, and that delegates were also present from Saddleworth, Ashton-under-Lyne and Oldham, with a delegate from Failsworth no doubt being counted by Stones as being from Manchester. Thomas Whittaker names the Stockport delegate as Thomas Miller.

Stones reported that the delegates all stated their Towns were 'ready', and that were now waiting on Bolton. Delegates gave numbers for those 'twisted in' in the townships: 823 in Stockport, of whom 250 had arms or other weapons; 2000 in Manchester, which as well as workers included Manufacturers, Publicans and Shopkeepers; even Eccles - which had only been recruiting for a fortnight - had managed to raise 183 and had access to 200 stand of arms because a Local Militia sergeant had been twisted in. According to Stones, all were clear that their aims were no longer limited to an advance of wages - they wanted to 'put the great men down that had trampled them under for so long'.

According to Stones, the meeting set a date for the 'Firing of Factories' to take place in each of the Towns that had sent delegates - the evening of Monday 13th April between 12 midnight and 1 a.m. Waddington said that Bolton was not ready, but the other delegates said that something had to happen in that area and soon - it was suggested that the steam loom factory at Westhoughton should be included in the factories to be attacked, unless another arrangement was made at a meeting due to take place on Wednesday 8th April. Yarwood states that the towns were given autonomy to 'choose what mischief they thought proper' for the 13th, but that the Manchester districts had to agree to it.

Whittaker stated that Thomas Miller had reported that a Bolton delegate (either Waddington or Stones) had brought a scale model of a pike along to the meeting. He describes how Waddington placed the constituent parts of the model pike on a table, with everyone puzzled as to what this was and what he was doing. Waddington then assembled the parts to demonstrate that what looked inoffensive could be made into a deadly weapon. Given that Stones was a member of the Bolton Local Militia, and that Waddington knew this, it would seem to be likely that Stones was the man with the pike, even though he doesn't mention it in his report.

Yarwood tells us that the next meeting was due in a fortnight, 19th April.

Stones left the meeting with Waddington to return to Bolton, presumably on foot because Stones relates how they met a man in Swinton and engaged in conversation, persuading him to join their cause. They were ready to twist him in there and then, but they did not have a copy of the oath on them, and directed the man to get the Eccles delegate to arrange this. The Swinton man estimated he could get 100 other local men involved.

On their journey home, Waddington told Stones that he believed figures such as Lord Cochrane, Sir Francis Burdett and Samuel Whitbread would join them when the country was ready. There was an intention to seize the arms and ammunition belonging to Bolton Local Militia, and he had invited Stones because he trusted him, having heard how he and his father were so active. Waddington told Stones that the secret committee at Bolton had arranged to procure 6 artillery pieces, under the direction of a man called Ratcliff who had used them in the military. They also knew where to get hold of Pikes.

23rd March 1812: The Manchester spy 'B' visits Oldham, hears doubts about his motives and is concerned about workers organisation in the area

Colonel Fletcher's spy 'B' picked up his latest report only the day after his previous one.

On the 19th March, he had been in Oldham, Lees and Dobcross in Lancashire. His contacts there told him they needed 3 more months to be ready, noting that most of the military were abroad in Portugal and expecting other units in England would be needed in Ireland. B's impression of the people in the area was blunt: "their is Corse one you can meet but they are preaching up this docktrin".

On the 22nd, B had an appointment with a contact called Wilson, who reported there was some dissatisfaction with B's presence on an unnamed committee, since B was not on the Manchester executive committee. Another contact called Devlyn had vouched for B, explaining that he had been "imployed on secret Business" and travelled hundreds of the miles for the cause.Wilson was expecting a delegate to return from Ireland in the next 20 days and went on to outline the situation further north in Kendal and also Paisley and Glasgow.

B reported that the Manchester Committee of Trades had met at the Falstaff Hotel, and expressed much concern about the degree of organisation, thoroughness and communication now apparent, saying "this you may depend will Ruin this Kingdom if these meetings is not prohibited ... this must be Looked after before it is too Late all the Manufacturing towns is on this plan and many of the viliges also".

On the 23rd, B had witnessed a man making seditious comments to two female companions in Brown Street, Manchester. He had followed them, and reported the man speaking openly, his comments meeting with agreement and amusement from others nearby .

Lastly, B gave a warning to Fletcher "the Countys of Chester derby & Lancaster and york is in a dangers state and if troops is not sent to them I ham afraid it will be of bad Conquence".

24th February 1812: Bolton weavers meet at the Gibraltar Rock & swear illegal oaths

The Gibraltar Rock, as captured by Google Street View in 2009

Somewhere between the end of February and the beginning of March 1812, a small meeting of up to 8 weavers from Bolton met at the Gibraltar Rock public house near the Town.

Also at the meeting were 2 delegates from a weaver's committee at Stockport. These men led the meeting, explaining their past attempts to gain some redress for the dire situation facing hand-loom weavers in Stockport. That they had met with the local Rector, Charles Prescot, who was also a magistrate, explaining the extent of unemployment and the contrary increase in steam loom weaving in the area. Prescot had suggested that they visit Richard Ryder, the Home Secretary, but that when they did this, Ryder had rebuffed them, commenting that steam looms "were of great service to the State".

The Stockport delegates conclusion was stark: since government was not prepared to act, then they must take matters into their own hands. The Stockport men proposed the adoption of an "oath of engagement" among the group: one of the Bolton weavers present was James Lyon, and a Stockport delegate beckoned to him to come outside the room. He was shown the oath in private and asked to read it out to the group, which he did. But Lyon felt uncomfortable, and stated to the room that he would not take the oath and advised others not to do so. There were murmurings of agreement amongst the group, and another local weaver, William Gifford, spoke against the oath, pointing out that he was a member of the local peace committee. Finally, another Bolton weaver called Samuel Kay pushed himself forward - he agreed to take the oath there and then, in front of the Stockport men.

That this meeting was held only a few days after a public meeting to petition for peace and parliamentary reform indicates that different political currents were moving amongst the weavers, with different objectives and methods.

8th November 1811: Fletcher's spy 'B' reports on the Manchester Secret Committees

On the 4th November, Colonel Fletcher's informant 'B' began writing another report about underground activities across Lancashire and Cheshire, and in particular in Manchester.

'B' first related a meeting he had that day at the Falstaff Hotel with a contact from Nantwich in Cheshire, who informed him that the underground there was 1000-strong and familiar with the use of Arms whose 'General wish was a revulation' and who believed that 'a parlimentry reform is of no use to us'.

On the 5th, 'B' reported attending the same Manchester Committee he had documented being constituted the previous month. A delegate from Royton reported that 'the Royton people is worne out with petitioning and his Ready at a days warning to Come forward if they had a Leader', noting that other delegates who had been elected to the Committee in October reported their areas shared these sentiments.

On the 6th, 'B' reported he had attended yet another meeting at the Falstaff Hotel representing different trades and chaired by an un-named Cobbler. The meeting seemed to be concerned with organisational matters and the informant admitted 'most of the Committee are str(a)ngers to me will give their names in my next'. They were due to meet again on Friday the 8th November.

On the 8th, 'B' reported he had travelled to Stockport to meet a contact there only to find that he had absconded to Dublin, taking the subscriptions of an un-named group with him - the funds amounted at £61, 3 shillings and 8 pence. 'B' expressed hope to Fletcher that this would have the effect of making people reluctant to contribute to the funds of Secret Committees across the whole country. Returning home at midnight meant that the informant had been unable to get to the Manchester Committee meeting at the Falstaff, but he reported that he had heard it had been inconclusive in its attempts to arrange a general meeting of the trades, and had set a date for another meeting on Wednesday 13th November at 8 p.m.

'B' closed his report with an expenses claim for 22 days of activity, which included his Committee subscriptions. Deducting an overpayment left him requesting £5, 14 shillings and 9 pence.

A postscript was added: referring to the address to the Lancashire Weavers posted in Manchester in October, it is claimed the author was a Mr Knight.

10th October 1811: a letter from a Lancashire informant

On the 10th October 1811, Colonel Ralph Fletcher, a JP, Local Militia Commander and member of the Orange Order at Bolton-le-Moors, received a letter from one of his informants in Lancashire.¹

The writer, who he called 'B',  painted a very vivid picture of secret committees and the political underground in that County. Writing on the 5th October, 'B' reported that he had just got back from a meeting attended by 140 delegates, held in a field, a mile from the Toll Bar at Mottram, Cheshire (on the border with Lancashire). The purpose was to discuss the sending of a delegate on a trip through several counties, to test the political, economic and social waters, and how the delegate must exercise care & sensitivity so as not to be discovered. Those gathered would reconvene at Gee Cross, a few miles up the road, in a fortnight, with reports from their local areas about the numbers of people who wished to be involved in 'the Business', as the 'B' puts it.

'B' talks of the widespread nature of the discontent in the land: there is talk of delegates travelling between Glasgow and Ireland, with Stockport in Cheshire being some kind of central meeting place of importance. There is talk of possible assistance in 'the Business' from France.

More revealing is 'B's' insistence that the country areas are more advanced than the towns in their readiness for change: the Manchester Committee is chosen by delegates from Saddleworth, Royton, Hollinwood, Glodwick and Ashton-under-Lyne, all places in Lancashire, with the Committee meeting in the Falstaff Hotel in Market Place.²

The fact that the content of many of these discussions, as far as 'B' could ascertain, were largely concerned with petitioning the Prince Regent and Reform and vague about anything else is part of the strange character or Lancashire and Cheshire Luddism, which would only emerge into the open 5 months later. Fletcher's mysterious informant was to write many more letters over the coming months.