3rd January 1816: The remaining Halifax 'Twisters' are given Free Pardons

On Wednesday 3rd January 1816, the prisoners William Blakeborough, George Duckworth & Charles Milnes were all given a Free Pardon & set free from the Prison Hulks at Portsmouth.

The three men had all been convicted of administering an illegal oath to an undercover agent in Halifax during the height of the Luddite disturbances in West Yorkshire in 1812. At their trial in early 1813, they and two others had been found guilty and sentenced to transportation, but the sentences were not carried out, and they had remained aboard the prison hulks. During that time, two of the prisoners - John Baines the elder and John Baines the junior - had died in captivity.

Little is known about the circumstances surrounding the Pardons, as any relevant paperwork does not appear in the Home Office documents for this period, other than a note recording the date of the pardon applied to all three men in the Prison Hulk Register.

21st December 1814: The death of the prisoner John Baines the elder

'Hulks in Portsmouth Harbour' by Thomas Christopher Hofland, c.1830. The Halifax prisoners were held in ships similar to these at the adjoining harbour at Langstone, immediately to the east of Portsmouth

On Wednesday 21st December 1814, John Baines the elder, one of the 5 men from from Halifax found guilty at the York Special Commission of administering illegal oaths, died on board a prison hulk in Langstone harbour, Portsmouth.

Baines was the third prisoner of the 7 who were sentenced to transportation at York to die since arriving on the south coast. John Lumb had died in an accident within 6 weeks of arrival, and Baines' own son, also called John, had died earlier in the year, in March 1814.

Like with his son, the prison hulk register is the only source of information about Baines' fate, and the cause of death is not recorded there. He would have been aged around 67-68 at the time. Given his age, Baines had done well to survive for almost 2 years - his son was aged only about 35 when he died, and the prison hulks were notorious for their poor conditions.

At this time point, none of the prisoners sentenced to transportation at the York Special Commission had actually been deported.

It is not known where Baines' remains are buried.

13th March 1814: The death of the prisoner John Baines the younger

A detail from 'Portsmouth Harbour with Prison Hulks' by Louis Garneray, c.1820. The Halifax prisoners were held in ships similar to these at the adjoining harbour at Langstone, immediately to the east of Portsmouth

On Sunday 13th March 1814, John Baines the younger, one of the five men from Halifax found guilty at the York Special Commission of being involved in administering illegal oaths, died on board a prison hulk in Langstone harbour, near Portsmouth.

Baines was the second man to die of the 7 prisoners sentenced to transportation at the York Special Commission. Only 6 weeks after they were sentenced, another of the convicted men, John Lumb, had been run over by a cart which killed him.

Little is known about the cause of Baines death & how he died. The only record is amongst a list of prisoners held on the HMS Portland, where his fate is recorded. Baines would have been around 35 years of age, and his elderly father, also called John (and who was by then about 67), was still alive aboard the same hulk, as were the other prisoners from Halifax. At this stage, none of them had been transported abroad, as per their sentence.

Conditions aboard these prison ships were notoriously poor, to the extent that even those in reasonable health stood a good chance of falling ill from disease. Baines' sentence at York had essentially been a death sentence, only a cruel, slow and lingering one.

11th March 1813: The Luddite convict, John Lumb, is killed in an accident at Portsmouth

The 7 prisoners convicted and sentenced to transportation at the York Special Commission had left York for the Prison Hulk HMS Portland, moored at Langstone Harbour, Portsmouth on Monday 1st February 1813. But within 6 weeks, one of them was already dead.

John Lumb had cheated the hangman by being reprieved of his death sentence, the reprieve meaning he faced transportation to the colonies for life. But on Thursday 11th March 1813, in what we can only imagine was some kind of accident, he was 'killed by a cart running over him' according to the Prison Hulk register. No other details are available.

12th December 1812: The Luddite convict, Thomas Holden, writes a final letter before leaving England

Ship Fortune
Dec 12th, 1812

Dear Wife                       

I received your kind letter wich gave me Great comfort to hear from you I wonderd the reason I  Didnot hear from you sooner Theirfore I sent a letter to Know the reason you Didnot write to me but I received your Letter about the Same time you received my Letter, you say you are going to send some flannel Shirts but if you have not Sent them of I hope you will not send the [illegible] as it is an Hot Climate wheare we are going Therefore they will be very useless things but anything els that you may have to send that is Right, would be very serviceable and I hope you will not fail in sending Immediately as we Dont Know Know one Day before another

I hope you will not mind what you may hear from any one that writes to boulton Saying how good anyone have been to me for I in all my illness have Received no favour from any one of they that Come from boulton but for the other way I dont hold any conversation with any one of them, I thank God I am getting better now Daily – but what my father Desired me to get I have not got it in my Power to get it. if you have got any trifull of money to send to me, it would be thankfully to Received it and please not to Delay any time what ever in Sending as we expect to Sail Daily I hope and pray Cornel Fletcher will have the goodness to Sign a petition for me, and, I hope you will let me know every particulars you can in your next letter, if Brayley Box is not Lent I will be Obliged to you to send me a Quire of Writing Paper, and a few pens as they are very Dear hear. I Remember my Love to my Wifes father and Mother and her Sister Nancy and to my Dear Loving Mother and Brother and Father and I Conclude with Remaining your ever Loving Son and Husband till Death Thomas Holding, in the Next Letter you sends to me please to put my Christian Name in full as follows, Thomas Holding

For
Mary Holding
to be Left at the Sign
of the Golden Lion
Church Gate
Boulton Lei Moores
Lancashire

29th November 1812: A poorly Thomas Holden write from his transportation ship, The Fortune

On board the fortune November 29th 1812

Dear and loving wife I take opertunity of Righting a fue lines to you hoping they Will find you all in good helth but Dear wife I am very Sorry to inform you that I am Very Bad of the yellow Jandes and has been for a fortnight and I am still getting Worse and if I Very Soon do not get some Relif I am afrade I shall not Recover and dear wife I think it is with being so Close Confined and I have taken to my Bed – and dear wife I am Very unhappy Concerning I have Sent a letter and never Recevid no ancer and you knowing we may Saill any Day as Dear wife It is all the Confert I have in this world to hear from you Dear Wife I have no frend hear but John Fisher and he wates upon me and Lookes after me like a Brother Dear wife I have hard you have pititioned to go with me and Dear wife I Could wish to know if you have any prospect of going with me or getting me off

Dear wife you know it would not be too late to get my Sentance Mitgated if we were oute of the Contry as I would have you to do all you Can for me and Dear Wife the Capn dose not open the letters as the Capn dose at Langston harbour and dear Wife I Could wish to know if you have any Prospect of Coming to me and I would have you to Right amedintly by the Return of Post and Give my love to your sister Nancy and So no moar at Present from your Ever Loving and Effecned Husbant til Death Thomas Holding 

Dear Honored father and Mother I think it Propper to inform you what Situation I am in as you desired to know Dear father and Mother the Plase that I am in is like unto that which Mr Fletcher put me and my Brother and my Uncel [    ] into my Beddin is as Bad or worse -- and here are alowed to go on Deck aboute one hour Per Day and Some Times more & many Bolt[oun] [Donyours]

Dear Honored father and Mother we have Beene 7 weeks withoute Cleane Shorts and we asked the Capn for Shorts and he Said they Could not be Durty yeat – and I weare Irones on boath kegs as we did Before at the hulks Deare Honored father and mother if you Cannot Do nothing for me and very Soon I am Sure you will neve See me alive agane and give my love to my Brother and I I have Eaten nothing for 3 days not on[e] penny worth of meate – and so no moare at present from your Ever loving and Effecned but unfortunate and unhapy Son til deat for Ever Ever moare

Thomas Holding

22nd November 1812: The Luddite convict, Thomas Holden, writes fom his transportation ship, the Fortune

By Sunday 22nd November 1812, the Luddite convict Thomas Holden, had now been moved from the Prison Hulk Portland to the Fortune, the ship that would eventually deport him to Australia. He wrote from the ship to his wife:

on board the Fortune November 22
1812

Dear and loving wife I take this opertunity of Righting a fue lines to you hoping to find you and my Dear Child in a good State of helth and Dear wife I have been Very poorly Ever since I Came on Board this Ship But thank God I am getting a deal better and Dear Wife I Receved your kind and welkum letter on the 22 and dear Wife you say you Could wish to go along with me you little know how I am soled it is a long voyeg of six months and my Brother Said he wished he was in my sted But he little knowes my Sircumstance and dear wife if any thing Should happen any of us from Boulton we let know with all speed

Dear wife you desire me to Right at all opertunitys and you may Depend I Shall But it is a great Deal of truble and Difficulty to get to Right a letter hear Dear wife it dose not troble me to much Being Confined hear as Being parted from you and my dear Child Dear wife we are among a deal a differnd Soarts of peple But If I live to Serve my time oute as I trust In god I Shall you may depend upon it I Shall Returne to Ingland and then I hope we Shall Spend the Remander of our Days in this world in love and happyness togater Dear wife if you Send me any moar money I Beg you will Send it in a Noat and not a post office order and Pay the poastidge

Dear wife as Soon as I reach my jorneys End I Shall Right to you and if thear is any prospect of you Coming to me and us doing well I will send for you and shortly so I would have you to get all the money Gathered togater as you Can Dear father and Mother I hope you will never Seace doing all you Can to get my Pardin or to get me to Stop in Inglond you might get my pardon Sooner But if I go I hope you will do all you Can to fetch me Back agane to you and I hope you will keepe Sending up Pertisones to Government to get me off or to get my Sentance mitegated dear if think I do any moar I hope you will Right and let know by Return of post for we may Sail any Day or we may Stop a month we do not know and So I must Conclude and so no moar at Present from your Ever Loving Efecned husband and Son til Death Thomas Holdin

Please to give my love to my father in low and
Mother in low and Nancy Barret and Thomas
Baret and all inquiring Frie[n]ds

[To] Mary Holden
to be Left at the
Golden Lion Church
Gate Bolton Lee
Moars Lancshire