William Benbow (1787 – 1864) was a
nonconformist
Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to:
Culture and society
* Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior
*Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity
** ...
preacher, pamphleteer, pornographer and publisher, and a prominent figure of the
Reform Movement
A reform movement or reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary mo ...
in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
and London.
[William Benbow]
www.spartacus-schoolnet.co.uk. Access date 27 August 2012. He worked with
William Cobbett
William Cobbett (9 March 1763 – 18 June 1835) was an English pamphleteer, journalist, politician, and farmer born in Farnham, Surrey. He was one of an agrarian faction seeking to reform Parliament, abolish "rotten boroughs", restrain foreign ...
on the radical newspaper ''
Political Register
The ''Cobbett's Weekly Political Register'', commonly known as the ''Political Register'', was a weekly London-based newspaper founded by William Cobbett in 1802. It ceased publication in 1836, the year after Cobbett's death.
History
Originally ...
'', and spent time in prison as a consequence of his writing, publishing and campaigning activities. He has been credited with formulating and popularising the idea of a
general strike
A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...
for the purpose of political reform.
[Carpenter, Niles]
William Benbow and the Origin of the General Strike
''The Quarterly Journal of Economics'' , Vol. 35, No. 3 (May, 1921), pp. 491-499. Oxford University Press
Early life, religion and family
Benbow was born on 5 February 1787 in Middlewich, Cheshire, son of William Benbow, shoemaker, and his wife Hannah (née Chear). His early employment history is unknown, but McCalman describes him as an ex-soldier.
By 1808 he was preaching Nonconformist sermons in the
Newton
Newton most commonly refers to:
* Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist
* Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton
Newton may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film
* Newton ( ...
area of
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, and evidence suggests he may have been a
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
.
He appears as "William Benbow, of Manchester, shoemaker" in a list of the leading reformers of Lancashire in 1816.
When interviewed in
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
gaol in 1841, where he was serving a sentence for sedition, he described himself as a married shoemaker with three sons, and gave his religion as
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...
.
Publishing and political activism
Benbow attended political meetings in London during 1816 as a delegate of one of the Lancashire
Hampden Clubs The Hampden Clubs were political campaigning and debating societies formed in England in the early 19th century as part of the Radical Movement. They were particularly concentrated in the Midlands and the northern counties, and were closely associat ...
, and became interested in
Spenceanism.
He was closely involved with planning the attempted
Blanketeers protest march by Lancashire weavers in March 1817
and was one of a number of radicals arrested in the wake of this event and the subsequent severe crackdown by the authorities, amidst rumours that mass uprisings were being plotted in industrial centres like Manchester. His protest petition to Parliament in 1818, presented along with a number of others, describes how he was apprehended in Dublin on 16 May 1817, spent eight months on remand in London, then was released without trial, lacking the resources to travel home to Manchester.
He established himself as a political radical in London, where he was an associate of
William Cobbett
William Cobbett (9 March 1763 – 18 June 1835) was an English pamphleteer, journalist, politician, and farmer born in Farnham, Surrey. He was one of an agrarian faction seeking to reform Parliament, abolish "rotten boroughs", restrain foreign ...
and passed his time "agitating the labouring classes at their trades meetings and club-houses"
according to the memoirs of the Manchester radical
Samuel Bamford, who also spent several months in the
Coldbath Fields Prison in London and petitioned Parliament unsuccessfully for redress.
To support himself and his radical activities, Benbow worked as a printer, publisher and bookseller, and also as a
coffee house
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non- ...
proprietor. In addition to political texts, he also produced pirated editions of other works, and pornography – around 1818 he employed the young
William Dugdale
Sir William Dugdale (12 September 1605 – 10 February 1686) was an English antiquary and herald. As a scholar he was influential in the development of medieval history as an academic subject.
Life
Dugdale was born at Shustoke, near Coleshi ...
who went on to become one of London's most notorious publishers of obscene and pornographic material. He was closely linked to the writer and publisher
George Cannon, printing and marketing a number of his works and translations, and it has been suggested that some of the writings published under Benbow's name may have been written by Cannon.
When William Cobbett fled to America in 1817 to avoid arrest, his radical newspaper, the ''
Political Register
The ''Cobbett's Weekly Political Register'', commonly known as the ''Political Register'', was a weekly London-based newspaper founded by William Cobbett in 1802. It ceased publication in 1836, the year after Cobbett's death.
History
Originally ...
'', continued to be published in London by Benbow until his return in 1820.
[Newspapers]
(2003) www.georgianindex.net. Accessed 27 August 2012.
In 1822 Benbow published an edition of
Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...
's ''
Don Juan'', and also an edition of
William Lawrence's controversial ''The Natural History of Man'' (1819), which had lost its copyright protection when deemed blasphemous by the Lord Chancellor. A heated exchange with the then Poet Laureate
Robert Southey, who objected to Benbow's unauthorised reprinting of parts of his early poem ''Wat Tyler'', prompted a response in the form of a pamphlet entitled ''A Scourge for the Laureate'' in which Benbow drew a pointed contrast between the radical sentiments of the early poem and Southey's later role within the establishment.
Benbow printed his pirate edition of Southey's work under the imprint of his bookshop and publishing house, the Byron's Head, in Castle Street,
Leicester Square
Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester ...
. Among other works under this imprint was a pirated edition of ''Posthumous Poems of Percy Bysshe Shelley'', which had been issued by Shelley's widow Mary in 1824 and swiftly withdrawn.
In 1832 he published ''Crimes of Clergy'', a collection of his own articles highly critical of Church of England ministers. The articles had previously been published individually, and one, dated May 1821, gives its place of composition as
King's Bench Prison.
In early July 1821 Benbow's
MP,
John Cam Hobhouse
John Cam Hobhouse, 1st Baron Broughton, (27 June 1786 – 3 June 1869), known as Sir John Hobhouse, Bt, from 1831 to 1851, was an English politician and diarist.
Early life
Born at Redland near Bristol, Broughton was the eldest son of Sir ...
, had raised the case of Benbow's imprisonment in Parliament, requesting the Attorney General to investigate the matter.
The Grand National Holiday
On 28 January 1832 Benbow published a pamphlet entitled ''Grand National Holiday and Congress of the Productive Classes''. He had joined the
National Union of the Working Classes in 1831, and his coffee house and beer shop at 8 Theobalds Road, otherwise known as the Institution of the Working Classes, became the focus for the Union's activities.
Benbow was a regular, high-profile speaker at its gatherings at
Blackfriars Rotunda
The Blackfriars Rotunda was a building in Southwark, near the southern end of Blackfriars Bridge across the River Thames in London, that existed from 1787 to 1958 in various forms. It initially housed the collection of the Leverian Museum after it ...
, where he advocated direct and even violent action for political reform, and in particular his idea for a "national holiday" and "national convention". By this he meant an extended period of
general strike
A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...
by the working classes, which would be a sacred or holy action (hence "holy-day"), during which time local committees would keep the peace and elect delegates to a national convention or congress, which would agree the future direction of the nation. In his pamphlet Benbow drew parallels between his plan and the ancient Jewish
Jubilee year
A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of ...
, which embraced concepts like forgiveness of debt and redistribution of land. The striking workers were to support themselves with savings and confiscated parish funds, and by demanding contributions from rich people. Benbow briefly edited published a newspaper, the ''Tribune of the People'', whose subject-matter was the topics to be included in the congress, but it was discontinued after just three issues. In April 1832 he was arrested again, along with
James Watson
James Dewey Watson (born April 6, 1928) is an American molecular biologist, geneticist, and zoologist. In 1953, he co-authored with Francis Crick the academic paper proposing the double helix structure of the DNA molecule. Watson, Crick and ...
and
William Lovett, for his involvement in planning a Chartist parade and "general feast"
He was tried and acquitted the following month.
Benbow's popularity waned for a time after the passage of the
Reform Bill, but his idea of a Grand National Holiday or "sacred month" was adopted by the
Chartist Congress of 1839, Benbow having spent time in Manchester during 1838–9 promoting the cause and his pamphlet.
The month was scheduled to begin on 12 August, but on 4 August Benbow was arrested for seditious libel along with
George Julian Harney
George Julian Harney (17 February 1817 – 9 December 1897) was a British political activist, journalist, and Chartist leader. He was also associated with Marxism, socialism, and universal suffrage.
Early life
George Julian Harney, the son ...
, for campaigning to persuade workers to participate. The Chartists called off the strike. Benbow spent eight months on remand. At his trial, in
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
in April 1840, he spoke for over ten hours in his own defence, but was convicted and sentenced to sixteen months imprisonment.
William Benbow, his wife and son George emigrated to Australia around 1853. He died in Sydney on 24 February 1864.
[Kent, Gary, 'Tom Paine's Grave-Robber Ends His Days In Sydney', ''History'', Magazine of the Royal Australian Historical Society, March 2015, no 123, pp 11-14;]
See also
*
Rotunda radicals
The Rotunda radicals, known at the time as Rotundists or Rotundanists, were a diverse group of social, political and religious radical reformers who gathered around the Blackfriars Rotunda, London, between 1830 and 1832, while it was under the mana ...
*
Blanketeers
References
External links
*
Grand National Holiday and Congress of the Productive Classes' Full text at www.marxists.org.
Further reading
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benbow, William
1787 births
1864 deaths
English Christian religious leaders
Chartists
Prisoners who died in England and Wales detention
English people who died in prison custody
People from Middlewich
Publishers (people) from London
19th-century British businesspeople