The Yorkshire West Riding Revolt of April 1820 was an uprising planned by working class radicals. It is thought to have been associated with Scottish uprisings, and occurred just as those arrested in the

Peterloo Massacre The Peterloo Massacre took place at St Peter's Field, Manchester, Lancashire, England, on Monday 16 August 1819. Fifteen people died when cavalry charged into a crowd of around 60,000 people who had gathered to demand the reform of parliament ...

and other reform demonstrations of 1819 were coming to trial. The desire for universal suffrage, annual elections and an end to the Corn Laws were the main motivation for radicals.

Events

The news of

spread far and wide, with fairground booths as far away as Devon displaying detailed hand-coloured prints of the scene. There were protest meetings, which led to further arrests, and for a time rebellion appeared to threaten. In the spring of 1820 there was serious unrest in Yorkshire and armed rebellions in Ireland and Scotland; in Glasgow, a provisional government was optimistically proclaimed. On 1 April, about 2,000 armed men approached the town of

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

from four directions, with the intention of taking the town from the garrison stationed there. About 400 men within Huddersfield itself were part of the plan. However, for some reason the plan was aborted, the insurgents withdrew and returned to their homes and only four men were arrested, after the event.Fred Donnell
‘The Yorkshire Rebellion of 1820: what caused it?’
in ''Albion Magazine Online'' Vo. 4 Issue 2: Summer 2007. On the evening of 11 April, a group of from 300 to 500 men from Barnsley and the nearby villages of Dodworth and Monk Bretton marched to Grange Moore, near Huddersfield. They believed that they were part of a rising postponed from 1 April and that they would meet with other groups and take Huddersfield. They carried arms and provisions, marched to a drum beat and carried political banners which they had used in meetings in 1819. On arriving at Grange Moore, they found that only about 20 men from Huddersfield had come to join them, and that the other towns had not mobilised. Most fled, and when the military arrived to confront them, they arrested a small group who did not resist. In

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, a simultaneous event did take place, although as on 1 April, a planned attack on a barracks was apparently aborted. About 200 armed men assembled, marched, split into two groups then reassembled in the Haymarket. They chanted ‘

Hunt Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, e ...

and Liberty’, ‘The Revolution, the Revolution’ and ‘All in the Mind for the Barracks’. Their leader, John Blackwell, symbolically fired off a pistol, but this was the only shot fired. The men simply dispersed. At Halifax, as in Sheffield, there was a meeting of men who chanted loudly and fired off a rocket, before dispersing. At

Mirfield Mirfield () is a town and civil parish in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the A644 road between Brighouse and Dewsbury. At the 2011 census it had a population of 19,563. Mirfield f ...

and

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Hudder ...

there were general strikes. On 12 April at

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, about 300 men assembled, thinking they were to be part of a general rising, but as in Grange Moore, dispersed in confusion. Apparently the strategy had been to take towns and intercept the mail coaches in the North of England. The Scottish radicals would know that the uprising had begun when the mail coaches did not arrive, and begin their own. In Huddersfield, the plan had been to take the cavalry and infantry barracks, and shut up the principal civil people in their homes, before declaring an interim government.Rede, Leman Thomas ''York Castle in the nineteenth century, being an account of all the principal offences committed in Yorkshire from 1800 to the present day, with the lives of the capitol offenders….'' London: John Bennett, 1831. pp. 649-657 (Google digitised book).

Arrests and trials

Four men were prosecuted as a result of the events on 1 April. John Peacock and John Lindley were transported to Van Diemen's Land and Nathaniel Buckely and Thomas Blackburn served two years imprisonment before being pardoned. Twenty two men were prosecuted for High

Treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

as a result of the events of 12 April at Grange Moore. They admitted their actions and entered a group plea of guilty, relying on William Comstive, their leader, to be their spokesman. They were sentenced to death but recommended for mercy and the sentences were commuted to imprisonment or transportation to

Van Diemen’s Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sepa ...

. Eleven of the 22 were told they would be deported to Van Dieman's Land – the Australian penal colony which was later renamed Tasmania, while the rest were sent to the 'hulks'(prison ships). John Burkinshaw and his brother George Burkinshaw were among those charged with high treason. One pleaded guilty; the rest including John and George pleaded not guilty. The penalty if the charge was proved was death; however, they were told if they changed their plea to guilty, they would be spared. The guilty plea was subsequently entered and the death sentence was replaced with transportation – 11 of them, including John, for life and the remainder, including George, for 14 years. The ‘lifers’ were sent to Van Dieman’s Land. Eleven arrived in 1820 on the 'Lady Ridley' and a twelfth transportee, Michael Downing, arrived on the 'Phoenix' in 1822. John Blackwell was arrested for the events at Sheffield, in which he had acted a leader. He served 30 months in prison. A few weavers were arrested as a result of the events at Wigan.

References

{{reflist * Ness, Immanuel (ed) ''The International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest'' 2009.
Guide to Researching your convict ancestors includes information on the Yorkshire rebels
1820 in England Reform movements Radicalism (historical) Political history of the United Kingdom Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom Conflicts in 1820 West Riding of Yorkshire 1820 in politics April 1820 events