The Midland Revolt was a popular uprising which occurred in the

Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1607. Beginning in late April in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

, in Haselbech, Pytchley and Rushton, it spread to

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

and

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

in May. The riots were a protest against the

enclosure Enclosure or inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land", enclosing it, and by doing so depriving commoners of their traditional rights of access and usage. Agreements to enc ...

common land Common land is collective land (sometimes only open to those whose nation governs the land) in which all persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...

and drew considerable support, led by "Captain Pouch", otherwise John Reynolds, a

tinker Tinker or tinkerer is an archaic term for an wikt:itinerant, itinerant tinsmith who mends household utensils. Description ''Tinker'' for metal-worker is attested from the thirteenth century as ''tyckner'' or ''tinkler''. Some travelling grou ...

said to be from Desborough, Northamptonshire. He claimed authority from the King to destroy enclosures and promised to protect protesters with the contents of his pouch, carried by his side, which would keep them from harm. He urged them to use no violence in their efforts to destroy the enclosures. Three thousand were recorded at Hillmorton, Warwickshire and 5000 at Cotesbach, Leicestershire. A curfew was imposed in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, for fear its citizens would stream out to join the riots. They pulled down a

gibbet Gibbeting is the use of a gallows-type structure from which the dead or dying bodies of criminals were hanged on public display to deter other existing or potential criminals. Occasionally, the gibbet () was also used as a method of public ex ...

erected there as a warning. It was also during this period that the term '

leveller The Levellers were a political movement active during the English Civil War who were committed to popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law and religious tolerance. The hallmark of Leveller thought was its populism, as sh ...

' was first used.

Newton Rebellion

The culmination of the revolt was the Newton Rebellion. In early June, over a thousand protesters, including women and children, gathered in Newton, near

Kettering Kettering is a market town, market and industrial town, industrial town in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England, west of Cambridge, England, Cambridge, southwest of Peterborough, southeast of Leicester and north- ...

, Northamptonshire, to protest against the enclosures by pulling out hedges and filling ditches. King James I ordered his deputy lieutenants in Northamptonshire to put down the riots. The Treshams – the family at Newton and their better-known

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

cousins at Rushton Hall under Francis Tresham, who had been involved two years earlier in the

Gunpowder Plot The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was an unsuccessful attempted regicide against James VI and I, King James VI of Scotland and I of England by a group of English ...

and had apparently died in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

— were unpopular for voracious enclosure of land. Sir Thomas Tresham of Rushton was the gentleman "most odious in this country". The old Roman Catholic family of Treshams had long disputed about territory with an emerging

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

family, the Montagus of Boughton House. Now Tresham of Newton was enclosing common land, the Brand, which had been part of Rockingham Forest. Edward Montagu, a deputy lieutenant, had spoken against enclosure in Parliament some years earlier, but was now placed by the King in the effective position of defending the Treshams. Local armed bands and militia refused to serve, so that landowners had to use their servants to suppress the rioters on 8 June 1607. The royal

proclamation A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...

was read twice, but the rioters continued and the gentry and their forces charged. Forty or fifty were killed in the pitched battle and the leaders of the protest were hanged and quartered. There is a memorial to the executed at St Faith's Church, Newton, but parish and

assize The assizes (), or courts of assize, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...

records have disappeared. The Tresham family declined soon after. The Montagu family went on through marriage to become Dukes of Buccleuch, one of the biggest landowners in Britain. The Newton Rebellion was one of the last occasions when the peasantry and the gentry of England were in open conflict. John Reynolds' pouch was found after he was captured. When opened, it was found to contain only a piece of green cheese, according to the Chronicles of Stow. Reynolds was hanged.

References

External links

Newton Rebels
Rebellions in England Conflicts in 1607 Enclosures 1607 in England History of Northamptonshire History of Warwickshire History of Leicestershire Military history of Leicestershire Military history of Warwickshire

Newton Rebellion

References

Further readings

External links