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The Pentrich Uprising
Nov. 10th, 2025 09:01 am The Hayes is in Swanwick. Next to Swanwick- less than a mile away- is the even smaller village of Pentrich. I walked there Saturday morning. There's a mediaeval church in Pentrich but we'll save that for another day.
In 1817 Pentrich staged its very own revolution.
It was a poor excuse for a revolution, but one shouldn't mock because people suffered and died.....
A government spy, working for Lord Sidmouth, stirred up the local radicals with lies about a revolution pending in London- and encouraged them to do their bit.
Accordingly, on the night of 9-10 of June a bunch of them armed themselves lightly and set off round the district, shouting for "Reform" and trying to persuade and bully people into joining them Refused entry at one of the bigger houses they broke a window and their leader, Jeremiah Brandreth- an out of work stocking-maker- fired a shot through it, killing a servant. This horrified many of his followers but Brandreth threatened to shoot them too if they deserted- so the increasinly bedraggled and disheartened band carried on their progress through the surrounding villages until they ran into a body of 20 Light Dragoons. The men scattered, 40 were arrested, Brandreth and other leaders initially escaped but were hunted down and made an example of.
The leaders were found guilty of High Treason- the penalty for which was to be hung drawn and quartered. The authorities waived the drawing and quartering (too grisly for the 19th century) but kept the hanging and beheading. This was the last time beheading was carried out at an execution in England. The public were disgusted by the government's over-reaction and by it's ever-so-unEnglish use of an agent provocateur- and literary liberals- notably Percy Shelley and Charles Lamb said uncomplimentary things. Three man went to the scaffold and others were transported to Australia. As a group they became known as the Pentrich martyrs.
The spy- who went by various names, but was known to the revolutionaries as William Oliver- found England too hot to hold him and was hastily shipped out to Cape Colony in South Africa where he avoided lynching, worked as a builder, designed a church and died at 50......
There exists a popular print of Brandreth's head in the hands of the executioner, but this is a family blog so here instead is a pity-inducing portrait of him at his trial
In 1817 Pentrich staged its very own revolution.
It was a poor excuse for a revolution, but one shouldn't mock because people suffered and died.....
A government spy, working for Lord Sidmouth, stirred up the local radicals with lies about a revolution pending in London- and encouraged them to do their bit.
Accordingly, on the night of 9-10 of June a bunch of them armed themselves lightly and set off round the district, shouting for "Reform" and trying to persuade and bully people into joining them Refused entry at one of the bigger houses they broke a window and their leader, Jeremiah Brandreth- an out of work stocking-maker- fired a shot through it, killing a servant. This horrified many of his followers but Brandreth threatened to shoot them too if they deserted- so the increasinly bedraggled and disheartened band carried on their progress through the surrounding villages until they ran into a body of 20 Light Dragoons. The men scattered, 40 were arrested, Brandreth and other leaders initially escaped but were hunted down and made an example of.
The leaders were found guilty of High Treason- the penalty for which was to be hung drawn and quartered. The authorities waived the drawing and quartering (too grisly for the 19th century) but kept the hanging and beheading. This was the last time beheading was carried out at an execution in England. The public were disgusted by the government's over-reaction and by it's ever-so-unEnglish use of an agent provocateur- and literary liberals- notably Percy Shelley and Charles Lamb said uncomplimentary things. Three man went to the scaffold and others were transported to Australia. As a group they became known as the Pentrich martyrs.
The spy- who went by various names, but was known to the revolutionaries as William Oliver- found England too hot to hold him and was hastily shipped out to Cape Colony in South Africa where he avoided lynching, worked as a builder, designed a church and died at 50......
There exists a popular print of Brandreth's head in the hands of the executioner, but this is a family blog so here instead is a pity-inducing portrait of him at his trial
