The document provides details about a presentation given on the history of the Burning of Westhoughton Mill by Luddites in April 1812. It discusses the origins and growth of the Luddite movement among cotton weavers whose livelihoods were threatened by machinery. It then gives specifics about the Chowbent Luddites' attack on Westhoughton Mill, their arrest, trial and sentencing, with some being hanged while others were transported to Australia as convicts. It traces what became of some of the transported convicts and the later uses and demolition of Westhoughton Mill.

1. Presentation about the
history of the Burning of
Westhoughton Mill by Luddites in
April 1812.
Garth Ratcliffe
Westhoughton Local History Group

2. 1844- 47
OS MAP

3. 1844- 47
OS MAP

6. Cotton Weaving – the cottage workers.

7. Background
1. The French Revolution began in 1789 and involved the guillotining of
hundreds of French aristocracy. 1400 were killed in the last six weeks of terror
in 1794 in Paris alone!!
2. In Jan 1793, the revolutionary government declared war on Britain which
would last another 22 years.
3. The Anglo – American war of 1812 – 1815 was about excluding British
influence over trade etc in the northern states etc.
4. Naturally , these wars interrupted the supply of cotton and the trade of
cotton goods and consequently led to reduced income of English cottage
weavers.

8. Origins of the Luddite Movement.
1.In 1811, The Luddite movement
erupted when the earnings of
skilled craftsmen ( silk workers in
Nottinghamshire, woollen workers
in Yorkshire and cotton weavers in
the North West ) were undermined
by the introduction of textile
machines in factories.
These machines could produce
more output cheaper by unskilled
labour.
2.The term Luddism originates from “General” Ludd
who was a leader of the militant workers in
Nottinghamshire where one of them named Ludd, had a
reputation for breaking his loom in temper.
3.Luddism was not just against any progress by
machines but was against a factory system that
exploited labour and also opposed the increased
production of textiles at a time when the income
of skilled weavers was declining substantially
through lack of demand.
4.In addition, the social conditions of weavers
had declined to the extent that some were
desperate and starving.
But representations made to King George III fell
on deaf ears and led to food riots in the area.

9. This montage, by Tom Newton, of the Burning of Westhoughton Mill and the
consequent events, provides a vivid pictorial summary of the exhibition.
1.On 24th April 1812, a
mob of Luddites from
Chowbent break into the
Mill on the land opposite
the White Lion.
2. The Mill is set on fire
using straw from the
White Lion stables.
3. The
Scots
Greys
round up
the
suspects
from
Chowbent
, the next
day.
4. The suspects
are “examined”
by local
magistrates ,
Ralph Fletcher,
Wm Hulton and
Wm Hampson.
Some are
committed for
trial at
Lancaster
Castle Assizes.
In addition
other Luddites
are charged
with illegal
oathtaking.
5. Four
men are
found
guilty of
burning
the Mill
and
hanged.
6. Nine other
prisoners are
found guilty of
illegal oath
taking and
sentenced to 7
years
transportation
to Australia.
7. The prisoners are
taken to
Portsmouth and
then sail to Sydney
on the Fortune 2.

10. Bolton Luddites
The Bolton Luddites were cotton weavers desperately poor, short of money, food and clothing
as a result of the dramatic decline of their income. Their pleas for government help had been
rejected. But what could they do to remedy their circumstances?
They needed to act collectively, but meetings and unionism had been
made illegal by the government of King George III. Hence secret
meetings were held by the weavers, at night, to make plans.
There are records of where these meetings took place
in 1811 and 1812 – a) by the Sign of the Gibraltar Rock
Inn on Deane Road b) at the Lord Nelson Inn on Derby
Street c) at the Rope Walk and the Brick Kiln off Derby
Street. These locations are shown on the subsequent
1814 map of Bolton.
The Luddite Oath
I of my own free will and accord do hereby promise, and swear
that I will never reveal any of the names of any one of this secret
committee, under the penalty of being sent out of this world by
the first brother that may meet me, I furthermore do swear, that I
will pursue with unceasing vengeance any traitor or traitors,
should there any arise should he fly to the verge of —— .
I furthermore do swear that I will be sober and faithful in all my
dealings with all my brothers, and if ever I declare them, my name
to be blotted out from the list of society, and never to be
remembered, but with contempt and abhorrence.
So help me God to keep this my oath inviolate.
It was unlawful to attend meetings that challenged
authority.
In order to maintain secrecy of meetings and plans,
members of the Luddite movement were required to “take
the oath”, shown below.
But it was illegal to take this oath and the penalty was seven
years transportation to Australia

11. Names and addresses of the Transported
Luddites convicted of Oathtaking (from the
1811 Census)
James Brierley - Howell Croft
John Burney - Sweet Green
John Fisher - Green St
John Hurst - Back Rothwell St
James Knowles - Deansgate
Christopher Metcalfe - Foundry Square
Thomas Pickup - Bengal Square
Sam Ratcliffe - Rothwell St
Henry Thwaite - Howell Croft
Thomas Holden we know from his letters lived at
Hag End, Darcy Lever
Joseph Greenhalgh - Hag End
List of men convicted of illegal oathtaking or
administering an illegal oath, and their
addresses.

12. Ralph Fletcher and the Bolton Local Militia
1.Groups of over 50 people, mainly
weavers, attended meetings on Bolton
Moor and Deane Moor. These meetings
were infiltrated by spies who reported
back to Colonel Ralph Fletcher, the
commander of the Bolton Local Militia.
2.These spies were paid by
Colonel Fletcher using money
provided by the Home Office.
Many of the convictions of the
Luddites were secured by the
evidence of spies.
3.Evidence of the spy system is
provided by the letters between
Ralph Fletcher and the Home
Office. Copies of some of these
are available at the information
table. 4.Ralph Fletcher lived at the Hollins
which was located on Radcliffe Road,
Bolton just before the road descends
to Darcy Lever.
5.Although he had a reputation as a
ruthless man, he was driven by the
belief that there were rebellious
forces present in England who were
determined to instigate rebellion and
revolution. His intention was to
eliminate these radical republican
movements.
6.Hence he regularly communicated
with the King George III and Prince
Regent, through the Home Office, in
return for money to pay spies.
7.An extract of one of Ralph
Fletcher’s letters is shown below.

13. Why did the Chowbent Luddites Attack Westhoughton Mill?
1. Westhoughton Mill was built on the
Factory Nook, opposite Mill Street,
about 1804 by R Lockett and leased to
Thomas Wroe of Hollinwood in
Oldham, cotton manufacturer, and
James Duncuff about 1806.
2. The mill was very advanced for
the time and contained about 170
weaving looms that were steam
driven. It is likely that the water
supply needed was drawn from
Dam’s Head locality and stored in a
reservoir near the Reform Club
bowling green.
3. Scores of people must have worked at
the Mill and the names of some are
specified as witnesses in the trial reports.
4.In 1811 Luddites had attacked
and burned factories in Middleton
and Stockport. There were
meetings between Manchester,
Stockport and Bolton Luddites so it
was natural for similar attacks to
occur on mills in the Bolton area.
5.In addition, particular spies who
attended the Luddite meetings, urged
action to attack mills, possibly to justify
the views of their paymaster Ralph
Fletcher that rebellion was imminent
and needed quelling.

14. The Chowbent Luddites.
1. Chowbent is the area of Atherton in the
vicinity of Atherton Central railway station
and towards the centre of Atherton.
2.Chowbent Chapel is located on
Bolton Old Road and was a centre of
radicalism having broken away from
the conformist church of Atherton.
The Chowbent weavers were noted
as rebellious.
3. The Chowbent weavers
attended the Luddite meetings
held on Deane Moor and Bolton
Moor.
4. It was reported, at a
meeting of the Chowbent
Luddites, that an attack on
Westhoughton Factory was
proposed. “Lets brun it
deawn”.
5. Chowbent and Hag Fold are located
just a few miles over the fields from
Westhoughton so it was easy for the
Luddites to walk to the factory.

15. Some Details of the Attack on the Factory
1.On the afternoon of Friday 24th
April, a mob of over 50 people
gathered near Chowbent market and
walked to the Westhoughton factory
carrying various large tools ie hedge
hooks, scythes.
2.It is possible that they walked
up Bag Lane and Platt Lane or
through Daisy Hill and the Hall
Lee park to arrive at the factory
Nook.
3.The factory was unattended
because the supervisor Joseph Kay,
having been forewarned, had gone
to Bolton to fetch the Scots Greys.
Some workers who had been asked
to guard the factory were
completely outnumbered.
4.But the factory was locked and
entry was gained by smashing
windows and breaking down the
door using the weapons the
Luddites had carried.
a). Some of the witnesses were local residents
others were employees at the mill. Their accounts
are in the trial reports.
Witness Accounts of breaking
looms and burning the mill.
b). Joseph Kay, the Mill superintendent,
rode to Bolton to fetch the Greys about
4.00pm. The Greys had been present at
the Mill between 1 and 2 pm but there
was no disturbance then.
c). George Hilton, lives in Westhoughton,
is a weaver and remembers the day
Westhoughton Factory was burned down.
On that day he saw John Shuttleworth
and Job Fletcher near the Mill.
d). Holland Isherwood lives at Hag Fold,
in Atherton and knows that
Shuttleworth lives at Hag Fold and Job
Fletcher just below Hag Fold.
e).Bold Howarth informed Isherwood
that the factory would be burned
down that afternoon.

16. Culprits rounded up and taken to Lancaster Castle by horse and cart.
Committed for Trial
James Smith
John Charlton
William Kay
Samuel Radcliffe
Abraham Bullough
Thomas Kerfoot
John Shuttleworth
Job Fletcher
Bold Howarth
Abraham Charleston
Robert Woodward
John Bromilow
Lydia Molyneaux
Mary Molyneaux
1. It is noteworthy that all the people charged with burning the factory came from
Chowbent with the exception of Samuel Radcliffe.
2. In fact none of the Luddites lived in Westhoughton.

17. The trial at Lancaster Castle, quarterly assizes.
This session dealt with the cases of 68 men and women including
those charged with illegal oath taking and breaking looms and burning
a factory.

18. Corridor of prisoners
cells at Lancaster
Castle
Inside a prisoners cell.

19. Below is shown an extract of the charges/alleged offences
against the names of the accused.

21. Details of Cases Against the Accused
This image shows the first page of
the prosecution case against the
Luddites accused of “setting fire to
a Mill warehouse and shop in
Westhoughton”.
The names of the accused and the
verdicts, Guilty or Not Guilty are
listed on the left.
This document was photo
graphed at the National
Archive , Kew and the
complete copy with
transcription is available at
the information desk.

22. The Results of the Trial of men charged with breaking machinery
and burning mill
The Judge ( Baron Thompson ) summed up the evidence for
one hour and twenty minutes . The jury retired nearly one
and a half hours and brought in their verdicts.
The trial lasted from eight o’clock in the morning to near ten
o’clock in the evening.
James Smith
Thomas Kerfoot
Job Fletcher
Abraham Charleston
All found guilty of breaking into and
burning Westhoughton Factory and
sentenced to be hanged. Executed on
13th June 1812.
The condemned
men waited in this
room of the castle
before exiting
through the door
to the “hanging
corner” shown
below.

24. Details of Transportation
1. The convicted men
were taken to
London and then on
to Portsmouth by
coach/waggon.
2. At Portsmouth the
men were
imprisoned in a
ship’s hulk at
Langstone Harbour
until a ship was
available for the
scheduled journey
to Australia.
3. On 3rd Dec 1812 the convict ship
“Fortune 2” embarked for New South
Wales. The journey required some 8
months because of the need to “catch”
the prevailing winds blowing in the
correct direction. Hence the first stop
was Rio De Janeiro!
4. The Fortune 2 arrived at
Sydney on June 11th, 1813.
5. According to the ship’s muster,
Thomas Pickup was not transported
because of his age and John Burney died
in Rio de Janeiro.
6. The Westhoughton Local History Group
were interested in finding out what happened
to these convicts? Did they all die in Australia?
Did they have families? Did any of them return
to UK/Bolton?

25. John Burney – died in Rio de Janeiro during transportation.
Thomas Holden – lived in Hag Fold, Darcy Lever and his case is distinctive because there
are records of the letters that he sent to his parents when he was in Lancaster Castle,
Portsmouth and NSW. These letters were delivered to theGolden Lion, Churchgate.
granted pardon in 1817 and returned to England. Listed on 1851 census of Bolton.
James Brierley – married Maria Roberts a convict , in 1816 and produced five children
but few survived. He died in 1824. The name has changed to Brailey.
John Fisher – was featured on an 1828 census of Mount Pleasant, was married with
a son who died aged 15 months. Fisher died in 1836.
Joseph Greenhalgh – although married in Australia and produced children , he died
without any descendants.
John Hurst – married a convict Margaret in 1814 and moved to Tasmania. From there the couple may have
sailed on the ship Mary in 1821 to Liverpool UK because a Mr and Mrs Hurst were on the passenger list.
James Knowles – was granted a certificate of freedom in 1817 and sailed to the Brazils in
1818. He may have made his way back to England.
Christopher Medcalf – died in 1831 aged 65 in Liverpool, Sydney Hospital with no record of any relatives.
Thomas Pickup – too old to travel to NSW; served 3 years of his sentence in Portsmouth.
Samuel Radcliffe – there are no records of this person after 1833 and he may have returned to England.
Henry Thwaite – No records of marriage or producing offspring, but remained friendly with
Samuel Radcliffe and may also have returned to England.
Brief Summary of the Fate of the Transported Convicts

26. Two descendants of James Brierley, namely Catherine Rowntree and Philip Brailey who
reside in Australia, have contacted WLHG.
James Brierley (1779 - 1824)
is your 4th great grandfather
Martha Mary (Maria) Brierley/Brailey (1816 - 1890)
Daughter of James
Frances Kingsbury (1841 - 1875)
Daughter of Martha Mary (Maria)
Martha Jane People (1875 - 1948)
Daughter of Frances
Gladys Ellen Dowsett (1905 - 1989)
Daughter of Martha Jane
Raymond John Thompson (1941 - )
Son of Gladys Ellen
Catherine Marea Thompson /Catherine Rowntree
“ I just found you on the net. My ggg
grandfather was James Brierley one of the
rioters sent to Australia in 1813. All the birth
death & marriage Certs show the problems
with the spelling. It did change to Brailey and I
an proud to say that I still have carried on the
name”.
Kind regards,
Philip Brailey
19 Morinda Street
Mt Annan NSW 2567
Australia

27. An example of
the Oath of
Allegiance
(James Lyon)

28. Fate of the Mill
1824 – used as a cornmill.
1845 – used again as a weaving mill.
1856 – Rebuilt after being struck by lightning.
1890 – Flock manufacturing.
1900 – Mill demolished.