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A second visit on March 2010’s ‘Nottingham Big Day Out’ after a fascinating trip to Dukes wood oilfields was to the nearby village of Calverton and it’s tiny, quaint Folk Museum on the Main Street near the shopping precinct. The museum had been elusive to me in the past and I learned that it only opens on one Sunday every month. It’s well worth seeking out though.

The museum sits next to the Baptist Church and it’s tiny interior is crammed with interesting Victoriana. It’s a typical example of an old stocking worker’s cottage – from the home-based workers that spawned the phrase ‘cottage industry’. It has two rooms up and two down. It was explained to visitors that a doctor from the nearby village of Epperstone used one of the lower rooms as his surgery. This room now houses a nice example of a frame worker’s knitting machine. Calverton is of course the home of one William Lee in the 16th Century. Lee invented the knitting machine it is said due to a woman he was courting at the time being more interested in knitting than in him! Travelling further in the early 1800s’ a violent reaction occurred against the stocking frame machines when Ned Ludd of Leicestershire was said to have sabotaged two of the machines as a protest against the loss of labour caused by William Lee’s invention. ‘The Luddites’ and their movement wrought bloody riot and disarray around the villages of Nottinghamshire and further beyond into Yorkshire, Lancashire and further. Still to this day day we talk of a ‘Luddite’ as one who shuns or ignores technological advances.

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It was explained by the friendly guide how difficult life would have been in the days of stocking frame workers. The children of the house would begin work at just nine years of age and every member of the family would do their share. It was a hard life, living in tiny, cramped and overcrowded conditions. Bare brink floors to walk upon and damp walls were normal. At this cottage the water had been drawn typically from a well in the back garden. Illumination of the home was a curious affair. The light was provided in the form of a paraffin lamp or even just a candle, placed behind a globe made of glass filled with spring water and Aqua Fortis for magnification. An example of this sits in a lower window.

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The museum is a nice resource for Calverton people as it has information about many of the local families. There’s something for everyone though and I particularly enjoyed leafing through some very random old scrap books upstairs that had been donated. Sepia images of a smiling thirties Don Bradman leapt out out of the delicate pages. Scattered around were many artefacts and perhaps some of the most interesting to me were those that had survived from Victorian times into the 1960s’ of my childhood such as ‘whips and tops’ and the old strap-on roller skates.

It was an extremely warm welcome we received at the Calverton Folk Museum. One of the guides and two other visitors I discovered had all attended Redhill School a few summers ago and we had a nice chat talking about old times and some of those teachers at the suburban school. It’s not easy to catch this slice of local history with it’s doors open but I’d urge anyone with an interest to catch and hour two there on the Sunday every month that it opens. It’s a lovely visit.

http://stuartfrew.wordpress.com/2010/04/02/calverton-folk-museum/

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Thanks Stu,

This looks like a great visit.

I lived in Calverton from the age of 9 until I moved down the A52 25 years ago but the museum wasn`t operating in those days.

I`m very interested in the lifestyle of the cottage knitter as, when I was researching my family history, I found several generations described in the census as 'Framework Knitter'. One of my ancestors was described as a 'Trades Union Secretary' after an early description as a FWK. I must look into his situation at some point.

Has anybody been to the Framework Knitting Museum at Ruddington? I`ve accessed its website but haven`t been able to visit. I must get out more.

It`s surprising how limiting it is to be a non-car-owner these days. Even with the magic bus pass!

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Nice one Stu,

Thats jogged me memory cells, back in the late 80's I used to attend a lot of guided walks organised by the city council (they probably still do them) and one of them was around Calverton, I always thought the place was famous for it's coal but as you say it's the "stocking frame" and the knitters, after walking around Calverton we ended up at that cottage and although cramped it was an interesting place full of what was ordinary household items but now much forgotten, there was also an elderly gent there who could operate the stocking frame that was upstairs in front of the bedroom window, we were also told that a family of eight lived in the cottage, parents and six children, might be worth trying to find out if the council still run these historical walks

Rog

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Eileen - you must have some great memories of Calverton. Remember the lido? How about the ghost story surrounding Georges Hill - that's a cracker!

Rog - sounds like an interesting series of walks. The only thing I've taken part in locally (apart from my own!) are the ones at Bestwood Country Park which are very enjoyable and informative.

The stocking frame is now downstairs in the 'parlour'. I'd hate to think of them wrestling that machine up those tiny narrow stairs! (see below)

As we know, the likes of Calverton, Woodborough and Lambley were big focal points for this kind of cottage industry. Many of the old houses in those villages are protected due to the large windows that the cottages had to allow plenty of light in for the frameworkers, I believe. Really good examples I think are on the Main Street at Lambley where a small row of cottages stand up above the East side of the street with very large windows, quite out of perspective with the small homes.

I've always been intrigued by the civil unrest caused by the Luddites. I did read once about a huge riot in Arnold at the time and apparently it spread like wildfire around the surrounding villages and towns.

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Stu,

I seem to remember some time ago there was a building refurbishment/demolition going on possibly a pub down the Hockley/back of Ice stadium area and the renovators/demolishers found a well, in this well was some knitting frames allegedly thrown down there by the Luddites, anyone got any info on that?

Rog

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No knowledge of that, Rog but it would be interesting to find out sure enough. I'll look out for that, thanks.

For Eileen:

This very weekend might the time for a visit to Ruddington for you! From the BBC Nottingham site:

Celebrity socks at the Knitters Museum.

The Ruddington Framework Knitters Museum will be hosting a special collection of celebrity socks with an opportunity to win a pair.

Celebrities who have contributed socks, plus signed photographs, include Archie Gemmill, Maureen Lipman, Marti Pellow and Andy Murray. Normal entrance fee charges apply (£3.00 adult, £2.00 children, £6.00 family). The exhibition will be open until 14 May, 2010.

For more information visit the Ruddington Framework Knitters Museum website.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/nottingham/hi/things_to_do/newsid_8322000/8322082.stm

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Stu,

I seem to remember some time ago there was a building refurbishment/demolition going on possibly a pub down the Hockley/back of Ice stadium area and the renovators/demolishers found a well, in this well was some knitting frames allegedly thrown down there by the Luddites, anyone got any info on that?

Rog

I think I mentioned this a while ago, they were allegedly in excellent condition and taken off to the infamous Industrial Museum at Wollaton Park for restoration, as this has now closed because the Council prefer to put their funds into less worthy causes than Nottingham's incredible industral heritage, we're not likely to see them again, they were probably safer down the well.

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I don't want to start a argument , more to carry on the discussion, but Ned Ludd was (Allegedly) a 'simpleton', albeit a large cumbersome one, from ' The Meadows Area" , and basically, any trouble was blamed upon him.

It has never been proved that he personally took part in any of "The Luddite Riots" he just took the blame. ('Bout normal fu ' t medders!!!!)

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I know I've read it somewhere . (I'm going through my local history book now to see if it was in there ) but I think you're right Stu , it was probably a conglomeration (good word that !!!) of all the 'naughty boys' of which there are still one or two in the meadows !!!

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I've found this in my "Nottingham a miscellany" book

"James Hargreves introduced hisSpinning Jenny machine into a small spinning mill off Lower Parliament Street in 1767, after escaping to Nottingham from Lancashire, where his machines had been wrecked by weavers worried that it would affect their jobs. In 1771 Richard Arkwright also set up his first spinning mill in Nottingham. These are both defining momentsin the industrial Revolution, but came at a great cost to the thriving cottage industry that already existed. The cottagers (Oooer missus) could not compete against the new machines in the industrial mills, and in desperation many of them banded together to destroy them. The gangs became known as "Luddites" after their (Probably imaginary) leader Ned Ludd . Although Luddism spread throughout the North of England during the early days of industrialisation, many people believe the movement began in Nottingham."

Guess who's got to buy a new scanner as I've just had to type that lot out !!!!!

I have been straining my brain to remember where I got it from and have come to the conclusion that it may have been on that DVD that Fynger so kindly passed out , or it may have been on QI (You know what they are like for debunking myths and legends !!)

The connection to the Meadows was obviously being Arkwright Street

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Could possibly be right Ian, I come from the Medders and I seem to get the blame every time sommat goes wrong

Rog

ps, I'll watch that DVD in a bit what Kev gave us and let you know

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it mentions that the Luddites started the troubles in 1811 and in 1813 a guy called Jeremiah Brandreth was executed for being one of the instigators (think his head was cut off)

Rog,

These dvd's of Kevs are well worth watching by the way and I would advise anyone to get a copy, thanks again Kev

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Thanks for typing that out, Ian. Interesting stuff.

Here's some info I just found of a Luddite meeting at the 'Seven Mile House' on the A60 near Papplewick in 1811. I'm trying to find an account of a huge riot that occurred in Arnold and spread around other parts of the locality I believe.

http://www.hucknall-torkard.com/hancock.html

The seventh milestone on the Nottingham to Mansfield road 'Seven Mile House', where Hancock and Green together with about 1000 others answered the call of King Ludd on a November evening in 1811. Photo taken in 2003.

Benjamin Hancock and George Green

There was a lull in Luddite activity of several months during the summer of 1811, as the framework knitters awaited some concessions from their employers following the widespread frame breaking of the spring. However, little was forthcoming and to compound their hardships the harvest that year was poor.

So it was that on the evening of Wednesday 6th November 1811 about a 1000 men from Arnold, Hucknall and other surrounding villages gathered at the seventh milestone on the Mansfield to Nottingham road to launch a new wave of attacks. They were heavily armed with about 300 carrying muskets or pistols, and amongst the crowd were Ben Hancock and George Green, both aged 22 and from Hucknall, although at the time Green was living in Arnold.

Why Betts was targeted is not stated, but it is likely he was using wide frames to produce 'cut ups' and operating them using 'colts'. These were men employed as framework knitters without first having served an apprenticeship.

It was to be a typical lightening strike under cover of darkness, and the target was the premises of a Mr Francis Betts, several miles to the north-west in Sutton in Ashfield.

The movement of so many men did not go unnoticed by the authorities and the Mansfield Troop of Volunteers, a local militia, were called out to intercept. They were joined by seven dismounted Dragoons, who were also in the vicinity escorting two French prisoners. Before the troops arrived, however, somewhere between 50 and 70 of Betts's frames valued at around £400 had been destroyed.

What followed the meeting of these two heavily armed groups of men appears to have been nothing more than a skirmish. The Luddites often had considerable local support and were able to disperse quickly when confronted by troops, but this night between 8 and 12 arrests were made. Amongst them were Hancock and Green who were charged with frame breaking together with three other men: Gervas Marshall (17), Robert Poley (16) and Joseph Peck (17). The following day they were examined before the magistrates in Mansfield and then escorted by cavalry to the county gaol in Nottingham.

Their trial took place at Nottingham Assizes on 18th March 1812 before Mr Justice Bayley. Hancock was alleged to have been the leader of the raid, and Marshall said to be one of a group of men who had entered the workshops and lifted frames out into the street to be smashed by the mob.

The mixture of politics and criminal activity which characterised the Luddite years created an atmosphere were the truth was often one of the principal victims in a trial. The authorities had uncovered little of the Luddites chain of command and were desperate to bring one of their leaders to trial. In this light what followed Hancock's arrest can be viewed either as a show trial or a major breakthrough by the authorities.

In Nottinghamshire the legal authorities did not welcome the Frame-Breaking Bill of 1812. What little success they had in bringing luddites to trial relied heavily on a network of paid informants, but many were reluctant to continue now the information they provided could lead to a man found guilty being hung.

In February 1812 the penalty for frame breaking was increased by act of Parliament from transportation to death. Fortunately for Hancock and his associates the death penalty could not be passed on those in custody awaiting the March Assizes, unless burglary could also be proven against them.

A broadsheet issued soon after the first luddite raids in 1811. click on image to enlarge

Mr Justice Bayley, found the accused guilty but commented upon sentencing that they were of good character and that Green and Marshall 'were probably drawn into the outrage without considering the consequences'. Hancock and Peck were sentenced to transportation to Australia for 14 years, and Green, Marshall and Poley each 7 years.

Transportation was certainly not a lenient punishment and feared almost as much as hanging. Nearly half of all those sentenced never made their destination alive. Many died before even leaving England whilst imprisoned on hulks on the Thames awaiting embarkation. On the voyage they were confined in unsanitary conditions below deck and shackled with handcuffs and leg irons.

The fate of Hancock is not known but Green was one of the survivors. In 1845 the Rev. G. Atkinson of Arnold received a letter from Hobart, Tasmania concerning the death of George Green an ex-convict who had left property with an income valued at £300 per year to his family in England. An elder brother succeeded to his estate and effects.

Sources:

Malcolm I. Thomas (ed); Luddism in Nottinghamshire, Thoroton Society Record Series Vol XXVI. Phillimore & Co Ltd. (1972)

J.L. & Barbara Hammond; The Skilled Labourer 1760-1832. Longmans & Co. (1919)

J.H. Beardsmore; The History of Hucknall-Torkard (1909)

The Nottingham Date Book; archivecdbooks.org (Many thanks to Rod Neep for drawing my attention to this source.)

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Still not managed to find that fantastic and very lurid account of the intitial riot in Arnold but here are a few mores pieces in the jigsaw. I'm intrigued as to the premises where this would have happened in Arnold. Like many villages of the day I'm assuming that Arnold would have been fairly linear in nature. One account below talks about an Arnold 'shop' (which I assume to be a mill) being broken into and the village people cheering. I wonder where in the village this would have been situated? Perhaps a different era/industry but I understand that 'Arnold Mill' stood around the Arnot Hill Road entrance to what is now called Arnot Hill Park where the Gedling Borough Council are situated. Furth, I'm not sure how relevant it is but I believe there is only one appreciably sized body of running water through the area the Day Brook.

In February 1811 at Arnold—a small town near Nottingham where fabric for "cut-ups" was being knitted on wide stocking frames—stockingers broke into hosiers' workshops and disabled their frames by removing the jack-wires.

After a second riot in Arnold, military troops arrived in early April to quell the disturbance, but by then over 200 frames had been destroyed.

In November, in the wake of another disastrous harvest, a new outbreak occurred, this time in the nearby village of Bulwell. It was here that the name Ned Ludd was first heard. Perpetrators acted in small bands, striking particular targets and garnering the support of local stockingers and residents. Those whose financial backing could not be won over by sympathy, were "encouraged" through intimidation:

Gentlemen all. Ned Ludd's Compliments and hopes you wil give a trifle towards supporting his Army as he well understands the Art of breaking obnoxious Frames. If you comply with this it will be well, if not I shall call upon you myself.

—Edward Ludd

On one night, frames were broken in villages and towns that were 12-15 miles apart, giving the appearance that the movement was well organized. In fact, to some observers, the movement seemed too well organized. Mere stockingers were, in their opinion, incapable of operating at that level of sophistication. The escalating violence at home worried law-abiding citizens of a nation at war and gave rise to a number of conspiracy theories. Perhaps outside agitators were to blame: the Irish? the French? the Americans?

https://eee.uci.edu/clients/bjbecker/SpinningWeb/lecture15.html

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The first incident during the years of the most intense Luddite activity, 1811-13, was the 11 March 1811 attack upon wide knitting frames in a shop in the Nottinghamshire village of Arnold, following a peaceful gathering of framework knitters near the Exchange Hall at Nottingham. In the preceding month, framework knitters, also called stockingers, had broken into shops and removed jack wires from wide knitting frames, rendering them useless without inflicting great violence upon the owners or incurring risk to the stockingers themselves; the 11 March attack was the first in which frames were actually smashed and the name "Ludd" was used. The grievances consisted, first, of the use of wide stocking frames to produce large amounts of cheap, shoddy stocking material that was cut and sewn into stockings rather than completely fashioned (knit in one piece without seams) and, second, of the employment of "colts," workers who had not completed the seven-year apprenticeship required by law. (For those laws, see the page on "Interpretations.")

Frames continued to be broken in many of the villages surrounding Nottingham. The 23 March 1811 and 20 April 1811 Nottingham Journal reports several weeks of almost nightly attacks in the villages, all successful and carried out without one attacker's being arrested. The summer of 1811 was quiet, but a bad harvest helped to renew disturbances in November, when, as the story goes, stockingers assembled in the wooded lands near Bulwell and were led in attacks on a number of shops by a commander calling himself Ned Ludd.

http://campus.murraystate.edu/academic/faculty/kevin.binfield/Luddites/LudditeHistory.htm

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Ned Ludlam, a Leicester apprentice, smashed his stocking-frame in a temper and the Luddite movement began. At Arnold, Nottingham, on 11 March 1811, a group of Luddites broke 63 frames. The Riot Act was read. These were not besotted fanatics but a disciplined, secret organisation who only attacked hosiers who produced cut-ups, or who paid below agreed rates. Their letters and proclamations were signed 'Ned Ludd' or 'King Ludd'.

The Council offered 50 guineas reward and a free pardon for information on frame-breakers. It was never claimed.

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/sherwoodtimes/grandtou.htm

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  • 1 year later...

Surely Ned Ludd was a mythical figure much like Robin Hood - and like Robin would disappear into said Forest when the Kings men ( soldiers) came calling. Been doing some research on Framework knitters and you wont find any old mills in Arnold that carried out the trade. The frames were small enough to fit inside a small cottage and this was very much a cottage industry. Look for weavers cottages ie those which seem to have longer than normal upstairs windows -these were used by the stockingers or framework knitters to create cotton cloth which was then turned into socks and stockings. You should find these all around and within Nottingham. The big windows were there to let in more light. Need to get some pics of these cottages so if anyone knows where there are any would welcome the info......ps the frame or framwork was basically a giant knitting machine - and they could use silk and wool as well as cotton.

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