Chartism and the Sheffield Uprising

This fortnight we’re revisiting an exhibition held at the Central Library a couple of years ago.  In it, we considered how Sheffield’s rich history had been shaped by conflict and major events in the wider world.  It is difficult to predict how our city may be changed by the current world crises of pandemic and climate emergency, but as history clearly shows, change will inevitably come…

In this series of blog posts we will pick out a selection of stories from our city’s past and hopefully whet your appetite for more.  You can delve deeper by visiting our website and view thousands of images at Picture Sheffield, the city’s depository of over 100,000 local images. 

Chartism and the Sheffield Uprising

Chartism was a working class movement for political reform in Britain between 1838 and 1848 and the first mass working class labour movement in the world.  Chartists campaigned for sweeping changes to the political system and in particular, the introduction of the Charter which consisted of six points;

• Every man over 21 to have the right to vote 
• A secret ballot to be introduced 
• A prospective Member of Parliament (MP) should not have to own property of a certain value to become eligible to stand 
• All MPs to be paid to allow working men to serve in Parliament 
• All constituencies to be equal in population size 
• Elections to Parliament to be held every year in order to ensure accountability to voters

Samuel Holberry and the Sheffield Chartists 

Holberry was a prominent Chartist activist.  After moving to Sheffield in 1835 he engaged in a number of peaceful protests.  

The Sheffield Working Men's Association was established in December 1837, adopting the People's Charter which stated that: 

The working classes produced the rich man's wealth, while being oppressed by unjust and unequal laws.  

The Association's meetings and demonstrations were well attended and peaceful, but in July 1839 local magistrates banned the gatherings.  On 12 August 1839, thousands of workers and their families ignored the ban and paraded through town, finally gathering in Paradise Square, a space often used for organised public gatherings to hear speakers on an overlooking balcony.  Troops were called in to break up the meeting, and a violent riot began.  Around 70 demonstrators and several speakers were arrested following running battles with troops and the police.  

A mass political meeting sometime in the late 19th century.  The square was often used by large groups to hear public speakers.  Taken from the balcony of the Middle Class School.

Membership grew after the riot and meetings and marches were held on a daily basis with regular disturbances in the town centre.  After a rebellion in Newport, Monmouthshire was put down in 1839, a more radical faction of the group, known as the Chartists led by Samuel Holberry, planned an armed uprising in Sheffield.  The Sheffield Chartists planned to take control of the Old Town Hall and other town centre locations while at the same time riots were to take place in Dewsbury and Nottingham.  However, the conspirators were betrayed; Holberry and his colleagues were arrested, and peace restored in Sheffield.

Samuel Holberry was sentenced to four years imprisonment with hard labour and died in prison at York Castle on 21 June 1842 aged 27.  He is buried in Sheffield General Cemetery and remembered on a plaque in the Sheffield Peace Gardens

An account of the attempted Sheffield rising appears in a pamphlet from 1876 produced by Robert Eadon Leader, titled Reminiscences of Old Sheffield, its Streets and its People.  In it, a group of men who had lived in the town in the 1840s are recorded in their conversation about the events:

According to a man named Johnson of Sheffield: 

“On the 12th September, 1839, the Chartists held a silent meeting in Paradise square, which was dispersed by the soldiers and police. The Chartists reassembled in ‘Doctor's Field', at the bottom of Duke Street, where they were followed by the soldiers and police, and 36 prisoners taken. 

At the Town Hall, next day, which was guarded by the dragoons, and the doors kept by policemen armed with cutlasses, I saw several anxious mothers inquiring for their missing ones. Amongst the rest was the mother of a young man who has since been an influential citizen in St. George's ward. He was tried at the assizes and acquitted. 

A night or two after the Doctor's Field meeting, hearing there was to be a Chartist meeting at Skye Edge in the Park, my brother and I tried to find Skye Edge, but not succeeding, met the Chartists coming away. They marched down Duke Street, singing lustily a Chartist melody: “Press forward, press forward, There's nothing to fear, We will have the Charter, be it ever so dear…” But, alas! on turning the corner at the bottom of Duke Street, they caught sight of the helmets of the 1st Dragoons, who were coming to meet them. Instead of ‘pressing forward' we all ‘pressed' every way but that, and in two minutes not a Chartist was to be seen…” 

Robert Eadon Leader, historical writer (and author of Reminiscences of Old Sheffield, its Streets and its People) and proprietor of the Sheffield and Rotherham Independent.


Margaret Gatty, the children's story writer who was married to Reverend Alfred Gatty of Ecclesfield, wrote many letters to her sister Horatia. In a letter dated 1840, she describes the recent uprising of the Chartists in Sheffield: 

‘…the Chartists have been completely subdued and a dozen of them forwarded to York and I should think it very probably one or two will be hanged… they intended to have a grand display – pillaged the Town, killed the Magistrates and fired the Public Buildings – for which purposes they had got a quantity of hand grenades and other combustibles prepared…’ (31 Jan 1840) 

Letter from Margaret Gatty to her sister about the Chartist uprising in Sheffield in 1840 (Sheffield Archives: With kind permission from the Hunter Archaeological Society)


 
Population of Sheffield in 1841 – 134,599

Tomorrow, as the industrial revolution continues apace, tension continues to rise among the working classes of Sheffield, leading to what became known as the Sheffield Outrages.

Sheffield’s Civil War Survivors

This fortnight we’re revisiting an exhibition held at the Central Library a couple of years ago.  In it, we considered how Sheffield’s rich history had been shaped by conflict and major events in the wider world.  It is difficult to predict how our city may be changed by the current world crises of pandemic and climate emergency, but as history clearly shows, change will inevitably come…

In this series of blog posts we will pick out a selection of stories from our city’s past and hopefully whet your appetite for more.  You can delve deeper by visiting our website and view thousands of images at Picture Sheffield, the city’s depository of over 100,000 local images. 

Despite the destruction of Sheffield Castle and the dramatic changes to the appearance of Sheffield following the Civil War, a handful of local buildings still remain that date from those turbulent times. They stand today as silent witness to the extraordinary events of the centuries before.

Old Queen’s Head Pub, Pond Street 
The oldest part of the building was once known as the Hall at the Ponds and may have been used as a banqueting hall.  The earliest recorded mention comes from a 1582 'inventory of contents' made by George, the Six Earl of Shrewsbury, although the building is thought to date from around 1475.  

In 1770, it is referred to as the former wash-house to Sheffield Manor. It went on to become a private home before conversion into a pub during the mid 19th Century.  Looking at the two pictures below we can see that much of the timber structure was at some point covered before later being revealed during refurbishment.  

Broom Hall, Broom Hall Road, Sheffield
Home of the Parliamentary supporting Jessop Family during the Civil War.  These pictures show the oldest portion of the building, which was built between 1509-1547, and the later East Wing which was added by Rev. James Wilkinson.  In the 1970s, the house was restored by David Mellor.

Bishops’ House, Norton Lees 
Located in what is now Meersbrook Park, the building was home to William Blythe, a Parliamentary Commander in the Civil War and one of the men supervising the demolition of Sheffield Castle in 1648. Plasterwork depicting the Talbot coat of arms inside the house is believed to have been taken from Sheffield Castle during its demolition, perhaps as a ‘trophy’ by Blythe.

It is thought the building may have been named after the sons of William Blythe, John, Bishop of Salisbury and Geoffrey, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield. 

Bishops' House opened as a Museum in 1976 following a renovation funded by Sheffield City Council and English Heritage.  Today, it is managed by a volunteer group, The Friends of Bishops' House.

Carbrook Hall
Said to be Sheffield's most haunted building, Carbrook Hall was home to Parliamentary Colonel, Sir John Bright and it is believed the building was used as a Parliamentarian meeting place during the siege of Sheffield Castle.  The stone building is a 1620 addition to a much older building possibly dating back to the 12th century.  Sadly, this earlier structure was destroyed.  In the 19th century the hall became the Carbrook Inn and operated as a public house until relatively recently.

In 2019 and following a careful refurbishment, Starbucks reopened Carbrook Hall as a coffee shop.

Population of Sheffield in 1692 - 4000


Tomorrow we take a look at Chartism, a working class movement for political reform in Britain between 1838 and 1848 and the first mass working class labour movement in the world.   In particular, we'll take a closer look at the 'Sheffield Uprising'.

COVID-19 Archive in Sheffield

What was life like in Sheffield in 2020?  This is a question that will be asked time and time again in the future.  But how much will we remember of these strange times?  It is all very real at the moment - 24 hour rolling news coverage; lockdown restrictions; a profound change in everyone’s way of life.  However, once the restrictions are lifted and the pandemic passes, we will soon forget the everyday experiences (good and bad, exceptional and mundane) that make this period in history so unique.

As with all significant events in history, the Coronavirus pandemic will be recorded in official documents.  But what of our own personal experiences in Sheffield?  The documents that are always of most interest to historians and researchers are the voices of ordinary people.

That’s why we’re encouraging you to record your experiences of these times NOW as they happen.  We’ve already been offered a number of Covid-19 diaries (currently being written) and photographs but we’d really like more.  Everyone’s experience is relevant.  We’d like you to record how you are being affected - family life, work, school (and exams), shopping, neighbourhood support networks, exercise etc. 

EVERYONE CAN TAKE PART!  Young and old; schoolchildren and adults; workers and stay at homers.

How can you contribute to Sheffield’s Coronavirus archive?

·         Keep a diary to make a daily or weekly record of life in your local area during lockdown.  This might include photographs etc.

·         Create a scrapbook of life during the Covid-19 outbreak.  You could include photographs, newspaper cuttings, notes and cards from friends and family, any leaflets you’ve received relating to Coronavirus, your own notes and observations etc. Don’t forget to add dates where possible.  This idea is particularly good for children who might have created a lot of artwork during lockdown.

·         Take some photographs or record a video that captures something unique about the impact of Coronavirus on your local area.  This might be on your commute to work or while out exercising (but do so within Government guidelines of course).

·         Songs, poems and sketches are also a great way of recording your personal experiences.  Many stories from generations ago were passed down through songs and storytelling.

·         Collecting leaflets and other ephemera.  Most people will probably have had a flyer through the door explaining how to contact their local Sheffield Mutual Aid Group. Keep these!  They’re all valuable and we’d like copies from all parts of the city.

Once life gets back to normal you can submit your contributions to us at Sheffield City Archives: archives@sheffield.gov.uk

Thank you!  Let’s record this fully for future generations.

Some guidelines:

Diaries/scrapbooks:

You can write a short biography at the beginning to introduce yourself and your circumstances OR you may wish to remain anonymous.  Either way we can restrict access for a number of years if necessary.

Diaries and scrapbooks can be sent in their original format (notebook, exercise book etc.) or scanned as a Word document or PDF.

Photographs:

Should be sent as a TIFF or JPEG file with the permission of the copyright holder.

Sound recordings:

Should be sent as WAV files if possible.

Video recordings:

Should be sent as MOV or MPEG-4 files if possible.

Artworks:

Preferably on paper and not larger than A3.  We cannot accept 3D works of art sadly (but we’d gladly accept photographs!)

Civil War and the Fall of Sheffield Castle

This fortnight we’re revisiting an exhibition held at the Central Library a couple of years ago.  In it, we considered how Sheffield’s rich history had been shaped by conflict and major events in the wider world.  It is difficult to predict how our city may be changed by the current world crises of pandemic and climate emergency, but as history clearly shows, change will inevitably come…

In this series of blog posts we will pick out a selection of stories from our city’s past and hopefully whet your appetite for more.  You can delve deeper by visiting our website and view thousands of images at Picture Sheffield, the city’s depository of over 100,000 local images. 

The English Civil War

Beginning in 1642, the English Civil War was a series of bloody battles between supporters of Parliament and supporters of the King. War erupted after years of political tension between King Charles I and Parliament during which time both had sought to assert their authority. 

The War led to the trial and execution of King Charles I in 1649 and culminated in Parliamentary victory in 1651 when Oliver Cromwell’s New Model Army defeated the Royalist forces of Charles II.  England became a republican Commonwealth until 1660 at which point the monarchy was restored with the triumphant return of Charles II from exile. 

The Civil War left a significant mark in Sheffield. The town fluctuated between Parliamentarian and Royalist control, leading to a 10-day siege of Sheffield Castle by Parliamentarian forces in August 1644. Eventually, the siege resulted in the Royalist surrender of the town and ultimate destruction of the Castle. 

Civil War Timeline

1639 - 1640	Bishops’ Wars between the Scots and English forces led by Charles I result in costly defeat for the English, provoking Parliamentary unrest and anger towards the King.
1640	Sheffield reported as being largely sympathetic to the Parliamentary cause.
20 May 1641	Thomas Wentworth, the Earl of Stafford, executed by Parliament for treason.
June 1642	The Howard Family (Earls of Arundel, Earls of Norfolk and Lords of Sheffield Manor) send artillery from Sheffield Castle to Doncaster for the use of King Charles I.
25 Aug 1642	The King’s standard erected at Nottingham, thus beginning the English Civil War.
Oct 1642	Parliamentarians commanded by Sir John Gell of Derbyshire seize control of Sheffield Castle on 11 October 1642. The Battle of Edgehill on 23 October 1642; the first major conflict of the Civil War ends in stalemate.
April 1643	Royalists retake Sheffield Castle under the command of William Cavendish, Earl of Newcastle. Sir William Savile, grandson of the sixth Earl of Shrewsbury, appointed governor of Sheffield, in the name of the King.
30 Jun 1643	Royalists defeat Parliamentarian troops under the command of Lord Ferdinando Fairfax at the Battle of Adwalton Moor, consolidating Royalist control of Yorkshire.
July 1644	On 2 July, Earl of Newcastle’s Royalist forces defeated by a combined Scots and Parliamentarian Army at the Battle of Marston Moor, thus ending Royalist control in the north. Sheffield Castle summoned by the Earl of Manchester to surrender to the Parliamentarians on 27 July.
Aug 1644	10 day siege of Sheffield Castle by Parliamentarian forces, commanded by Major General Crawford.  Thomas Beaumont surrenders the castle on 10th August after the wall is breached by cannon.
1645	Captain Edward Gill made governor of Sheffield Castle. The surrounding estates are seized by Commissioners of Parliament. Charles I decisively defeated by the Parliamentarian army, commanded by Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell at the Battle of Naseby on 14 June 1645.
1646 – 1648	Charles I surrenders to the Scots in April 1646. House of Commons resolution passed on 30 April 1646 that Sheffield Castle is to be made untenable. Subsequent resolution passed on 13 July 1647 for the castle to be demolished and on 23 August 1648 demolition work begins.
30 Jan 1649	Charles I executed by Parliament for treason.
1656	Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell (ruler of the republican Commonwealth of England from 1653) proclaimed in Sheffield.
1660	Great rejoicing reported in Sheffield upon the proclamation and return of King Charles II.

Sheffield Under Siege

Having previously sent a summons on 27 July 1644 that Sheffield Castle surrender to the Parliamentarians, on 1st August the Earl of Manchester dispatched a force of 1200 Parliamentarian soldiers under the command of Major General Crawford and Colonel Pickering to capture the castle. Meeting resistance and finding their artillery insufficient to breach the castle wall, Crawford requested backup from Lord Fairfax. Armed with this extra artillery the Parliamentarians eventually breached the castle wall and the Royalists were forced to surrender on 10th August. 

Extracts from the journal of Major General Crawford

1st August 1644 
In the edge of the Park we planted the Culverin (having before sent a party of horse and foot into the Towne) and there did discharge three great shot with great dexterity into the Castle, one whereof shot through the Governour’s chamber….and thereafter the Major-general summoned them by a Trumpeter in the Earle of Manchester’s name, to surrender the place into his hands for King and Parliament; but they discharged three shot at the Trumpeter, who could not get audience.

3rd August 1644 
Captain Sands, captaine of the Pioniers, and the master Gunner, attended the Major generall to view the little Towre by the River, that flauncked two quarters of the Castle, and the mount before the Gate, to the end that they should finde out some convenient place to raise a battery to beat it downe, which might be very advantageous to us, to the gaining of the castle. Whereupon the Captaine and Gunner were both shot, the one through the theigh, and the other through the shoulder, whereof they both after dyed.

5th August 1644 
The Ordnance began to batter, which made the besieged more milde than they were before, and their Governour received our summons, and returned us answer that the Castle was intrusted unto him by his majestie, which trust he valued more than his life; at night the Major Generall by threates, promises and money, got together some Colliers to myne the Castle, which they found not to feasible, it being builded on a rock.

Following the successful seizure of the castle and surrounding estates, the House of Commons passed a resolution for the castle to be destroyed. After centuries as a mighty northern fortress, on 23 August 1648 demolition work began. 

Tomorrow, we look at some of Sheffield’s Civil War survivors.  Despite the destruction of Sheffield Castle, a handful of local buildings still remain that date from those turbulent times. They stand today as silent witness to the extraordinary events of the centuries before.

The Imprisonment of Mary Queen of Scots

This fortnight we’re revisiting an exhibition held at the Central Library a couple of years ago.  In it, we considered how Sheffield’s rich history had been shaped by conflict and major events in the wider world.  It is difficult to predict how our city may be changed by the current world crises of pandemic and climate emergency, but as history clearly shows, change will inevitably come…

In this series of blog posts we will pick out a selection of stories from our city’s past and hopefully whet your appetite for more.  You can delve deeper by visiting our website and view thousands of images at Picture Sheffield, the city’s depository of over 100,000 local images.  

A Captive Queen

In 1568 and following her forced abdication, Mary Queen of Scots fled Scotland and sought refuge in England with her cousin Elizabeth I.  However, Mary had been raised as a Catholic and since she also had a claim to the English throne, was considered a threat to Protestant Elizabeth.  Upon arrival, she was taken prisoner and subsequently kept under surveillance for the next 19 years.  

It is less widely known that 14 years of Mary’s imprisonment was spent in Sheffield.  Under the care of George Talbot, sixth Earl of Shrewsbury, she was regularly moved between the relatively luxurious Manor Lodge and the aging Sheffield Castle.  Two of her letters written during her time in Sheffield are now kept at the City Archives.

An engraving showing Mary Queen of Scots, alongside an image of the Turret Lodge, Sheffield Manor Lodge, off Manor Lane.  It was said to have been erected by the Earl of Shrewsbury as a place of greater safety in which to keep Mary prisoner. It was restored in the late Nineteenth Century. 

Throughout Mary’s imprisonment she remained a focus of Catholic plots to depose Elizabeth.  In 1586 her correspondence with conspirator Anthony Babington was intercepted by spies and eventually convinced of Mary’s real and ongoing threat, Elizabeth I signed her death warrant.  Mary was executed on the 8th February 1587.

Shown above is a signed letter from 1571, sent by Mary to the Laird of Barnbarrock during her time in Sheffield.  It is held at the City Archives.  It reads,

Truest friend. We greet you well.

We are not ignorant of the good intentions you bear towards us and the exertions you have undertaken in our service which, God willing, we hope to acknowledge and to give you such thanks as will content you. And so that we may have the more to remember, we pray you to use your good counsel and assistance to make your friends and our subjects show themselves plainly as defenders of our authority at this time, and we assure you that help for them shall not be lacking in due time; and if they take any other course, we acquit ourselves before God and man of giving them any occasion to do so, seeing that they will be well supported, as the bearer of this can show more fully.

And so farewell.

At Sheffield, the 10th day of May, 1571.

Your good friend

MARY R

Population of Sheffield in 1600 - 3000

The Rise of Sheffield Castle

This fortnight we’re revisiting an exhibition held at the Central Library a couple of years ago.  In it, we considered how Sheffield’s rich history had been shaped by conflict and major events in the wider world.  It is difficult to predict how our city may be changed by the current world crises of pandemic and climate emergency, but as history clearly shows, change will inevitably come…

In this series of blog posts we will pick out a selection of stories from our city’s past and hopefully whet your appetite for more.  You can delve deeper by visiting our website and view thousands of images at Picture Sheffield, the city’s depository of over 100,000 local images.  

In 1066, William, Duke of Normandy conquered England, seizing the throne from King Harold through victory at the battle of Hastings.  While in Hallamshire, the Anglo-Saxon Earl Waltheof initially retained his position as lord. This proved short-lived.  Waltheof and others were involved in a failed rebellion and he was later captured and beheaded.  

Today, Waltheof is remembered in a stained glass window in Sheffield’s Cathedral and is regarded by some as a folk hero, perhaps sharing something of the rebellious spirit associated with local legend, Robin Hood.

Pageant of local history (1931) Featuring Earl of Waltheof of Hallamshire and his wife Judith attended by Norman and Saxon ladies.  Also, stained glass window showing Waltheof top left alongside other Sheffield worthies.

With Waltheof now gone, local control passed to Norman lords and around 1100, William de Lovetot constructed a motte and bailey castle on a natural sandstone outcrop overlooking the Rivers Don and Sheaf.  However, in 1266 the castle which had been largely built of wood, and in all likelihood, much of the town around it was destroyed during the Second Baron’s War. 

With the close of war and King Henry III restored to power, in 1270 Thomas de Furnival received a royal charter to build a new castle on the same site, this time made of stone.  It was this castle that over the coming centuries would expand to become the fourth largest fortress in England and sit beside a now growing town.

In 1296 and during a time of relative stability, the third Thomas de Furnival was granted a royal charter to hold a weekly market and an annual fair.  Sheffield was on the move!

Market Charter granted by King Edward I, allowed Thomas de Furnival, Lord of Sheffield Manor to hold a market every week on a Tuesday and one fair from the Eve of Holy Trinity (dated 1296).

Oil painting by Kenneth Steel of Sheffield Castle as imagined from historical records.

Population of Sheffield in 1086 – 150 - 200

Tomorrow the story of Sheffield Castle continues with the imprisonment of Mary Queen of Scots.

On the Border

This fortnight we’re revisiting an exhibition held at the Central Library a couple of years ago.  In it, we considered how Sheffield’s rich history had been shaped by conflict and major events in the wider world.  It is difficult to predict how our city may be changed by the current world crises of pandemic and climate emergency, but as history clearly shows, change will inevitably come…

In this series of blog posts we will pick out a selection of stories from our city’s past and hopefully whet your appetite for more.  You can delve deeper by visiting our website and view thousands of images at Picture Sheffield, the city’s depository of over 100,000 local images.  

On the border?

How do we define the Sheffield identity?  

Although proudly part of Yorkshire, much of the land that today falls within the city boundary was historically part of Derbyshire, and despite relative close proximity to other Yorkshire towns, the distance and difference between Sheffield and Leeds, or even Barnsley, can feel considerable.  For those living on the city’s western edge, the clarion call of the Peak District hills is loud and for many incomers the closeness of the green and purple moors is often what attracted them here in the first place.  

It is also often said that an invisible line exists across the city; not seen as a physical barrier, yet starkly apparent in measures such as life expectancy, ethnicity, and relative wealth.  

In fact, the Sheffield area has always lain upon a border.  Where today the city boundary sits on the county line between South Yorkshire and Derbyshire, in Anglo-Saxon times the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria abutted against one other.

A section of the Map of the West Riding of Yorkshire by W and J Blaeu (1645), showing Sheffield's position beside the border (shown in pink) with Derbyshire.

A meeting of kings

Anglo- Saxon England was made up of numerous kingdoms with the balance of power often shifting; particularly between the realms of Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria.  Around 829, the pendulum had swung to the south and King Egbert of Wessex led his army north with a view to conquer land under the control of the Northumbrian King, Eanrad.  

The two mighty armies met at Dore, literally a gateway between two kingdoms, yet no battle actually took place.  King Eanrad surrendered and while retaining his kingdom agreed that Egbert would become ‘Bretwalda’, overlord of all England.

Nearby Blacka Moor and the unveiling of the plaque commemorating the meeting at Dore of two rival kings

The view from Wincobank

Centuries earlier, the ancient British kingdom of the Brigantes extended over much of what is now Yorkshire and the North down to the Sheffield area, with the hillfort at Wincobank perhaps being a southern outpost.

Following the arrival of the Romans in the south, a peace seems to have existed between the two groups, however this was not to last.  As the first and second centuries AD progressed, the Romans exerted their dominance further north, eventually conquering far into what is now Scotland and sweeping away Brigantes rule.

The hillfort at Wincobank remains shrouded in mystery.  With its commanding position above the River Don, for centuries it must have played an important role in the life of those living nearby.  Did it see battle, was it the centre of local administration, and for how long and by whom was it occupied?  Perhaps we can never know.

A view of Winkobank Hill, 1791  

Tomorrow we continue our journey by exploring the rise of Sheffield Castle and the key figures in Sheffield’s early growth in the centuries following the Norman conquest.