Introduction

The Luddite disturbances took place in the counties of Nottinghamshire, Lancashire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Yorkshire during the period 1811-13. Led by a fictional leader called 'Ned Ludd', the Luddites attacked new machinery and mills in an attempt to maintain the price (money) paid to them as textile workers and control over their work practices. The most violent incident instigated by the Luddites took place in the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1812 when a mill-owner called William Horsfall was murdered. Disconcerted by the machine breakers' actions, the government responded by despatching large numbers of troops to the disaffected areas. We hold a fascinating and varied collection of material on the disturbances.

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For the record:

Concerned by the violent outbreaks of machine-breaking many people wrote to the Home Office to keep the government informed and ask for assistance in quelling the disturbances. This correspondence is ideal for local historians interested in studying Luddism: not only do the correspondents provide accounts of Luddite activity but in many instances also provide a detailed background to the attacks, mentioning local standards of living, the state of trade etc. Any researcher interested in Luddism should first use material in HO 40, HO 42, and HO 50. HO 40 and HO 50 are arranged by county as well as by date, which helps the researcher to narrow their search. Identifying material in HO 42 is more difficult since the records are arranged by date and there is no index to place, person or subject. Nevertheless, any search would almost certainly be rewarded since the series is rich in material relating to all aspects of social history.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the government took a harsh line against the threat posed by the Luddites. Not only were an estimated 12,000 troops sent to the Northern counties to deal with the disturbances but frame- or machine-breaking was made a capital offence. Every attempt to secure successful prosecutions of persons suspected of being a Luddite was made and many of the trial records have ended up with us. Although many of these trials would have took place at Assize level, the local historian would be well advised to make an initial search of TS 11. Since this series is not arranged in chronological order, a search for useful information should be made using the online catalogue using keywords such as: frame; machine breaking; Yorkshire riots; Lancashire Assizes; and riotous meetings. If successful, the material contained in TS 11 will provide:

The 'Swing' Riots