 Having left Dartmouth on August 22nd 1620 the Mayflower and the Speedwell once again took to the seas in an attempt to cross the North Atlantic.
Unfortunately, having made it little more than 200 miles (320 km) beyond Land's End at the southwestern tip of England, the Speedwell sprang a third leak. It was now early September, and they had no choice but to abandon Speedwell and make a determination on her passengers. This was a dire event, as vital funds had been wasted on the ship, which was considered very important to the future success of their settlement in America. Both ships returned to Plymouth, where twenty Speedwell passengers joined the now overcrowded Mayflower, while the others returned to Holland. Find out what happened next in our next blog on the voyage! This scene was built by James Pegrum as part of a series of models on the voyage of the Mayflower. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see them first.
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On this day in 1797 The Massacre of Tranent took place, when workers from the East Lothain town confronted the Cinque Port Light Dragoons to protest the conscription of men into the British Militia.  The Massacre of Tranent took place in Tranent, East Lothian, Scotland. In 1793 Great Britain had entered the War of the First Coalition against France. Britain feared a French invasion, particularly in Ireland and Scotland, the latter having only been a part of the Union since 1707 and the Jacobite Risings still within living memory. The fear was not without justification, for the French had managed to land a small expeditionary force in Wales in February 1797, though it had quickly been dealt with by the local yeomanry. In 1797 therefore the Militia Act was passed in Scotland, which empowered the Lord Lieutenants of Scotland to raise and command militia regiments in each of the "Counties, Stewartries, Cities, and Places" under their jurisdiction. The aim was to raise around 6,000 to 8,000 militiamen throughout Scotland who could be used to defend the country but could also be deployed elsewhere if needed. Furthermore, the militiamen represented a fertile pool for recruitment into the regular army, for while militia regiments were constitutionally separate from the army, from the 1790s militiamen were encouraged to volunteer, and did so in large numbers.  Among the dead was leader of the protesters, 'Jackie' (Joan) Crookston. The act was initially deeply unpopular as it was believed the militia ballot would be used to enable the Crown to remove men from Scotland. On August 28th a proclamation was drawn up by local people of Tranent to object to the conscription of Scots into the British Militia, to be used either for controlling their own people or for deployment elsewhere. The proclamation comprised four clauses:
The following day, the proclamation was handed to Major Wight, the commanding officer of the recruitment squad; it was initially ignored. Later, when a contingent from the local colliery communities, led by 'Jackie' (Joan) Crookston confronted the troops, their response was swift and bloody. Several of the protesters, including Crookston, were shot dead out of hand.  The protesters fled from the centre of the small town into the countryside, pursued by the Cinque Port Light Dragoons, who are reported to have cut down people indiscriminately, caring little whether they were involved in the protest or not. Casualty estimates range from around a dozen to twenty or more men, women and children dead, with more injured. After the slaughter the troopers are alleged to have carried out rapes and pillage in the small town.
The Light Dragoons' overall commanding officer was then Colonel Viscount Hawkesbury, (later 2nd Earl of Liverpool, and future British Prime Minister) who was not present. It was reported that "His lordship was blamed for remaining at Haddington, as his presence might have prevented the outrages of the soldiery." These scenes were created by Dan Harris as part of a series of models on people and protest. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see them first. Today we jump back in our story of the Mayflower Pilgirms to the gatherings that took place at Scrooby in the early 1600s, a significant factor that led to the Mayflower's journey to America.  The Sepratists met at Scrooby Manor in Nottinghamshire. Over the last few months we’ve been looking at religious reform in England, starting back in the late 1300’s when John Wycliffe and the Lollards started to question and challenge the teachings of the church. The religious reforms in England took their first major steps during the reign of Henry VIII with ongoing religious turmoil in the preceding reigns of Henry’s children, Edward IV, Mary I and Elizabeth I. This religious back-and-forth gripped the church, with England returning to the Catholic faith during Mary's reign and then back to Protestantism in Elizabeth’s. For some these changes were not enough reform and led to the birth of Puritanism. Some groups went even further in their beliefs, calling for more radical reform, they were called Separatists. This group of believers were initially outside of the law and were persecuted by both the state and the church. Amongst the Separatists in England was a group who worshipped at Gainsborough Old Hall, led by the preacher John Smyth. The group numbered between sixty to seventy people and met in secret aided by the owner of the hall, a merchant called William Hickman. In 1606 two groups formed – one in Gainsborough and a new group in Scrooby, across the Trent, where they were led by Richard Clifton.  The leader of the Sepratists at Scrooby Manor was William Brewster. Meanwhile the authorities continued their pursuance of separatist groups and those in Gainsborough slowly left England for Holland (where there was greater religious freedom), including Smyth. Meanwhile the group in Scrooby continued to use the home of William Brewster, Scrooby Manor House, where he held the position of the Master of the Queen’s Posts. As with other groups of Separtisits they were united more by their dissatisfaction with the Church established by Elizabeth I, than by matters of doctrine that they agreed on. The group at Scrooby stands out due to their strength of belief and unwillingness to compromise in those beliefs. However this came at a cost with the general populace, who hated Puritans and in particular Separatists, who were subjected to persecution. This persecution led many members of the group to leave England for Holland. Such a move however was illegal without permission, complicating their plans with the necessity of secrecy. The group from Scrooby Manor first departure saw them betrayed to the authorities by the captain of the ship they were due to leave on and they were imprisoned for about a month. Their second attempt was more successful and so the group made a new life in Holland having made the hard decision to leave friends, family and their place of birth behind in order to live out their faith in freedom. At the time though they did not know this would only be a stage in their onward journey.  Eventually the Separatists decided to flee to Holland where there was greater religious freedom.  On 13th August 1620 (Julian Calendar) the Mayflower and Speedwell dropped anchor in Dartmouth. Having left Southampton on August 5th 1620, the Mayflower and the Speedwell set out on their journey to North America. They would however not get very far with the Speedwell springing a leak early in the journey. This was the second time the Speedwell had suffered from such a problem, in fact leaks had been the cause of the delay in the ships’ departure. The leak forced the ships to return as far as Dartmouth where on August 13th they lay anchor so that the Speedwell could be repaired.
Find out what happened next in our next blog on the voyage! This scene was built by James Pegrum as part of a series of models on the voyage of the Mayflower. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see them first. On this day in 1875 the Chimney Sweepers Act gained Royal Assent, which required sweeps to be licensed and made it the duty of the police to enforce all previous legislation. In the 18th and 19th centuries it was common for children to be employed by chimney sweeps as apprentices. These were usually boys from the local workhouses or children that were purchased from their parents and trained to climb the chimneys. Boys as young as four years old climbed up the hot flues that could be as narrow as 9 inches square. The work was dangerous, with children getting stuck in flues and suffocating. The poor conditions began to cause concern, with pamphlets describing the nature of the work bringing it to the public conscience. The fate of one such boy is described below: "After passing through the chimney and descending to the second angle of the fireplace the boy finds it completely filled with soot, which he has dislodged from the sides of the upright part. He endeavours to get through, and succeeds in doing so, after much struggling as far as his shoulders; but finding that the soot is compressed hard all around him, by his exertions, that he can recede no farther; he then endeavours to move forward, but his attempts in this respect are quite abortive; for the covering of the horizontal part of the Flue being stone, the sharp angle of which bears hard on his shoulders, and the back part of his head prevents him from moving in the least either one way or the other. His face, already covered with a climbing cap, and being pressed hard in the soot beneath him, stops his breath. In this dreadful condition he strives violently to extricate himself, but his strength fails him; he cries and groans, and in a few minutes he is suffocated. An alarm is then given, a brick-layer is sent for, an aperture is perforated in the Flue, and the boy is extracted, but found lifeless.”  Suffocation was not the only hazard that young chimney sweeps suffered, with general neglect being rife and . stunted growth and deformity of the spine, legs and arms being common
Therefore, late in the 18th century, efforts were made to improve the conditions of the young chimney sweeps. The first major piece of legislation was the Chimney Sweepers Act 1788, which stated that no boy should be a bound apprentice before he was eight years old. His parents’ consent must be obtained, the master sweep must promise to provide suitable clothing and living conditions, as well as an opportunity to attend church on Sundays. The clause inserted into the Bill requiring the Master Sweep to be licensed was voted down in the House of Lords, and without proper policing, the Act had little effect. In 1834 therefore, the Chimney Sweepers Act 1834 was passed to yet again try to stop child labour as it was evident that many boys as young as six were still being used as chimney sweeps and their conditions had changed little. The act stated that an apprentice must express himself in front of a magistrate that he was willing and desirous, that masters must not take on boys under the age of fourteen, that an apprentice could not be lent to another master, that the master could only have six apprentices, that boys under the age of fourteen who were already apprenticed, must wear brass cap badges on a leather cap and that apprentices were not allowed to climb flues to put out fires. In 1840 the Chimney Sweepers and Chimneys Regulation 1840 were passed, making it illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to sweep chimneys. These where however largely ignored. The Chimney Sweepers Regulation Act 1864, c37. tightened controls significantly, by authorising fines and imprisonment for master sweeps who were ignoring the law, giving the police the power of arrest on suspicion and authorising Board of Trade inspections of new and remodelled chimneys. In 1863 the publication of 'The Water-Babies', a novel by Charles Kingsley, did much to raise public awareness about the gross mistreatment of children in this kind of employment through its central character, Tom, a child chimney sweep. Parliament responded the following year with a new Chimney Sweepers Regulation Act 1864. This attempted to tighten controls significantly, by authorising fines and imprisonment for master sweeps who were ignoring the law, giving the police the power of arrest on suspicion and authorising Board of Trade inspections of new and remodelled chimneys. This was ineffective despite its humane purpose. In 1875 a twelve year-old boy named George Brewster died in a chimney at Fulbourn Hospital, causing a scandal. As a response Lord Shaftesbury seized on the incident to press his anti-climbing boys campaign. He wrote a series of letters to The Times and in 1875 pushed another Bill through Parliament. The Chimney Sweepers Act was passed in 1875 requiring Master Sweeps to be authorised by the police to carry on their businesses in the district, this providing the legal means to enforce all previous legislation. George Brewster was the last child to die in a chimney. As a result George Brewster was the last child to die in a chimney. This scene was built by James Pegrum as part of a series of models on British history. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see them first. On this day in 1842 the Mines and Collieries Act 1842, commonly known as the Mines Act 1842, was passed. The Act came in the wake of the Children's Employment Commission (Mines) 1842 report, which revealed the terrible working conditions children at the time were forced to work under and forbade women and girls of any age to work underground and placed a minimum age of ten years old for boys. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Britain in the 18th century, was based on the availability of coal to power steam engines. Demand for coal exploded and the small-scale techniques that had been traditionally employed could no longer keep up. In areas such as central and Northern England, South Wales and Central Scotland, where there was an abundance of coal, extraction therefore moved away from relatively primitive drift mining, to underground mining, enabled by the introduction of pit props in around 1800. In Britain the annual output of coal in 1700 was just under 3 million tons, but had risen to 16 million tons by 1815 and 30 million tons by 1830.  Labour poured into the mining areas from the British and Irish countryside, with around 216,000 people employed in Britain's mines in 1841. The use of women and children (at a fraction of the cost of men) was common and the work extremely dangerous, with death or serious injury an everyday threat. Shifts would typically be between 11 and 12 hours.
The public became aware of conditions in the country's collieries in 1838 after an accident at Huskar Colliery in Silkstone, near Barnsley. A stream overflowed into the ventilation drift after violent thunderstorms causing the death of 26 children; 11 girls aged from 8 to 16 and 15 boys between 9 and 12 years of age. The disaster came to the attention of Queen Victoria who ordered an inquiry. In 1840 Lord Ashley headed the royal commission of inquiry, which investigated the conditions of workers (especially children) in the coal mines. Commissioners visited collieries and mining communities across Britain, gathering information sometimes against the mine owners' wishes. The report, illustrated by engraved illustrations and the personal accounts of mineworkers was published in May 1842. Below are some quotes from those interviewed by the commissioners: "Nearly a year ago there was an accident and most of us were burned. I was carried home by a man. It hurt very much because the skin was burnt off my face. I couldn't work for six months." Phillip Phillips, aged 9, Plymouth Mines, Merthyr "I got my head crushed a short time since by a piece of roof falling..." William Skidmore, aged 8, Buttery Hatch Colliery, Mynydd Islwyn "...got my legs crushed some time since, which threw me off work some weeks." John Reece, aged 14, Hengoed Colliery Victorian society was shocked to discover that children as young as five or six worked as trappers, opening and shutting ventilation doors down the mine, before becoming hurriers, pushing and pulling coal tubs and corfs. Lord Ashley deliberately appealed to Victorian prudery, focussing on girls and women wearing trousers and working bare-breasted in the presence of boys and men, which "made girls unsuitable for marriage and unfit to be mothers". Such an affront to Victorian morality ensured the bill was passed, despite objection from those connected with mining in both the Commons and the Lords. From March 1st 1843 it became illegal for women or any child under the age of ten to work underground in Britain. There was no compensation for those made unemployed which caused much hardship. However, evasion of the Act was easy - there was only one inspector to cover the whole of Britain and he had to give prior notice before visiting collieries. Therefore many women probably carried on working illegally for several years, their presence only being revealed when they were killed or injured. The concept of women as wage earners became less acceptable in the mining industry as the years went by. However, a small number of female surface workers could be found well into the twentieth century. In 1990 the protective legacy was repealed and after 150 years women are once again able to work underground. This scene was built by Dan Harris as part of a series of models on interesting and important events in British history. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see them first.  The Pilgrims board the Mayflower and Speedwell. On this day in 1620 the Mayflower and her companion ship the Speedwell, left Southampton on their journey to North America. The Mayflower had left London in mid-July with the aim of rendezvousing with the Speedwell, which was coming from Holland with members of the Leiden congregation, at the Hampshire town on the 22nd. Although both ships planned to depart for America by the end of July, a leak was discovered on the Speedwell, which had to be repaired and so the voyage would be delayed until August.
Find out what happened next in our next blog on the voyage! This scene was built by James Pegrum as part of a series of models on the voyage of the Mayflower. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see them first. With the cancellation of 2020’s big events, we won’t be able to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s voyage with a big model. We will however aim to bring it to you in 2021 instead. In the meantime, we’ve decided to continue the story of the Mayflower, in a series of short blogs. So let us begin in London.  The Mayflower in London. While it is generally known that the Mayfower set out from Plymouth on her log voyage across the Atlantic, her story, at least as far as the Pilgrim Fathers and their companions goes, begins in London.
It was in London that she was contracted and boarded and from where many of the crew were hired. In mid-July, the Mayflower, along with her 65 passengers, left the English capital for Southampton, where they would be met by the expedition’s second ship, The Speedwell. Find out more in our next blog. This scene was built by James Pegrum as part of a series of models on the voyage of the Mayflower. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see them first. On this day in 1715 The Riot Act, or to give it its full and more entertaining title, “An Act for preventing tumults and riotous assemblies, and for the more speedy and effectual punishing the rioters", came into force.  The act created a mechanism for local officials to make a proclamation ordering the dispersal of any group of more than twelve people. If the group failed to disperse within one hour, then they were guilty of a felony punishable by death. The Act was introduced during a time of civil disturbance in Great Britain, such as the Sacheverell riots of 1710, the Coronation riots of 1714 and the 1715 riots in England. The preamble makes reference to "many rebellious riots and tumults [that] have been [taking place of late] in diverse parts of this kingdom", adding that those involved "presum[e] so to do, for that the punishments provided by the laws now in being are not adequate to such heinous offences". The act created a mechanism for certain local officials to make a proclamation ordering the dispersal of any group of more than twelve people who were "unlawfully, riotously, and tumultuously assembled together". If the group failed to disperse within one hour, then anyone remaining gathered was guilty of a felony without benefit of clergy, punishable by death. The proclamation could be made in an incorporated town or city by the mayor, bailiff or "other head officer", or a justice of the peace. Elsewhere it could be made by a justice of the peace or the sheriff, undersheriff or parish constable. It had to be read out to the gathering concerned, and had to follow precise wording detailed in the act; several convictions were overturned because parts of the proclamation had been omitted, in particular "God save the King".  The RIot Act was read at Peterloo, prior to the Manchester and Salford Yeomanry attacking the crowd. The wording that had to be read out to the assembled gathering was as follows: “Our sovereign lord the King chargeth and commandeth all persons, being assembled, immediately to disperse themselves, and peaceably to depart to their habitations, or to their lawful business, upon the pains contained in the act made in the first year of King George, for preventing tumults and riotous assemblies. God save the King.” If a group of people failed to disperse within one hour of the proclamation, the act provided that the authorities could use force to disperse them. Anyone assisting with the dispersal was specifically indemnified against any legal consequences in the event of any of the crowd being injured or killed. Because of the broad authority that the act granted, it was used both for the maintenance of civil order and for political means.  The Riot Act was read twice during the Merthyr Rising and twice it was ignored. At times, it was unclear to both rioters and authorities as to whether the reading of the Riot Act had occurred. One example of this is evident in the St. George's Fields Massacre of 1768. At the trials following the incident, there was confusion among witnesses as to when the Riot Act had actually been read. The Riot Act also caused confusion during the Gordon Riots of 1780, when the authorities felt uncertain of their power to take action to stop the riots without a reading of the Riot Act. After the riots, Lord Mansfield observed that the Riot Act did not take away the pre-existing power of the authorities to use force to stop a violent riot; it only created the additional offense of failing to disperse after a reading of the Riot Act. The Riot Act was read prior to the Peterloo Massacre of 1819, Cinderloo Uprising of 1821, as well as before the Bristol Riots at Queen's Square in 1831 and twice during the Merthyr Rising of the same year.  The Act had to be read out using its precise wording, otherwise it would be invalid. The Riot Act eventually drifted into disuse. The last time it was definitely read in England was in Birkenhead, Cheshire, on August 3rd 1919, during the second police strike, when large numbers of police officers from Birkenhead, Liverpool and Bootle joined the strike. Troops were called in to deal with the rioting and looting that had begun, and a magistrate read out the Riot Act.
The Act was repealed in England in Wales by the Criminal Law Act 1967. However, it would continue to be law in Scotland until July 18th 1973 when the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1973 came into force. The last known use of the Act in Scotland was in 1971 when it was read by the deputy town clerk James Gildea in Airdrie. As a consequence of the Act, the expression "to read the Riot Act" has entered into common language as a phrase meaning "to reprimand severely", with the added sense of a stern warning. The phrase remains in common use in the English language. These scenes were built by Dan Harris as part of a series of models on people and protest. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see them first. |
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