Jeremiah Brandreth
Encyclopedia
Jeremiah Brandreth was an out-of-work stocking maker who lived in Sutton-in-Ashfield
, Nottinghamshire
, who was hanged for treason. He was known as "The Nottingham Captain". He and two of his conspirators were the last people to be beheaded with an axe in Britain.
, a village which is now part of the city of Nottingham
, but moved to Sutton-in-Ashfield
, where he had a wife and three children.
It is believed that Brandreth was involved in Luddite
activities in 1811.
He met William J. Oliver
("Oliver the Spy") in May 1817 and agreed to cooperate in a plan where he would join 50,000 men in London to storm the Tower
. It is widely believed that Brandreth was a victim of the then Home Secretary, Lord Sidmouth, who took severe measures against Luddite rioters. The "revolution" began on 9 June 1817. Brandreth had held a final meeting at a pub in Pentridge, or Pentrich, where he and his fellow conspirators were to lead a march on Nottingham where "they would receive 100 guineas, bread, meat and ale." They would then lead an attack on the local barracks, overthrow the government and end "poverty for ever".
On the way to the attack, Brandreth refused to pay £1 0s 8d (one pound and eightpence) for the beer as the notes would soon be valueless.
They met soldiers in Giltbrook
, near the town of Eastwood
in Nottinghamshire.
, but the sentence was commuted by the Prince Regent
.
On the scaffold one of the men claimed that they had been set up by Lord Sidmouth and "Oliver the spy". This was investigated by Edward Baines of the Leeds Mercury and sufficient evidence was found to enable publication. Brandreth was hanged however and once dead, he and the other two had their heads cut off with an axe. It has been said by Ivor Smallen that the crowd did not cheer as expected when Brandreth's head was shown to the crowd as a traitor. Cavalrymen were said to be getting ready to charge.
The board that was used to hold the bodies during the beheading is kept in Derby Museum
.
Sutton-in-Ashfield
Sutton-in-Ashfield is a market town in the Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England, with a population of around 43,000. It is situated four miles west of Mansfield, close to the Derbyshire border.-Geography:...
, Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
, who was hanged for treason. He was known as "The Nottingham Captain". He and two of his conspirators were the last people to be beheaded with an axe in Britain.
The plot
Brandreth was born in WilfordWilford
Wilford is a village close to the centre the city of Nottingham, UK, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been described as a semi-rural village in a city. The village is bounded to the north and west by the River Trent and to the east by the embankment of the now closed Great Central Railway...
, a village which is now part of the city of Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, but moved to Sutton-in-Ashfield
Sutton-in-Ashfield
Sutton-in-Ashfield is a market town in the Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England, with a population of around 43,000. It is situated four miles west of Mansfield, close to the Derbyshire border.-Geography:...
, where he had a wife and three children.
It is believed that Brandreth was involved in Luddite
Luddite
The Luddites were a social movement of 19th-century English textile artisans who protested – often by destroying mechanised looms – against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, which they felt were leaving them without work and changing their way of life...
activities in 1811.
He met William J. Oliver
William J. Oliver
William Oliver aka 'Oliver the Spy' aka W.J Richards - was a 19th century informer, and suspected agent provocateur, employed by the English Home Office against the Luddites and similar groupings. He appears to have played a significant role in thwarting the Pentridge or Pentrich Rising of 1817,...
("Oliver the Spy") in May 1817 and agreed to cooperate in a plan where he would join 50,000 men in London to storm the Tower
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
. It is widely believed that Brandreth was a victim of the then Home Secretary, Lord Sidmouth, who took severe measures against Luddite rioters. The "revolution" began on 9 June 1817. Brandreth had held a final meeting at a pub in Pentridge, or Pentrich, where he and his fellow conspirators were to lead a march on Nottingham where "they would receive 100 guineas, bread, meat and ale." They would then lead an attack on the local barracks, overthrow the government and end "poverty for ever".
On the way to the attack, Brandreth refused to pay £1 0s 8d (one pound and eightpence) for the beer as the notes would soon be valueless.
They met soldiers in Giltbrook
Giltbrook
Giltbrook is a village situated approximately 10 kilometres West-northwest of Nottingham and within close reach of junction 26 of the M1 motorway. It is part of Greasley ward, which had a population of 6,076 in 2001....
, near the town of Eastwood
Eastwood, Nottinghamshire
Eastwood is a former coal mining town in the Broxtowe district of Nottinghamshire, England. With a population of over 18,000, it is northwest of Nottingham, and northeast of Derby, on the border between Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Mentioned in Domesday Book, it expanded rapidly during the...
in Nottinghamshire.
The trial
Thirty-five people were brought to trial and Brandreth and two others, William Turner and Isaac Ludlam, were sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quarteredHanged, drawn and quartered
To be hanged, drawn and quartered was from 1351 a penalty in England for men convicted of high treason, although the ritual was first recorded during the reigns of King Henry III and his successor, Edward I...
, but the sentence was commuted by the Prince Regent
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
.
The board that was used to hold the bodies during the beheading is kept in Derby Museum
Derby Museum and Art Gallery
Derby Museum and Art Gallery was established in 1879, along with Derby Central Library, in a new building designed by Richard Knill Freeman and given to Derby by Michael Thomas Bass. The collection includes a whole gallery displaying the paintings of Joseph Wright of Derby; there is also a large...
.
External links
- Pentrich Historical Society website accessed July 2007
- Giles Brandreth claims to be related accessed July 2007