Midland Revolt facts for kids
The Midland Revolt was a big protest that happened in the Midlands of England in 1607. It started in late April in Northamptonshire, in places like Haselbech, Pytchley, and Rushton. By May, it had spread to Warwickshire and Leicestershire.
These protests were against the enclosure of common land. This meant that land that everyone in a village could use for farming or grazing animals was being fenced off by landowners for their own use. Many people supported the revolt. It was led by a man known as "Captain Pouch," whose real name was John Reynolds. He was a tinker (someone who traveled around mending pots and pans) from Desborough, Northamptonshire.
Captain Pouch claimed he had permission from the King and even from God to destroy these enclosures. He promised to protect the protesters with a special pouch he carried, saying it would keep them safe. He also told them not to use violence when they tore down the fences. Thousands of people joined the protests: about 3,000 in Hillmorton, Warwickshire, and 5,000 in Cotesbach, Leicestershire. The city of Leicester even put a curfew in place because they were worried their citizens would leave to join the riots. Protesters also pulled down a gibbet (a gallows used to display executed criminals) that had been put up as a warning. It was around this time that the word "leveller" was first used to describe people who wanted to make things more equal.
The Newton Rebellion: A Major Clash
The biggest event of the revolt was called the Newton Rebellion. In early June, more than a thousand protesters gathered in Newton, near Kettering, Northamptonshire. This group included women and children. They were there to protest the enclosures by pulling out hedges and filling in ditches.
King James I ordered his local officials in Northamptonshire to stop the riots. The Tresham family, who lived at Newton and also had famous Roman Catholic relatives at Rushton Hall, were very unpopular. They had been fencing off a lot of common land. Sir Thomas Tresham of Rushton was especially disliked for this. The Treshams had a long-standing disagreement over land with another family, the Montagus of Boughton House, who were Puritans. Now, the Tresham family at Newton was enclosing a common area called the Brand, which had been part of Rockingham Forest.
Edward Montagu, one of the King's officials, had actually spoken against enclosure in Parliament years before. But now, the King put him in the difficult position of defending the Treshams. Local armed groups and militia (citizen soldiers) refused to help stop the riots. So, the landowners had to use their own servants to put down the protesters on June 8, 1607.
The King's official warning was read twice, but the rioters kept going. So, the landowners and their forces attacked. About 40 or 50 people were killed in the battle. The leaders of the protest were captured and executed.
There is a memorial for those who were executed at St Faith's Church in Newton. After the rebellion, the Tresham family's power and wealth declined. The Montagu family, however, grew more powerful through marriage and became the Dukes of Buccleuch, who are now among the biggest landowners in Britain.
The Newton Rebellion was one of the last times that ordinary people (the peasantry) and the wealthy landowners (the gentry) in England fought openly against each other. After Captain Pouch was caught, his famous pouch was opened. According to historical records, it only contained a piece of green cheese! John Reynolds, Captain Pouch, was also executed.
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