WARS AND INSURRECTION
During the period of the French revolutionary war, a most decided
anti-gallican spirit was found in the area and 3000 volunteers,
under the command of Sir George Armytage, joined Huddersfield and
Upper Agbrigg corps.
Unfortunately they never had the opportunity to display their prowess
against the French.
The most important period of the modern history of Huddersfield
was during the Luddite insurrection, in 1811-12.
Although this rebellion, against the introduction of machinery
for finishing cloth, started in Nottinghamshire it soon spread to
Yorkshire, and Huddersfield was one of the town most deeply involved
in it.
A great number of croppers formed themselves into a confederacy
with the determined intention of preventing the machinerys introduction.
They swore oaths and searched for firearms. The centre of Luddism
in the area was Wood's Cropping Shop in Longroyd Bridge where several
of the ringleaders (including those mentioned below) worked.
On Tuesday, April 21st, 1813 four men, George Mellor, William Thorpe,
Thomas Smith and Benjamin Walker (commonly called Ben o' Bucks)
decided to take the rebellion one step further than just attacking
mills and breaking the machinery. They decided to murder Mr Horsfall,
a manufacturer of Marsden.
In the afternoon they made their way to Mr Horsfalls' plantation
and lay in wait. At approximately 5.30 pm Mr Horsfall was seen riding
up the road and, when he reached the plantation where they were
hiding, Mellor and Thorpe fired their pistols (which were each loaded
with two bullets and some slugs).
They inflicted several wounds on Mr Horsfall, the surgeon Mr Rowland
Houghton of Huddersfield noting "two wounds in the upper part
of the left thigh, another on the lower part of the belly, another
on the lower part of the scrotum, two more on the right thigh,"
besides smaller ones.
Horsfall died about 38 hours later in the nearby Warren House Inn.
Despite the hiding of the guns and the forced swearing of silence
oaths the murderers were brought to justice by the talented magistrate
Sir Joseph Ramsden.
Walker turned Kings evidence, thus saving his life, while the other
three were condemned to death and subsequently executed on January
8th 1813.
An eye-witness of many of the doings of these troublesome times
stated that Mr Horsfall was not the only, or principal, intended
victim of the Luddites.
The man they most wanted to kill was Mr Enoch Taylor, the senior
partner of E + J Taylor, Mechanics and Ironfounders, of Marsden.
Mr Taylor was a great theorist and practical mechanic and was the
chief improver, and for the most part the inventor of the improved
shear-frame.
The hatred of Mr Taylor and his brother were so great that the Luddites
name their machine-breaking mallet "Enoch" after him.
SOURCE - HUDDERSFIELD, ITS HISTORY
AND NATURAL HISTORY,
CHAS P. HOBKIRK, 1868
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