Back on November 19, I mentioned that one of the reasons Spencer Perceval’s death was not considered tragic by one and all was Perceval’s wish to suppress the Luddite movement. To summarize, the Luddite movement was a protest by 19th-century English textile workers against the introduction of new machinery that threatened their livelihoods during the Industrial Revolution. They engaged in acts of machine breaking, particularly targeting textile machinery like power looms. The movement was named after Ned Ludd, a mythical figure who supposedly led the movement. 

Calderdale Companion explains what happened at Cartwrights Mills. In the mix of my story, Lyon in Disguise, this attack on the mills happens a month before Spencer Perceval’s assassination. The attack has no effect on what happens early in the book, but the prosecution of those involved is part of the last chapter. Therefore, I thought some of you might wish to know why certain men were being hanged. Five of those who attacked Cartwrights Mills were among the fourteen hanged on 16 January 1813.

A Luddite mob of some 150 men and led by George Mellor attacked the mill belonging to Mr. William Cartwright, near Liversedge, an industrial town in the Kirklees district, in West Yorkshire, England. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. The attack had been planned at the Crispin Inn, Halifax, a town in what is now the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. Prior to this event, in February 1812, a delivery of shearing frames destined for Cartwright’s mill had been attacked and destroyed by Luddites as it crossed Hartshead Moor, and Cartwright and other mill-owners had been expecting trouble as weapons were stolen in various parts of the parish.

The Luddites came from many place in Yorkshire and supposedly assembled at the Dumb Steeple. “Some 19th Century antiquarians such as J. Horsfall Turner fancifully argued that the name “dumb steeple” represents a corruption of the phrase “doom steeple”, so called because it once marked the boundary of Kirkless Priory, within which “doomed” men could claim sanctuary. Anybody who managed to reach it would be safe from the law for forty days after which they could choose to surrender themselves to the secular authorities for trial or be exiled from the country, never to return on pain of death.” [Lower Calder Legends]

Because of previous attacks, Cartwright had already set plans in place to defend the mill. “The main door was studded with iron, spiked rollers were ready for throwing down the stairs, and sulphuric acid was also at hand. Cartwright planned to sleep in the counting-house at the mill, as he had done for several weeks. With the aid of 6 workmen and 5 soldiers from the local militia, he defended the mill with such force that the attackers were driven back. A bell was installed on the roof to alert local militia of the attack, but the rope broke when it was rung. Cartwright ordered the men to ring the bell by hand. The attack lasted about 20 minutes before the mob was driven back and ran away leaving the injured behind. None of the defenders was harmed, although it was said that Cartwright was injured by one of his spiked rollers.” [Calderdale Companion]

2 men died on site: John Booth and Samuel Hartley

Reportedly, one of the militia men refused to fire on friends and neighbors. He was court martialled and presented with a sentence of 300 lashes, but Cartwright insisted that the stop after 30.

Eight men were placed on trial at York on 2 January 1813. The is part of the back story for the last chapter of Lyon in Disguise, where Lord Aaran Graham, Lord Macdonald Duncan, Lord Navan Beaufort, Lord Richard Orson, and Lord Alexander Dutton are all in attendance for the execution of these men, for they expect an uproar when the fourteen men are sentenced to death. But there is a bit of a surprise as to who else is there. Cannot tell you now. You must read the tale and fall in love with Navan Beaufort and Annalise Dutton one more time.

Again, according to the Calerdale Companion, “The prosecution tried to prove that an attempt had been made to demolish the mill, not simply to damage it, since the death penalty could not be given for damage alone.

The verdicts were:

• James Haigh [28 years old] – guilty
• Jonathan Dean [29] – guilty
• John Ogden [28] – guilty
• James Brook [26] – not guilty
• John Brook [22] – not guilty
• Thomas Brook [32] – guilty
• John Walker [31] – guilty
• John Hirst [28] – not guilty

On Saturday, 16th January 1813, the five guilty men – together with a further 9 from earlier events – went to the gallows at Tyburn singing Methodist hymns, including

Behold the Saviour of mankind, nailed to the shameful tree

In Charlotte Brontë’s novel Shirley, the character Robert Moore is said to represent Cartwright, and Rawfolds Mill is a model for Hollow’s Mill.

Lyon in Disguise: Lyon’s Den Connected World 

A handsome rake meets his match in a red-headed enchantress who is his enemy!

They may be on different sides of the law, but Lord Navan Beaufort is not going to permit that to stop him from protecting Miss Audrey Moreau. Navan has never thought truly to love anyone, but when he laid eyes on the red-headed beauty, his world shifted. Unfortunately, the lady appears to prefer Lord Alexander Dutton to him, though Navan has rarely had the opportunity to speak to her privately. That is, until he saves her from a fire one miraculous night. From there forward, she is his hope. His future.

Miss Audrey Moreau depends exclusively on her Uncle Jacobi for a home and protection. The man rescued her from a bayman’s plantation in the West Indies when she was five; yet, she well knows the “Marquis of Honfleur’s” schemes. She thought once Jacobi was caught, all would be well, but even from his jail, the man means to rain down harm upon her.

Can two lost souls find happiness together, when everyone in whom they had previously placed their trust have left them alone in the world?

Tropes You’ll Love:

• Enemies to lovers
• Self-declared bachelor
• Friends to lovers
• Adversaries
• Damsel in distress
• Best friend’s sister
• Different worlds/experiences
• Soul mates
• Emotional scars
• Fish out of water

Read in Kindle Unlimited!

Enjoy book one in a new series within The Lyon’s Den Connected world by Regina Jeffers.

Book 1 – Lyon in the Way

Book 2 – Lyon’s Obsession

Book 3 – Lyon in Disguise

Book 4 – Lost in the Lyon’s Garden

Book 5 – Lyon on the Inside

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G1V963YZ

Please Note: The price of this book will increase to $3.99 on 11/26/2025.