The Pentrich Rebellion – A Nottingham Affair?

Abstract

This article re-considers Nottingham’s role in the events immediately preceding the Pentrich Rebellion of 9–10 June 1817, as well as its reaction on the night of the Rebellion and during its aftermath. It does so in light of two continuing areas of historiographical debate: Nottingham’s status as a radical, potentially revolutionary, town, and the Rebellion’s links to Luddism. Nottingham loomed large in the planning and course of the Rebellion; it was heavily influenced by the work of a secret committee centred on Nottingham, the North Midlands Committee. It was also a Rebellion led by a Nottingham man, Jeremiah Brandreth, ‘the Nottingham Captain’. However, the effective role played by Nottingham Corporation, the inability of the radicals to persuade would-be rebels that they had an effective plan, and the ability of the authorities to gather intelligence about the Rebellion, all played their part in the Rebellion’s failure.