Friday 4 November 2011

4th November 1811: 6 Frames broken in Bulwell

Like a faint rumble of thunder in the distance, frame-breaking broke out again 2 weeks after the October incident at Arnold. Six stocking frames were broken at Bulwell, and the frame-breakers seem to have targetted them for destruction on account of their being wide-frames, of the the type used to create cut-ups ('shoddy goods' as far as the framework-knitters were concerned).The thunder would be directly overhead in but a few days time.


From the report by Conant & Baker, HO 42/119. Not a great deal is known about what is taken to be - apparently erroneously - the commencement proper of Nottinghamshire Luddite activity. As I write, I have not had access to the contemporary Nottinghamshire newspaper reports.

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