Mobs closed down many of the district’s mills as the country witnessed its first general strike, writes Robin Longbottom

IN June, 1839, a charter and petition with 1.25 million signatures demanding political reform was presented to Parliament and rejected.

A second petition with 3.3 million signatures was presented in May, 1842, and was also rejected.

The organisers of the petitions – known as Chartists – were petitioning for votes for all men, voting by secret ballot, abolition of a property qualification to become an MP, payment for MPs, constituencies of equal size and annual elections.

After the rejection of the second petition, civil unrest followed – particularly in the industrial north. The unrest was fuelled by wage cuts, long working hours and high house rentals. The Chartist leaders and their supporters decided to take direct action and strike at mills, factories, mines and other industries in the hope of promoting the plight of the disenfranchised poor.

The day of action was Tuesday, August 16, 1842, and in an age when communication was largely limited to word of mouth, the country's first general strike was accomplished by sending forth groups of roving workers to close industry down. The organisers, however, stressed that this was to be a non-violent protest.

Early in the morning men assembled in Bradford where they succeeded in closing many mills. From Bradford a group marched to Bingley, bringing the mill workers out and preventing any further work by opening the sluice gates and draining the mill dams. Where they came across mills with steam power, they removed the plugs from the boilers and drained them, giving rise to the name the 'Plug Draw Riots'.

At Bingley, the men split up, some going to Harden and Cullingworth, others to Morton, whilst the main group headed along the turnpike road to Keighley. As they approached Stockbridge the toll keeper at Bar Lane closed and locked the gates, but the crowd broke them open and marched on to Stubbing House (Aireworth) Mill.

There they were met by the owner, Samuel Clapham, who tried to appease them with quantities of beer, bread and other refreshments. Nevertheless, they opened the sluices and drained the mill dam.

The town had prepared for their arrival by swearing in 300 special constables but faced with a mob estimated at several thousand, they proved to be ineffectual. Shops and inns closed and bolted their doors and bread and money was thrown from upstairs windows in support of the cause.

Groups of about a hundred men were sent off in all directions to close the mills. The only exceptions were the corn mills which were encouraged to “grind away”. All the mill dams were drained apart from John Williamson's at Becks Mill because it also powered the corn mill at Damside.

William Lund at North Beck Mill locked his doors against the mob, but led by William Walbank and Longbottom Lambert – both from Bingley – they broke in and with an iron bar knocked the plugs out of the boiler.

An estimated 8,000 strikers settled down in fields off the road to Halifax and were joined by bodies of men from Morton and Haworth. Here one of their leaders addressed them, emphasising “peace, law and order” and the crowd refreshed themselves with more bread and unfermented meal beer.

Fortunately, the events at Keighley went without any physical violence or injury. However, it was a different matter in Skipton and Halifax where the Riot Act was read, and infantry and Hussars were turned upon the crowds resulting in casualties and some deaths.

By nightfall, the strikers had deserted the streets of Keighley. There were few repercussions after the event, only William Walbank and Longbottom Lambert and a man named Parker were prosecuted. The jury at the crown court found them guilty but recommended mercy and they were sentenced to two months' hard labour.