Laugh it offBlue door

	Sunday, 15 January 2012
	The Terrible Riots of Kidderminster
	by Tav

In the 1880s the Kidderminster Carpet manufacturer Henry Dixon saw increased profit margins by employing women in his factory at a cheaper rate than men's wages. The women were hired to produce plush velvet using modified carpet looms. This action caused a strike in the town, which Noah Cooke, the poet weaver, put to verse:

The Terrible Riots of Kidderminster

What shame that a master can't do as he likes
Without being menaced and harass'd with "strikes";
What's the user having power if 'tis to be curbed
And each good design by the rabble disturbed?
Because he begins making Medici plush,
Those tyrants of weavers bear down with a rush,
Demanding that Dixey shall follow their will,
And turn off the women that weave at their mill!

Sources:
Rose, Sonya O. (1993); 'Limited Livelihoods: Gender and Class in Nineteenth-Century England'; University of California Press, p. 122
Anon (2011); 'Kidderminster man jailed for riot incitement facebook page'; The Shuttle, 15 December 2011 7:50am
Gilbert, Nigel (2007); The Larches, Stourport Road'; Kidderminster Civic Society, 5 August 2007, #296

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Comments:

Tav 19 Jan 2012

Will I be sent to jail for writing this blog?

Stephen Brown 19 Jan 2012

I hope not Tav. If that was the case, with my self-penned poems and songs I might have been jailed a long time ago otherwise. There is a distinct lack of balance in the justice system and an over-reactionary approach to the recent 'riots'.

walkerno5 20 Jan 2012

My wife is related to a onetime Town Clerk of Kidderminster who called the army in to crush a strike, not sure what date that would be... If my relatives had been around here at the time (more likely black country), they would probably have been the crushees....

Tav 20 Jan 2012

I can well believe the army was called in to crush a strike around here. There have been many industrial relations disputes that have turned into civil unrest. The 'carpet barons' were always up to something to gain power even if it was detrimental to the employees, the town, the district, or the people. Quite often when I'm researching for a blog I stumble across some interesting information. I then either: write it down and use it for a blog (like this one); or read it, say 'interesting', and then only remember the briefest of facts about it. From the latter situation I recall an MP being attacked by a mob on Sutton Road, Kidderminster (I think it was 'Baron' Grant); I think there was once an assassination attempt at a Kidderminster Mayor; and, either one man or two men were shot on the turnpike (A456) at Blakedown escaping from civil unrest in Kidderminster (this was in the 18th century – the road was probably a dual carriageway then! ).

walkerno5 23 Jan 2012

Here we go... The Hallens featured in this Nigel Gilbert article are the relatives in question. " [The Larches] was built by Thomas Hallen (1792-1866), who occupied the house until about 1834 when George Butcher Lea took the tenancy. By 1846 Lea had purchased the mansion from Hallen. Hallen was a solicitor, like his father, George Hallen. The latter was Town Clerk from 1801 until 1826, when he was succeeded by his son. Thomas retained the post until he resigned in 1856. (p61, Gilbert, 2004) They epitomised the establishment in Kidderminster, taking a highly confrontational approach to the weavers during their great strike in 1828, when George Hallen was High Bailiff. Troops were called to the town by George, and in the years which followed the strike Thomas was keen to maintain a military presence. (p103 & 157, Smith, 1986)" They can be traced all the way back to Van Halens who came over from the low countries in the 16th or 17th century, which leads me to believe that my son is also distantly related to guitar maestro Eddie Van Halen.

Fran Oborski 21 Jan 2012

Somewhere around I have some 19th century political pamphlets. Kidderminster had a very strong republican club and was a hotbed of anti-royalism in Queen Victoria's reign. It has always been the rural area that delivered the Tory vote and Stourport and Bewdley.

Fran Oborski 20 Jan 2012

The legal response to the recent riots has been so over the top, imprisoning young people who loot a pair of trainers and then cautioning a top chef. Rich man's justice!

Tav 20 Jan 2012

I called Worcester Crown Court and asked for court records of Danny Cook's case (#T20110462) but they only reveal the offence and sentence. The court records are not for public viewing. If Danny had pleaded not guilty to inciting a riot that never happened I would have been very interested in hearing how they can prove that publishing text caused a non-existent riot.

Jon D 20 Jan 2012

Strange that a town oppressed by the Barons still votes for the Baron's party. This would never happen up north.

walkerno5 24 Jan 2012

This extract from "A Short History of Kidderminster" by the Rev. John Burton from 1890 is illuminating... "Humphrey Price, born at Kidderminster, and educated at the Grannnar School, was afterwards minister of Christ Church in Needwood. He was a mm of exceedingly benevolent dispo- sition, but somewhat eccentric and misguided in his chivalrous support of the cause of the weavers during the great strike of 1828. Nearly 2000 looms were standing idle from March till the end of August, entailing a loss upon the operatives of about ^50,000. This produced great distress in the town : Mr. Price composed a pathetic poem, " A Kidderminster Weaver's Wife's Dream," and also published highly infiaminator\- letters addressed to John Woodward, John Broom, James Hooman, and George Hallen (High Bailift), which were considered to be the cause of some riots which endued. J. iJowyer, of The Copse, and " Oppitlanus " replied to these letters (printer, T. Pennell, High Street). Sir James Scarlett moved in the King's Bench tor a rule to show cause why a crinnnal mtorma- tion should not be filed against the Ivew 11. Pnci'. He was tried at Hereford, and sentenced to twelve months' imprison- ment. In the end the men returned to work at lower wages, and received 205. each as a present." The spelling and interpretation errors are from a website - but the gist is a gentleman writing letters in support of protesters being accused of inciting the riots, and therefore imprisoned for 12 months. The more things change, the more they stay the same!

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