'Radicalism in Llanidloes' by Gay Roberts:
"Llanidloes? That radical little town?" This was the reaction received by one Llanidloes worthy when he replied to a question about where he came from. The word 'radical' was said in a very disparaging way, but our worthy took it with pride, as a compliment and it provided the idea for the following article - Radicalism in Llanidloes.
So how does Llanidloes' radicalism assert itself? Probably the best known example is the Chartists' revolt of 1839. The Chartists were ordinary working men who, like the 17th century Levellers, wanted a say in the way their country was governed. After all, they worked and paid their taxes. That was the least they could expect. Such a commonplace idea today, it is hard to imagine how unthinkable that was to the lords and masters of the 19h century and before.
They set out a charter demanding:
universal suffrage, i.e. a vote for every man. votes to be cast in a secret ballot (not by a show of hands at a public meeting). no property qualification in order to become a Member of Parliament, i.e. they did not have to own their houses to become an MP. Members of Parliament should be paid so that they need not have to rely a private income annual parliaments.Men were agitating for this all over England and Wales during the first half of the 19th century and Llanidloes was one of the first towns in Wales to hold meetings and offer support. However, in April 1839 matters came to a head.
During 1839, the authorities were getting worried about social unrest concerning the Chartists and there were elements in the county that were playing on these worries although it is not easy to pin them down. Despite their non-violent determination, one Newtown solicitor thought that Llanidloes agitators were stirring up unrest in Newtown and that if these mischief-makers were out of the way, Chartism in Newtown would disappear.
The Home Secretary was persuaded to send three policemen to Llanidloes to maintain law and order and when they arrived on the evening of 29th April, so did two private "heavies" from Newtown and Welshpool and a Newtown bailiff-cum-informer-cum spy. The following morning, three leading Chartists were arrested as troublemakers and held in the Trewythen Arms Hotel.
As soon as the townsfolk found out, they gathered in front of the hotel in a huge crowd to demand their release. Stones were thrown and the crowd surged forward.
Accounts vary as to exactly what happened next but the Trewythen Arms was stormed by the crowd, incensed by the detention of the Chartists and at the idea of policemen being brought from London. Windows were smashed and damage done to the tune of £350. The policemen managed to escape and were found later in an outbuilding three doors away.
Thomas Marsh, the town's former mayor, did leave the town but under what circumstances and whether he went to Welshpool or Shrewsbury to warn the Lord Lieutenant depends on which account you read. He was a very controversial character and what part he played in the affair is too complicated to go into in detail here.
The militia took several days to arrive. Meanwhile, there was no legal authority to enforce law and order in Llanidloes. Once again, accounts of this period differ but it is likely that the Chartists agreed to set up their own patrols to deal with any pilfering and as such remained crime free until the militia arrived five days later.
When the militia arrived, many of the Chartists fled the town. Some went to South Wales while others took to the hills in the Llanidloes area.
Reward posters went out for the leading Chartists - David Jenkin Hughes, Isaac Lewis, Lewis Humphreys, Thomas Jerman and Abraham Owen - the last three being the ones originally taken prisoner. David Jenkin Hughes and Thomas Jerman managed to get away from Llanidloes and were never seen in the town again.
In the aftermath, 33 people were charged with riot, two of whom were also charged with training, i.e. drilling, and one was also charged with stabbing.
Most were imprisoned for terms varying from two months to a year while Lewis Humphreys, Abraham Owen, John Ingram and James Morris were all transported to Australia - Owen, Humphreys and Ingram for 7 years and 19-year-old Morris for 15 years."
Article by Gay Roberts from Llanidloes
Photos of the Chartist Cave...
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Gareth Jones
It is not true that Thomas Jerman was "never seen in the town again". On the 1851 census, he is shown back in Llanidloes with his wife, Sarah (a Courtney, born in Ireland) and some children, born in New York. I haven't managed to find him in 1860(US) or 1861(UK) but in 1870 he is shown as a carpenter in Queens, New York and then in 1880 in Nebraska with I believe his daughter's family.The blue plaque commemorating the Chartist uprising on the wall of the Trewythen Arms hotel is also wrong as it states Thomas Jerman was re-arrested following his release by the mob. Contemporaneous accounts of the events of 1839 vary and later surveys find some evidence of, at the very least, dubious practice on the part of the town's authorities prior to, during and following the "riot". This may be why he felt safe in returning to the scene of the "crime" later, or perhaps there was some sort of statute of limitation.Thomas Jerman came from a locally well-known family of Llanidloes master-carpenters. These skilled artisans and nascent middle-class were at the forefront of the demands for electoral reform. Thomas' brother Richard was influential in the organisation of the Llanidloes chartists.
Wed Jan 28 10:21:05 2009
Sion Conlin, Newtown
An exellent article, more local history please.
Mon Jun 30 10:00:34 2008
Ian Evans, Denbigh
My great grandfather was David Jerman of Woodlands, Llanidloes
Wed Aug 1 09:41:51 2007
Tim Jerman, Essex Jct., Vt., USA
My g-g-grandfather was jailed during the riots but must have been forgiven as he worked again until 1851 when he left for NYC with his sons (who both saw action with the Union Army in the 1863 draft riots in the city). I believe, but cannot prove, that the infamous Thomas Jerman was probably a cousin and came back from NYC a few years after he fled and told stories of how great the US was and how the Irish girls were there for the taking. Indeed, both sons married Irish sisters in the early 1860's in NYC. So that may be why Daniel left from Liverpool...unfortunately, the ship manifests for late 1851 were destroyed by fire so i don't know what ship they crossed on. I do know the building they worked in as linsey-woolsey weavers still stand (as apartments) in Llani.
Mon Feb 26 10:44:45 2007
Geraint Roberts ex-Aber
I remember reading that there were riots in Llani in the late 1850's or early 1860's, when it was proposed to by-pass the town from the proposed railway.
This was eventually resolved by the formation of the Llanidloes & Newtown Rly, who built that lovely station building now shorn of its railway line by Dr. Beeching's bureaucracy.
It shows that the spirit of the town didn't die after the Chartists!
Wed Jan 11 12:06:22 2006
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