your comments
Philip Stone in Bristol
John Frost has a Blue Plaque on a house in Stapleton, Bristol, just along from Stapleton church. The people who live there told me John Frost lived the final years of his life there.
Pat Drewett from Newport
A Chartist Convention to be held at The Riverfront Theatre, Newport, on 31st October 2009 from 9.30am til 5pm will give a range of views on the Chartist heritage of Newport and Gwent, and particularly about the opponents of Chartism. Prof. Chris Williams (Swansea Univ.) and Dr Mike Sanders (Manchester Univ.) are the main speakers. Everyone are welcome. Admission is free. Booking is essential.
Josie Lee (Windsor, Berks - originally from Blaena
My great grandfather was John Frost who married Mary Ann Morgan. The family lived in Monmouthshire & Herefordshire. I believe he was a descendant of John Frost but have not been able to find the links. Can anyone help with information on John Frost's children or grandchildren please? I went to John Frost Square in Newport where I believed there had been a statue of John Frost erected but it had been removed.
Elizabeth Jones from New Zealand
Can anyone please provide information on William Jones, another leader in the uprising. Was his full name William Shattock Jones from Pontypool and who was transported to Van Diemens Land (Tasmania) as noted in Pontypool Museum.If so we are his descendents, he did not die in poverty and exile as per Wikipedia.
Clive Thomas - Cardiff
My family is originally from Newport - I remember my paternal grandmother telling me that she was related to John Frost and showing me books and photographs about him and the Chartists riots - these have since been mislaid unfortunately. Can anyone point me in the direction of somewhere or someone that can throw some light on the Frost family tree please?
Stuart Jones from Newport
Could anyone tell me where in Newport did John Frost live?
Andy Redmond, Newport
John Frost was my Great Great Great Uncle, and I am pleased that his memory lives on - despite the council's best efforts to try and remove almost everything that tells his story. Maybe it's time for another form of uprising ;-)
Mark Waters, Newport
I note a Charles Waters was found guilty of high treason along with Frost. His sentence was deferred but whatever happened to him? No records anywhere.
Nik Armstrong in Worthing ex Newport
You can read a book about John Frost in Newport library that was written by my dad Chris Armstrong.
John Chinery, Newport Civic Society
John Frost was a protestor for democracy or a terrorist - depending on your point of view. He took on the establishment and lost - but in time the ideas he stood for have become accepted tenets of democracy except, of course, elections every year. The theme and the moral of the story are of course enduring ones. We are very concerned that the current plans to redevelop Newport's City Centre will impact on the murals to John Frost. It is unclear whether the mosaic (pictured in the BBC article) can be saved, and what form a replacement shall be. Also John Frost Square is radically changing shape and it hasn't yet been confirmed that the new square will retain his name. On the point of his resting place, and Richard Frame's excellent work on that, may I briefly add that his final abode is near there on Stapleton Road just beyond the All Saints Church. A picture of this house can be seen in Newport's Museum.
Sue Kay from Birmingham
It has always been folklore in my family that we are distantly related to John Frost on Mam's side of the family. Does anyone know where I can find details of his wife and children to see if this is true? He was held up to me from an early age as a champion of the ordinary people's rights.
Terry Frost Jones from New Zealand
Alexander Cordell wrote a novel 'Requiem for a Patriot' based on the life of John Frost. There is also another book 'The Man from the Alamo' written by John Humphries that contains relevant information re the Chartist movement. John Frost is my Great Great Grandfather, I am currently researching this branch of my family tree. I have gathered a lot of information from a recent visit back to Newport and Monmouth and would appreciate any information anyone can share. The display being developed in the Newport Museum currently contains a lot of gathered information and is a days worth of browsing.
Rhys James from Newport
I'm currently writing a dissertation on the Newport Rising. I would be interested in all of views and opinions on Frost and the events of 1839.
Alan James; Albury; .au
Family legend has it that grandfather James was close friends with John Frost and was given a watch by him. No proof that I am aware of exists but I have not followed up this legend to any extent.
John Frost was good friends with a chap called Pinkerton who fled to the US and started a detective agency after the Westgate debacle.
Maxine from beaufort
it does'nt matter how young or old you are, you will enjoy this bit of history.
John Frost did what he believed in, it was all for the working class people.
i was reading the book and found it very hard to put the book down.
julie from newport
I have lived in newport for most of my life, and although i learned a little about john frost from my school days, i found your story absolutly fascinating, and to think that newport council go to all the trouble of maintaining the monuments and murals, yet neglect the final resting place of john is outragous. Well done to Richard Frame for taking care of that side of things.
Chris from Southampton
I've just read Alexander Cordell's 'Rape of the Fair Country', and a short book about the Chartist movement in Monmouthshire. I believe John Frost was a good man, with the peoples' interests at heart. He would have had no inconsiderable influence on the democracy and freedoms we enjoy today.
Steffan in Cardiff
There is no doubt that John Frost deserves to be hailed as an icon in Newport's history, but the story is a very complex one and I wonder if we are asking too few questions about his life and times.
As 'Mike' says, much of the evidence around Frost is contradictory - his absence from South Wales while the planning of the Rising was being formulated, his insistence on waiting for so long before entering the town of Newport, his disappearance as soon as the first shot was fired outside the Westgate Hotel, the lightness of his sentence and eventual return to Britain are all facets of an important date in Gwent history that will probably never be fully understood.
Good luck with the film, Mike.
Adam, the Westgate has undergone many changes throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The bullet holes are fake, by the way.
john frost from birmingham
definitely a martyr for the cause
Adam Cree, Darwen, Lancashire
I visited Newport on the off chance of fining the site of the Westgate Hotel / Newport Rising. The building apparently at the site (The Baltic Night Club) does not match the classic etching of the scene that shows the square and people running across it towards the hotel, though the closer view of the entrance and the militia as "victims" is a better match. Any answers? Was the hotel rebuilt / extended since then or is the origin of the source more suspect?
Mike, Newport
I've been researching/writing a film script about John Frost and the Chartist uprising for a while now. I think Frost was an important man in British history, he certainly lead an amazing life. However I have found that a lot of the material that is out there is often contradictory, it's hard to see exactly what kind of a man Frost was.
Helen Pritchard from Tredegar
What a great man!! He did what he believed in and is still remembered today.
Richard Frame
For a long time I searched for the grave of John Frost. I couldn't believe that no one in Newport knew where this famous son had been laid to rest. I finally got the information from a copy of his will in Newport reference library. Here it said he wanted to be buried with his son and wife at Horfield Parish Church in Bristol.After searching the graveyard for hours I found no sign of a stone. As I was leaving, the vicar approached me with a book which he told me was a plan of the site made in 1939 by the sexton showing each memorial. Here I found the name Henry Hunt Frost, John's son. I went to the spot and found a stone disappearing into the ground with the word Henry on it. In the ground we found the other bits indicating it was indeed the Frost grave.
I approached Newport Council who gave me a small grant for a headstone and Les (Tombstone) Thomas carried out the task and created a beautiful stone. Neil Kinnock unveiled the stone and it was recorded by the BBC who interviewed me.
James Cullen from Newport
Not only did his Chartist beliefs help shape the town of Newport, but the beliefs of generations to come.
Leader of the Chartist Rebellion
On 4 November 1839, Frost arrived in Newport with 3,000 marchers to find that the authorities had arrested and were holding several Chartists at the Westgate Hotel. Soldiers inside the building opened fire on the protesters, killing more than twenty and wounding fifty. Frost and his fellow protest leaders - Zephaniah Williams and William Jones - were found guilty of high treason and were sentenced to death.
He is commemorated in Newport by John Frost Square, which has a mural depicting the Chartist rebellion (above). There are also statues marking the scene of the protest outside the Westgate Hotel (left).
