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Frank Peel (1834-1900) local historian was a native of the Spen Valley and a member of the Heckmondwike
Antiquarian Society. He had previously published several articles on local history but is probably best remembered for his work "The Rising Of The Luddites".
The narrative follows the rising of the Luddites through to final grim events at York castle. Based largely on
research gathered from the newspapers of the period and from personally seeking out nearly everyone then
living who had taken part in or witnessed the stirring events of that dark and cheerless time.
Being local to many of the proceedings Peel's descriptions of events and locations appear to be far more accurate than other available texts.
First serialised in the Heckmondwike Herald it was then revised and published in book form in 1880. In 1888 a second edition
was published this time entitled "The Rising Of The Luddites, Chartists & Plugdrawers" during the ensuing 8 years Peel had
furthered his research into Luddite events and added chapters to cover the later risings Chartists and Plugdrawers.
You can read both editions of the book below. To do so you must have a Suitable PDF Reader installed on your computer.
Frank Peel (1834-1900) local historian was a native of the Spen Valley and a member of the Heckmondwike
Antiquarian Society. He had previously published several articles on local history but is probably best remembered for his work "The Rising Of The Luddites".