Welcome

There is no point in disguising the truth from you dear reader – these letters are not all genuine, nor is their author one person. However, they are based on fact, they do relate to events that did occur and, based on as much research as possible, they do go some way to represent the feelings of what many called ‘the lower orders’.

The letters were written after the trial in November 1817 and based on notes made by the author(s) from May 1815. The latter date is the time he (possibly she) became aware that events in Pentrich village and the surrounding area were beginning to take a turn for the worst. He carefully hid them until after the trial and then released them, with a few changes, thereafter.

My part in this story has been to present them in monthly editions and to add further facts, explanations and references to support and add credibility to the letters. The original notes and the letters would have been written by a Derbyshire youth and in Derbyshire dialect. I have maintained the dialect as far as possible with only slight changes where the meaning is obscure or archaic. Although communities move, language develops and regional accents become integrated, the Derbyshire dialect can still be heard, particularly so in the remnants of mining communities.

Michael Parkin