Cinderloo
(Dawley Riots)

Cinderloo - The Dawley Riots

Here's a bit of local history which I found out about by a chance conversation in a pub. I've not seen it mentioned on other local websites so I'm putting it here - if anyone can offer it a more appropriate home, let me know. Thanks to Roger Morris for lending me the article (by A C B Mercer, source unknown but probably Shropshire Magazine) upon which this is based. Additional details are taken from Barrie Trinder's Industrial Revolution in Shropshire and articles found in Dawley library. This is the story of the Cinderloo Riots or 'The Battle of Cinder Hills'.

As with just about everything; there are conflicting accounts: usually the incident starts in Dawley and ends at Old Park but another has it starting at Donnington Wood and progressing via Lightmoor, Dawley Castle and Horsehay with the intention of ending at Coalbrookdale.

In June 1820 Dawley mine-owners attempted to cut the men's pay of around 15s (75p) a week by 6d (2.5p) a day. They gave a reason the decline in the value of iron and general stagnation in trade. The miners refused to accept the pay cut and a small riot followed - property was damaged and one miner was wounded in a skirmish with the Shropshire Yeomanry. The mine-owners realised that the men were determined and backed down.

	A year later, the mine-owners tried again. On 2nd February 1821 the 540 miners (growing to 2000, armed with sticks) started from Dawley and marched to the pitheads at Madeley Wood and Stirchley. At each pit damage was done to engines and boilers and at Stirchley blacklegs were threatened that the pit ropes would be cut unless they stopped work.
These weren't the actual Cinder Hills, but some closeby.

About noon the men set out for the Cinder Hills (ie slagheaps of the detritus of mining/melting) gathering support until they numbered about 3000. The Shropshire Yeomanry was summoned from Wellington: these arrived some hours later and the Riot Act was read. This gave the rioters an hour to disperse and, if they remained after that time, they could be arrested.

The miners refused to disperse and began pelting the Yeomanry with stones and clinker. The Yeomanry assembled and set upon the men, riding through the crowd and attempting to capture ringleaders. Nine were taken: Thomas Palin, John Payne, Christopher North, James Eccleshall, John Grainger, Samuel Hayward, Robert Wheeler, John Amies and John Wilcox.

The men scrambled up the clinker hills where they were safe from the horses and a cry went up to rescue the prisoners. More clinker and stones rained down on the Yeomanry, Colonel Cludde gave the order to fire. One miner was killed and another mortally wounded. Several more were seriously injured. One of the Yeomanry, David Spencer, was wounded when his pistol went off in the holster.

Gradually things calmed down and the men drifted away without having managed to rescue the prisoners. Two - Palin and Hayward - were charged with the capital offence of damaging property: the remainder were charged with the felony of rioting. On March 25th 1821 at Salop Assizes, the men were sentenced. Palin was hanged - despite pleas for clemency from the mine-owners - as an 'awful example'. Hayward was also sentenced to death but was reprieved. The rest were sentenced to nine months hard labour - a pretty ironic sentence for a Nineteenth century miner.

The remainder of the men had lost: many were unemployed for months while the damage to the pits was repaired and the wage cut was forced through.

And hey! tying with the dominant theme of this site I've found a ghost story associated with the affair.

When I have the time I'll try a bit more research and attempt to fill in some of the gaps in this account...

Sources:

Mercer, A C B - The Cinderloo Riot. Original source unknown but probably Shropshire Magazine. Article supplied by Roger Morris.

Trinder, Barrie - The Industrial Revolution in Shropshire (Phillimore, Chichester, 1973)

Trinder, B S - The Methodist New Connexion in Dawley and Madeley. Original source unknown: photocopy in Dawley library.

Younger, Joyce - My Ancestor was Arrested at "Cinderloo". Typed article from Dawley library.