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Chartism was a political movement which developed during the 1830s in Britain. The movement was established following the passing of the 1832 Reform Act. Many people were extremely disappointed with the Act, for a large proportion of the population were still not granted the vote. In June 1836, the London Working Men's Association was formed and in 1838, the members launched a People's Charter and National Petition which called for radical changes to the way in which Britain was governed. From then on, supporters of the movement were known as Chartists. Among the six demands listed on the People's Charter were frequent elections, annual parliaments, and universal suffrage, i.e. the granting of the vote to all men, regardless of their wealth.

 

The Chartist movement soon attracted support in parts of Wales, notably among the textile workers of mid-Wales, and the miners and iron workers of Monmouthshire. In mid-Wales, a disturbance took place in Llanidloes, Montgomeryshire, in April 1839 following a Chartist meeting in the town. The rising at Newport, Monmouthshire, took place later that year on 3-4 November 1839, when Chartists from the nearby valleys marched on the town. Tensions had been high in the town since May, when the Chartist leader, Henry Vincent, was arrested for making speeches which were deemed to be seditious. Vincent appeared before Monmouthshire Assizes in August where he was sentenced to a year in prison. Chartist lodges had been established in Monmouthshire since 1837, and local leaders, John Frost, Zephaniah Williams and William Jones, played an important role in gathering support for the movement in the area. Following the trial of Henry Vincent, the local leaders called for a mass public meeting to demonstrate against his imprisonment, and plans were made to march on the town of Newport.

 

Some seven or eight thousand men were assembled, mainly from the neighbouring iron and coal-mining communities, and they began their march towards Newport on the night of Sunday, 3 November 1839. However, the authorities were waiting for them: several Chartists had already been arrested and were being held in the Westgate Hotel in the town. The protestors marched to the Westgate and demanded the release of their fellow Chartists but 28 soldiers were waiting for them in the Hotel and began firing at the crowd. It is thought that around 50 people were wounded, and some 22 of the Chartists were killed. John Frost and around 60 of the most important Chartists were arrested and were sent to stand trial at Monmouthshire Assizes on 10 December 1839. In January 1840, John Frost, Zephaniah Williams and William Jones were found guilty and sentenced to death for leading the rising. The following month, however, their sentences were reduced to transportation for life. In 1856, following a period in Tasmania, John Frost was given a pardon and was greeted as a hero on his return to Newport.

 

This theme contains some of the papers relating to the trial of John Frost and others at Monmouthshire Assizes, 1839-40. They include an abstract of the case and charges against John Frost, Zephaniah Williams and William Jones, as well as the evidence of two local Chartists, William Davies of Blackwood and Morgan James of Pillgwenlly, Newport. Also included in this theme are papers relating to less serious cases resulting from the Chartist rising, which were heard before the Quarter Sessions.

 

Further reading: David J. V. Jones, 'The Last Rising: The Newport Insurrection of 1839' (Oxford, 1985).