Newton Rebels is a group seeking to commemorate the Newton Rebellion, which marked the culmination of the Midlands Rising, when 40 peasants were killed at Newton on 8 June 1607 whilst protesting against the enclosure of common land and to protect their livelihoods, by troops raised by the Tresham family and other local landowners.

Thousands had gathered at Newton and at other places across Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Leicestershire to protest against the enclosing of land which had come at a time of bad harvest and poverty. At Newton, the peasants refused to stop filling in ditches and pulling down hedges. Finally King James I issued orders to his Deputy Lieutenants, including Montagu of Boughton, who had earlier sympathised with the lot of the peasants, that the rebellion was to be suppressed. There is little record of the massacre, and no memorial to those killed, or those later hanged and quartered. Further historical information about the event, which happened on the eve of Shakespeare’s wedding and is reflected in the first scene of his play Coriolanus, may be found on the Newton Rebels' website:

www.newtonrebels.org.uk.

The Group holds talks and other events in order to raise awareness of the event, and a Steering Group is to be formed to develop a constitution and plan a programme leading to the 400th anniversary of the event in 2007. It is hoped that funding will be available from a number of sources, including the Local Heritage Initiative of the Countryside Agency.

Anybody who is interested in being involved in the Steering Group should contact:

John Padwick
24 West Street
Geddington
NN14 1BD
Tel. 01536 746272
Email: johnpadwick@talk21.com