Introduction

Corresponding Societies started to appear in the 1790s in towns and cities such as Sheffield, London, Edinburgh, Derby, Leeds, Nottingham and Norwich. Inspired by the work of the radical writer, Thomas Paine, the Corresponding Societies met regularly to discuss the need for political reform and ways in which it could be achieved. Worried by the rise in popularity of the Corresponding Societies, the government decided to repress the movement and embarked on a course of collecting material which could be used in evidence against the leaders.

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For the record:

We are one of the best places to look for material relating to the work of Corresponding Societies and researchers should first turn their attention to record series PC 1 and TS 24. Often listed by place, these record series contain details of:

An easy way to search for material is to use our online catalogue using the keyword search facility.

Most of the records held by us relating to the Corresponding Societies survive because the government feared that a revolution similar to that occurring in France could take place and embarked upon a policy of repression. Trials of prominent leaders of societies in England and Scotland took place and we hold the resulting records. Although undoubtedly useful, the trial records are not necessarily as easy to find as the more general material relating to the Corresponding Societies. A search of the online catalogue using the names of the leaders (Thomas Hardy, Horne Tooke and John Thelwall) and specifying lettercodes PC, TS and KB will identify most of the references relating to the trial of the English reformers.

Luddism