Nottingham Castle has bought a rare sword which belonged to a notorious Luddite leader.
Nottingham City Council’s Museums and Galleries Service successfully secured the sabre after a bid at auction was accepted.
The sword, known as John Blackburn’s sabre, belonged to a notorious Nottingham Luddite and will now return to the scene of the crime more than two hundred years after he was caught.
Blackburn was one of the ring leaders of a gang of Nottingham men who carried out one of the most infamous of Luddite attacks.
The Luddites, otherwise known as frame breakers, were gangs of lawless men active from 1811-1816, who sparked outbreaks of trouble which shook the established order of Nottingham and the north of England in the early 19th century.
They destroyed new machinery in cotton and wool mills which they believed threatened their jobs.
Blackburn was one of the ring leaders of a gang of Nottingham men which carried out a a Luddite attack in Loughborough on the night of June 28, 1816.
The group wrecked John Heathcote’s factory in Loughborough, shooting one of his men in the process, leading to three of the men being arrested and one, James Towle, being hanged.
After escaping from this raid unpunished, Blackburn was caught poaching at the estate of Lord Middleton in Cossall, Broxtowe, and fought with the Lord’s gamekeeper.
To spare himself from the gallows, he told the authorities about who else was involved in the Loughborough factory raid, which spared his life but saw six comrades hang.
A crowd of 15,000 turned up to watch the executions and Blackburn and his young family were sent to Canada for their own safety.
The sabre was a trophy taken from Blackburn by Lord Middleton’s gamekeeper, a man called Cook.
The buy was made possible with donations from the Nottingham Civic Society and Nottingham Castle Trust.
Cllr Dave Trimble, Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture at Nottingham City Council said: “Our thanks must go to Nottingham Civic Society and Nottingham Castle Trust who have made this important purchase possible.
“Nottingham City Council would not have been able to make this successful bid without them.
“The acquisition of this sabre will be a very important part of the displays at the castle that tell of the city’s history of rebellion and its significance in shaping history.”
The heavy, 58cm steel blade now has a smooth wooden hilt, which has replaced its original leather grip.
A previous owner, possibly Lord Middleton himself, had the brass pommel of the sword engraved to commemorate the occasion.
It says: “TAKEN FROM BLACKBORNE GENL OF THE LUDDITES BY W COOK SHORTWOOD JANY 3RD 1817”.
Experts believe the mis-spelling of the surname is deliberate in order to demonise Blackburn and give him their air of being ‘black-born’, or evil in nature.
