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THE
EBENEZER
RESEARCH FOUNDRY
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The Foundry
houses the Latest Research
on
Ebenezer Elliott, Corn Law Rhymer & Poet of the Poor,
(1781 - 1849)
All
articles are by Keith Morris
Chronology
For The Corn Law Rhymer
This is a
very detailed
look at the life & work of the Rabble's Poet
New Poems
(1) by the Corn
Law Rhymer
Here we see a good number
of
poems which have been discovered recently. Each poem is accompanied by
copious notes
New Poems (2) by Ebenezer Elliott
More
undiscovered poems by
the Corn Law Rhymer.
Early Poems of Ebenezer Elliott
Gives the background to the early poems: The Vernal
Walk, The Soldier, Night and Peter Faultless.
Kerhonah, The Vernal Walk, Win Hill And Other Poems
This volume of 80 or so poems was published in 1835. This article
explores the volume making interesting comments about the content. As
well as the poetry there are notes on two seldom discussed
dramas - "Kerhonah" and "Taurassdes."
The Soldier
Gives the full text of this early poem published in 1810 and gives a
brief background to the poem.
Ebenezer up in court for assault!
An amazing account from 1834
detailing a court case where Elliott is found guilty. All previous
accounts of Elliott's life have missed this revealing escapade.
People, Poems and Politics of Ebenezer Elliott, Corn Law Rhymer
This
is the Introduction to the above book. The Introduction makes the case
for a re-interpretation of the importance of the Rabbles Poet.
Elliott appears at the 1838 Chartist Meeting and makes a speech
This
records the speech made by the poet at the famous Chartist meeting
which took place in 1838 in Westminster Palace Yard. The speech is
taken from the book "People, Poems and Politics of Ebenezer Elliott,
Corn Law Rhymer". The article below (about the Charter in Sheffield) also appears in this book.
Ebenezer
brings the People's Charter to Sheffield
A
detailed look at how the Charter was received taken from press reports,
including some mention of Elliott's speech in Palace Yard at
Westminster. Sheffield's meeting is compared with the triumphant
Manchester meeting.
The
Sheffield Working Mens Association, the Planned Uprising of 1840 and
Peter Foden, agitator
Brief details
of the little known Sheffield Working Mens Association and Elliott's
links with the Association. Also has a short summary of the Planned
Uprising and Peter Foden's role in the plot.
A
Poster Advertising the Meeting In Sheffield About The People's Charter
Information
about
Elliott and His Bankruptcy
This
article looks at the cause of the bankruptcy and Elliott's
financial circumstances at the time.
The
graves of the Corn Law Rhymer & his family
Examines three
graves: one in Rotherham town centre and two more at Darfield.
Illustrated.
Radical Friends
- Eliza Flower, Reverend Fox and Francis Place
Looks
at Elliott's Unitarian & literary friends. Includes
illustrations of Fox & Flower. Mentions one or two other well
known characters in the Rhymer's story. Quotes from both Elliott
& Fox. Looks at some letters
Francis Place and Ebenezer Elliott
Looks at some letters between the two men, both involved in the reform movement and improving the lot of working people
A letter of 1841 from
Elliott to Richard Otley, Sheffield poet & Chartist
This
is a newly found letter with an extraordinary tone; it lectures on free
trade & it comments witheringly on banks
& physical force Chartists. The letter also reveals a
significant fact about the Corn Law Rhymer's relationship with the
Anti-Corn Law League.
The Ebenezer Elliott
memorial statue
Two very amusing
newspaper stories about the statue feature here, plus a poem
written by W.S. Landor about the monument. The article actually begins
with a list of the people who donated money to the
memorial, with notes on some of the contributors.
An
Autobiograhical Poem with information on Reverend Jacob Brettell
& family
Studies the little known poem "To The
Rev. J.B." as a source of biographical information on Elliott. Looks at
the close relationship between the bard & Brettell. Gives a
short biography of Brettell and his 4 sons
Madhouse:
A letter from Elliott calling for reform of the law after a friend was
committed to the madhouse
A recent discovery is an 1834 letter
from Elliott describing the shocking committal of a friend to the
asylum. The letter criticises the lack of right of appeal for the so
called "madman" & demands the laws of insanity be
examined & modernised.
The
Corn Law Rhymer As A Writer Of Hymns
Looks at a few of
the bard's
hymns & gives several examples from the little known collection
of 20 hymns called the "Corn Law Hymns."
Friends &
Contacts of the Corn Law Rhymer
Gives brief biographies of many
people who were important in the life of Elliott, especially John
Watkins - the Chartist writer who became son-in-law &
biographer of the Poet of the Poor.
A Needy Old Age For
Ebenezer
Looks at the Corn Law
Rhymer's financial position after he had retired. The article is partly
based on an unpublished financial summary which Elliott drew up in 1842.
Articles
from the Sheffield
Free Press of 1852
Two interesting pieces, which appeared shortly after the poet's death,
are looked at here. The first includes an unpublished letter where
Elliott recounts an amusing tale; the second is from a Burns Evening
where Mr A. Earnshaw makes a thought provoking speech about the Poet of
the Poor.
Letters to
James Wilson 1849
Examines
three unpublished letters sent by Elliott to James Wilson of Sheffield.
The letters appear shortly before the poet's death. Also included for
the first time is a seal which the poet used to seal his letters.
Six letters of Ebenezer
Elliott
The
article features some early letters from around the 1830s. Includes
letters to S.C.Hall of the Monthly Review, to William Tait,
the owner of the Edinburgh Review, and letters to Edward Bulwer Lytton
(Lord Lytton) who was instrumental to the success ot the "Corn
Law Rhymes."
An
angry
letter to the famous Robert
Owen
This
rant appeared in the press in 1834. It takes the form of an open letter
to the people of Sheffield pointing out the error of Owen's thinking
& promoting one of Elliott's pet subjects: the
importance of competition. The "letter" has not been collected
previously.
Elliott's contact with the
future Lord Houghton and Thomas Carlisle
Looks
at letters between Ebenezer and Robert Pemberton Milnes, MP
for
Pontefract. The latter's son, Richard Monckton Milnes, the future Lord
Houghton, was also in contact with the Corn Law Rhymer. Intriguingly,
the article considers a possible meeting of Ebenezer with Milnes and
the illustrious Thomas Carlisle.
Sheffield, City of Soot:
a long
article on the difficulties of trade in 1831
A
long piece by Elliott which appeared in the New Monthly
Magazine; this is supplemented by an unpublished and indignant
letter which the bard then wrote after critical comments were made on
the article.
Some 1830s
Pressure Groups in Sheffield &
the Irish Coercion Bill
Elliott was active
with the Sheffield Patriotic
Fund, the
Sheffield Anti-Corn Law Society, the campaign to elect Sheffield's
first MP & the Sheffield Working Men's Association.
The mechanics of these pressure groups are examined in this article
which also contains a fiery speech made by the poet against the Irish
Bill.
Some
early reviews of the Corn Law Rhymer
This article
publishes some rare reviews of Elliott.
The first
is from 1824; the second from 1831 looks at the "Corn Law Rhymes" and
the
next from 1832 examines "The Splendid Village." After this are some
brief comments taken from an essay written in 1834, which is followed
by a
review from 1835 of "the Collected Poems vol 3." The final section of
the article reports on the bard's poetry lectures in 1837; the first is
a brief review of the lecture "on the principle that poetry is
self-communion;" the second is a review of his lecture on
Cowper & Burns.
Elliott's 1841 Petition to
Parliament and details
of his 1816 bankruptcy etc
This is a collection of
short items: it contains an
unpublished letter of 1841 to the North Midlands Railway, a speech made
at an 1841 Chartist meeting in Sheffield, a list of Elliott's assets in
1816 when he went bankrupt & a strange (if not desperate)
petition for free trade which Elliott made to the House of Commons in
1841. All the items listed here are original discoveries
adding to our knowledge of the Corn Law Rhymer.
The formation of the Sheffield Mechanics' Institute and Elliott establishes a
newspaper room
at the Institute
Discovered
by Sheffield's
Diane Gascoyne - an
Elliott
enthusiast - this is a pungent speech made by the Poet of the Poor at
the 1835 AGM of the Mechanics' Institute. Although Elliott
does rather ramble on for too long, the speech is interesting for
showing the forceful side of the poet's nature. There are also brief
notes at the beginning of the article on the establishment of the
Sheffield Mechanics' Institute.
Fact &
figures on the Corn
Laws
A short
"dialogue" beteen the poet & a stranger where Elliott computes
the losses to the economy caused by the Bread Tax. The
dialogue is followed by a significant letter dated 1831 found
in the very rare second edition of the "Corn Law Rhymes."
After this, there follows a speech on the Corn Laws made by Elliott in
1836.
An
1839 Speech about the Corn Laws, and
two remarkable letters
Two
fascinating letters; the first from 1838 slanders Feargus
O'Connor; the second from 1836 recommends stringing
up landlords! The speech is forceful, predicts revolution &
reveals an interesting fact about the Sheffield Mechanics'
Anti-Bread-Tax Society.
Elliott
rants about the 1835 Municipal Corporations Bill
The
House of Lord's attempt to mutilate the Bill brought a furious speech
from Elliott - vintage Elliott with outrageous remarks about "the House
of Irresponsibles" [as he called the Lords], about the "the King of the
Huns," about "the Siberian whip" of the Duke of
Wellington and about the Tsar's "collared hounds."
38
questions on currency and the Bank Charter
In 1832 Elliott
wrote a letter to the Sheffield
Independent,
which letter posed 38 questions about the banking system which
he thought was controversial & untrustworthy. All 38 questions
can be sampled here.
Two letters from the Poet of
the Poor; one
from 1837 & one from 1838
Both letters are
new discoveries. The 1838 letter is
a long
letter addressed to the working men of Great Britain urging them to
fight for the franchise. The 1837 letter is a forthright response to
criticism of a lecture on poetry given by the Rhymer at the
Sheffield Mechanics' Institute.
George
Markham Tweddell and the Rabble's Poet
Tweddell
was a poet, historian, publisher and Chartist who wrote three sonnets
on Elliott's death. The sonnets are included in this article
together with a Tweddell poem inspired by Elliott's "To The
Bramble Flower." The article begins though
with letters from Elliott to Tweddell 1844-5.
Comments
on the Poor Law
Two
articles are to be found here. The first stems from 1837
where a very rowdy meeting hears Elliott propose an
amendment to the 1837 Poor Law Bill. The second article is from a very
long speech made by Elliott in 1839 where the poet tells (among other
things) of his own experiences with the Guardians of the Poor.
Did
Sheffield really detest
the Poet of the Poor?
Two
items in this article feature Sheffield's feelings about Elliott: the
first item is a
short poem to Elliott supporting him despite what some of Sheffield
feel about the poet. The second item is a bitter letter from
Elliott to the Dysart, Patthead & Sinclairtown Anti-Corn Law
Association. As a contrast the third item in this article is not about
resentment
towards Elliott! It is a letter to Elliott from Thomas Clutton Salt
giving news about an extraordinary Birmingham meeting on reform which
was attended by
11,000 women.
Samuel
Smiles, William Howitt and Elliott
Smiles
& Howitt both visited the Corn Law Rymer and tell the story of
their visits. Smiles was the author of "Self Help" while Howitt was a
leading journalist. Howitt was accompanied by Margaret Gillies an
artist. This article includes the rare drawing Gillies made of Elliott
plus letters by Elliott to Smiles & Howitt.
- Ebenezer and Slavery
Takes a look
at Elliott's rather surprising attitude to the anti-slavery campaign.
The Bard
of the Beggars
This
article is based on the book " Biographical Sketches of Remarkable
People" by Spencer T. Hall, a contemporary of the Rabble's Poet.
Several conversations between Elliott & Hall are recorded in
the
essay which includes a copy of a letter between the two friends. There
is also information about the Scottish Poet, Robert Nicoll. This
includes a sad report of a "meeting" between Elliott & Nicoll
at
Leeds railway station.
Notable Quotations from the Bard
A selection of
interesting quotations made by the poet.
Win Hill - A Poem by Ebenezer Elliott
A study
of the poem set in the Peak District of Derbyshire.
More Verse And Prose By The Corn Law Rhymer
A survey of the
contents of these two volumes published in 1850, the year after Elliott
died.
The Black Hole of Calcutta
Gives
the text of this little known poem. It is a typical rant by Elliott
about the detested Bread Tax. It's quite long and easy to read. Well
worth a look.
The Year Of Seeds
An
exploration of this volume of 50 sonnets published posthumously. The
poet also gives his views on the sonnet form.
James Silk
Buckingham and the Corn Law Rhymer
In this article, Elliott writes to the newspapers about the Sheffield
MP, James Silk Buckingham, and helps set up a public subscription to
raise funds for him.
Elliott presents a case of
cutlery to his MP
This
newspaper article from 1834 gives information about the early history
of the Sheffiels Mechanics' Institute. There is also a short profile of
James Silk Buckingham, the Sheffield MP supported by Elliott.
The relationship between
James Montgomery and Ebenezer Elliott
The
article looks at how the relationship changed between the two poets
during the years 1823 and 1833. Based on two letters written by Elliott.
Random Thoughts and
Reminiscences of the Corn Law Rhymer
An article written by
Elliott which appeared in Tait's Edinburgh Magazine for 1840. The
elderly poet still had much to say about his life and the state of the
nation. Contains some interesting comments about his father and a tale
about the Rhymer's experience of jury service at York.
Letters to John Fowler (1783- 1872)
Two letters to John Fowler are discussed here. Fowler was born in
Wincobank, Sheffield and dwelt at Occupation Road and also Wadsley
Hall. He was a close friend of the Corn Law Rhymer, often dining with
him.
Thomas Lister - The
Barnsley Poet Who was a
Great Friend of the Corn Law Rhymer
The
article gives a sketch of Lister's life and a picture as well. Much of
the article explores the friendship between Lister and Elliott. Two
poems by Lister are included and two poems are included written by
Elliott about his Quaker friend.
Samuel Ironside, Isaac Ironside and Doggrel for
Dupes
Elliott's poem "Doggrel For Dupes" first appeared in a letter to Samuel
Ironside in 1847. The article looks at Elliott's friendship with the
Ironsides and discusses the poem in the light of this relationship.
Some biographical details of the Ironsides are recorded. New
information is presented about the poem and its significance in
revealing Elliott's attitude towards shares and share dealing.
Reference is made to a speech the bard made on the subject.
The
Sheffield Political Union and the Corn Law Rhymer
This article gives a short history of the founding of the Sheffield
Political Union and Elliott's contribution to it. There is also a brief
note
on the Rotherham Political Union. Elliott wrote two poems for these
unions - and these are included in the article. Also included is a poem
called "The
Press" which Elliott wrote for the 1832 procession celebrating the
passing of the Reform Bill. The article also gives
fascinating details of this remarkable procession. After this wonderful
procession, the Political Union sat down
for a celebratory meal with many speeches and toasts; Elliott
made one of the speeches at the dinner and his speech is given in full
in the article.
The Elliott Family Business
Examines
the businesses operated by the Elliotts and suggests the reason for
setting up a business in the centre of Sheffield. Reference also to the
Rotherham bankruptcy.
Wander
along to Ebenezer's poetry & have a dip!
Retreat to Ebenezer's home page