THE 
EBENEZER
RESEARCH FOUNDRY 

                                                                                                                                                                


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.

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 and Reverend FoxFrancis 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 appeare 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.




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