8th June 2017, a significant date for the future of our country, and a date when we all must exercise our right to vote. An almost forgotten event, exactly 410 years ago, in the heart of the Northamptonshire countryside, reminds us how precious our democratic right to be heard is. We mustn't fail our ancestors by ignoring this election, they fought and lost their lives for what they believed was right, without the privilege of a vote to choose their own government.

The trouble began to brew on May Eve 1607. The previous few harvests had been very poor, and a growing population meant food was scarce and many were hungry. May Day marked the beginning of the new season, when peasants could graze their animals on common land. This was essential as peasants had very little land of their own and grazing allowed them to provide meat and milk for their families.

However, Northamptonshire was governed by a few wealthy landowners. Their fortunes were enhanced by enclosing the common land for their own use and depriving the peasants of their essential grazing. Perhaps the worst culprit in the county was Sir Thomas Tresham, who had enclosed land at Haselbech, Pytchley and Rushton. In the spring of 1607 he was attempting to enclose the common land near Newton, and had begun building a lodge.

May Eve was a traditional time to celebrate, and probably fuelled by ale, the peasants decided to act together. They called themselves ‘levellers’ as their plan involved filling in ditches and pulling down the walls and hedges put up by the landowners, thereby levelling the land and reinstating access to the common lands. They were led by a mysterious ‘Captain Pouch’ thought to be from Desborough. Pouch assured everyone that they were doing God’s work, and that he had been sent by the Kingdom of Heaven to throw down the enclosures. As a talisman, he wore a pouch on his belt which contained ‘that which shall keep you from all harm’.

Throughout May the levellers became more and more militant, and a cause for concern, not only for the Northamptonshire landowners, but also for King James 1. By the end of May, King James had had enough and issued a proclamation authorising the use of ‘sharper remedies’ to deal with the peasants. The Deputy Lieutenants, Montagu of Boughton, and Mildmay of Apethorpe along with Thomas Tresham, raised their private troops to punish the rebellious peasants.

On 8th June, the troops met the ragged peasant rioters who were now levelling the land around Newton near Geddington. King James’s proclamation was read to them twice, but the peasants ignored the Royal commandment to stop. So the troops charged, and of course the peasants armed only with their agricultural tools were no match for the trained militia. Between 40 and 50 rebels were slaughtered, and very many more injured, including women. Those captured were imprisoned in St Faith’s church in Newton. The ringleaders, including Captain Pouch, were found guilty of treason, and were hung and quartered, with their various body parts sent around Northamptonshire to dissuade others from rebellion. What of Captain Pouch’s secret talisman? It turned out to be green cheese.

A subsequent inquest revealed that the peasant army had included men and women from Weldon, Corby, Kettering, Benefield, Desborough and Thrapston. And it was not just agricultural workers involved, but also shoemakers, weavers, carpenters, tailors and butchers. 109 men, and a single woman, Winifred Turner of Stanion survived the onslaught. They were pardoned only after they had signed, or made their mark on an ‘Apology Submission’ to King James.

And of course, it was not very many years later that the people rebelled against the King and the aristocracy and the Civil War began, ultimately resulting in the development of our modern democracy.

So on the 8th of June, it is not just our Election Day but the 410th anniversary of the end of the Newton Rebellion. Whatever your political persuasion, do take this opportunity to exercise your democratic rights hard won by our ancestors. We live in a fairer society and violence is no longer necessary to effect change. Thanks to people like the Newton Rebels who gave their lives for the cause, power now lies with us the people, rather than the Crown and the aristocracy.

Let’s remember with respect what went before and make sure to VOTE for the changes we want to see.