The chief leader of this conspiracy was Th. Venner, a wine-cooper. On January 6, 1661, after the Restoration, and when the restored monarchy had avenged itself on the “regicides” with exquisite cruelty, Venner, with a handful of equally daring followers, whom he had incited by his speeches, attempted a new rising for the “Kingdom of Christ”. They were at most some sixty men, but they threw the whole city into a turmoil. Before the superior numbers of the citizen guards and soldiers they fled into a wood situated in the north of London, between Highgate and Hampstead, but returned to London on January 9th, this time numbering thirty-one men only, who were in a completely frenzied state of mind. They “have routed all the train bands that they met with, put the King’s life-guards to the run, killed about twenty men, broke through the city gates twice; and all this in the daytime, when all the city was in arms.” Thus Pepys, in his Diary (January 10, 1661). Pepys adds, after having stated their number: “We did believe them to be at least 500. A thing that never was heard of, that so few men should dare and do so much mischief. They were finally surrounded on all sides, but broke through into a house, which they defended for some time against thousands. After half of them had fallen, the remainder were taken by force (none of them surrendering voluntarily), only to die on the gallows, Venner being among the number. Venner and a certain Pritchard were drawn and quartered and their meeting-house was pulled down.
‘A THING THAT NEVER WAS HEARD OF, THAT SO FEW MEN SHOULD DARE AND DO SO MUCH MISCHIEF’
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It’s a pity that these guys aren’t around today..but a couple of things puzzle me…why didn’t the underclasses rise up with them? and what was the kingdom of christ they hoped to establish? But very interesting stuff..I particularly like the fact that he ‘went for it’ and came back again the next day!.. Does that mean that if 60 persons unknown turn up on Sun we can go for it?!.
It sounds like a lot of fun and I’ll try and come down on the 6th, would even be happy to play one of The Lord Mayor’s men if you’re short on the other side. At the risk of being a bit of a miserablist though I’m not entirely enamoured with reenacting Venner’s uprising, heroic though it was. The trouble with celebrating Protestant non-conformist revolutionaries is that although they all seem a bit radical in the context of the English Revolution that was 360 years ago. When you come forward even by a century they start to look a bit less “anarchist” and a lot more bigoted, like Lord Gordon for example. Once you arrive in our own time you are basically celebrating the likes of Ian Paisley and perhaps even Margaret Thatcher. And Venner himself would undoubtedly have embraced Billy Wright and the LVF as kith and kin. For me our history’s real revolutionary heros are pure rebels like Jack Sheppard who hated the Church of England as much as Catholicism as all rank hypocrisy. Also Praisegod Barebones’ son, Nicholas Barbon became the most ruthless property developer London has ever seen!
er….I had the notion that Billy wright and the LVF were a bit keen on the monarchy as was Thatcher…….whereas the Fifth Monarchists wanted not only to get rid of th monarchy but to physically destroy all vestiges of it – palaces, portraits – but to eradicate the very word( Anna trapnel)
Hiya Ian, fair point, I think I went a bit overboard with the historical proddie-bashing, and there’s loads of films already about Jack Sheppard. Good luck with your movie and I will defo try and come along if I can, one thing though, what was it with Kenwood House? Every uprising they all seem to have steamed off up there and got drunk at the Spaniards Inn, Venner’s boys did as well and then came back for round two, the scamps!
in my country we are inspired by the united irishmen who were the founding fathers of Irish republicanism and were led by protestants who
fought & died to replace the divisions of protestant catholic jew or dissenter with the common name of irishman..king rat and his gang of sectarian scum was representing no one but the dirty ops of the security services & lining his pockets…
er… they wanted rid of the government yes, but they wanted to replace it with their own government, with their church in charge. 17th century religious nutters, all 50 of them. I’m sure they taught the taliban all they know.
Read up on this tiny band of murderous religious bigots, they are far from the revolutionary heroes that this blog post wants you to think.
…”After their conversion of England, the new English Fifth Monarchist army of saints would march on Europe, and would eventually convert the whole world with the spirit of Jesus Christ.”
…They hoped to replace the Long Parliament (1640-48) and its replacement the Rump Parliament (1648-53) with another “church-parliament” favorable to their views…
…The objective was to overthrow the government, and establish a theocracy…
Revolutionary heroes eh?
@William Blake. At least you admit it, ‘proddie -bashing’. Face it man, you’re a bit of a fucking bigot..but.. whatever you’re into. (Double thumbs up)
Weren’t it The Redskins? ‘Take no heroes, only inspiration’
I hope it was a good days crack