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Today, Burford is a quiet Cotswold town, notable for
lovely independent shops and some great places
to eat. It all seems so far away from the political
epicentre of London, but there was a moment in 1649
when this small town was the centre of a political
uprising.
The Levellers were a political movement with
strong beliefs in civil rights and religious tolerance.
During the civil war, they had fought hard for the
Parliament’s side and had at first welcomed Oliver
Cromwell as a glorious liberator. But by 1649, their
opinion of him had changed when his parliament
rejected their calls for radical reforms to be
introduced. After a lot of talking and further falling
out, they began to view Cromwell as a dictator and
were ready to take arms against him.
The real trouble started when several members of
Cromwell’s New Model Army carried out a mutiny
over pay and some of their political demands not
being met. Cromwell tried to settle the dispute,
but 400 soldiers from Banbury, all of whom were
sympathetic to the Levellers, set off from Banbury to
march to Sailsbury and speak about their situation to
other regiments there. Cromwell sent Thomas Fairfax
off to try and mediate with them. He calmed them
down with reassurances that no force would be used
against them.
But Cromwell had other ideas. On 13th May 1649, his
troops launched a night attack on the soldiers, who
had reached Burford. Three of them died in the fight
and the rest were imprisoned in Burford church.
To make a point and to destroy the power of the
Levellers, on 17th May three of the ring-leaders were
killed – Cornet James Thompson, Corporal Perkins
and Private John Church. Their bodies were buried in
the church yard and today there is a plaque hanging
to commemorate the event which was unveiled by
the late Tony Benn in 1979.
In 1975, the event was commemorated with the first
Levellers’ Day which saw a procession around the
town and several speeches before a ceremony in
the Church yard. Since then it has been held on the
Saturday nearest the 17th May. In the evening there
is always music and entertainments, normally held in
the garden of Warwick Hall.
This year’s star speaker will be Frances O Grady, TUC
General Secretary and it is a doubly important year
as the Saturday closest to the 17th is in fact the 17th
itself! It’s a free event so get yourself to Burford
Church to take a look and listen to a few of the
speakers.
burford
Remembering Levellers’ Day