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Black Harry
William Dickenson, man of business to the earl of Shrewsbury, knows that raising the rents on farmholds will ease his master's cash-flow problem. But Lord Shrewsbury imposes such huge increases on one manor, Glossopdale in the Derbyshire Peak District, that none of the tenants can pay. "Black Harry" Botham, of Storth Farm in the Glossopdale hamlet of Simmondley, knows the courts won't oppose those rent increases; Lord Shrewsbury is too powerful. So accompanied by a few followers he walks to London, determined to complain to the Queen's Privy Council. Will this desperate venture cost him his family, his freedom, his livelihood - even his life? Told partly by Tom "Spiderlegs" Booth, Harry's brother-in-law and close friend, and partly from William Dickenson's perspective, Black Harry recounts one of the most remarkable David and Goliath episodes in Elizabethan England.
290 pages, Paperback
Published March 20, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 23, 2023
Subtitled ‘Glossopdale’s Elizabethan folk hero’, this is a fascinating account of the life, actions, attitudes, courage, and determination of a man who can probably be held responsible for significantly improved changes in the relationships between landowner and tenant.
The book is set during the reign of Elizabeth I at the time when she incarcerated her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, because of her devout Catholicism and her claim to the English throne.
But this is a living tale, a reconstruction if you like, of the times and philosophy of an real man who fought against the authorities for the rights of himself and his neighbours at a time when to do so was fraught with danger and even the threat of death at the hands of those authorities.
There is earthy humour, as would be expected of those who live off the land. Folk wisdom emerges here and there. Insights into the power of religion and the way the church dominated the lives of all classes are dealt with in a subtle manner that allows the thoughtful reader to ponder on that power as it relates to our current monarchy.
The characters who populate the pages range from the ‘highest’ in the land to the lowest beggars and imprisoned victims of a justice system still very crude and ill-formed. They include martinets, lords, bailiffs, thieves, agricultural workers, farmers, ladies of wealth and power, wise women who are healers, and the downtrodden wives of many men. All are drawn with the sort of skill that makes them real people, folk the reader can care about, dislike, and know as friends.
I had never heard of Harry Botham, but was aware of Glossopdale from a short visit to the Peak District, Derbyshire, in England. He is a character who should be taught to all children at school, since his actions were undoubtedly responsible for real and lasting improvements to the way in which land ownership and particularly the rights of tenants of landholders were dealt with at the time and are now set down.
At the end of the book there is an Afterword, which presents a concise history of the times, along with references and sources of interest to those who wish to delve further into the facts, such as they are known, of the period and incidents portrayed. I’d advise anyone unfamiliar with English history of the 1570s and 80s to read this short piece before reading the story. It will give useful background to help understand the realities of the times.
A read that entertains, informs, educates and illuminates.
The book is set during the reign of Elizabeth I at the time when she incarcerated her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, because of her devout Catholicism and her claim to the English throne.
But this is a living tale, a reconstruction if you like, of the times and philosophy of an real man who fought against the authorities for the rights of himself and his neighbours at a time when to do so was fraught with danger and even the threat of death at the hands of those authorities.
There is earthy humour, as would be expected of those who live off the land. Folk wisdom emerges here and there. Insights into the power of religion and the way the church dominated the lives of all classes are dealt with in a subtle manner that allows the thoughtful reader to ponder on that power as it relates to our current monarchy.
The characters who populate the pages range from the ‘highest’ in the land to the lowest beggars and imprisoned victims of a justice system still very crude and ill-formed. They include martinets, lords, bailiffs, thieves, agricultural workers, farmers, ladies of wealth and power, wise women who are healers, and the downtrodden wives of many men. All are drawn with the sort of skill that makes them real people, folk the reader can care about, dislike, and know as friends.
I had never heard of Harry Botham, but was aware of Glossopdale from a short visit to the Peak District, Derbyshire, in England. He is a character who should be taught to all children at school, since his actions were undoubtedly responsible for real and lasting improvements to the way in which land ownership and particularly the rights of tenants of landholders were dealt with at the time and are now set down.
At the end of the book there is an Afterword, which presents a concise history of the times, along with references and sources of interest to those who wish to delve further into the facts, such as they are known, of the period and incidents portrayed. I’d advise anyone unfamiliar with English history of the 1570s and 80s to read this short piece before reading the story. It will give useful background to help understand the realities of the times.
A read that entertains, informs, educates and illuminates.
November 22, 2024
This book caught my interest completely by chance at a stall in York where the publisher was exhibiting. Having lived in Glossopdale for over 30years, indeed in Black Harry’s own village of Simmondley, and enjoying historical novels, I just had to read it and I was not disappointed. Telling the story from the common-persons perspective was refreshingly different and the authors’ descriptions of the physical environments of Glossopdale and the wider Peak District through the seasons resonated wonderfully with the many days of being out myself in that often bleak, but majestic landscape. I do not now live in the area, but I wish I’d read this book when I had as it would have added to my connection with this very special area. From a historical perspective, I found the narrative very much complimentary to other books I’ve read set in the period. A very pleasantly surprising good read!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews