Dic Penderyn: The Man and the Martyr

by Sally Roberts Jones

Biography of Dic Penderyn, an innocent man hanged as an example after the 1831 Merthyr Rising workers’ revolt, and held as a Welsh Martyr. After troops killed at least 20 people during protests at wage cuts in the Merthyr area, miner Richard Lewis – known as Dic Penderyn – was found guilty of wounding a soldier and hanged on 13 August 1831. Evidence suggesting his innocence, a petition from 11,000 Merthyr citizens and pleas from the Welsh establishment were all ignored. A key prosecution witness later admitted lying and in 1874 the crime was confessed to by a man who had fled Wales to go to the United States. This book examines Dic Penderyn’s life and background as far as we can now know it, the causes and events of the Merthyr Rising, Dic’s trial, his long-term legacy and his role as the first martyr of the labor movement in Britain.

192 pages, Paperback

Published September 15, 2022

About the author

Sally Roberts Jones (b. 1935) is an English-born Welsh poet, publisher and critic.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A worthy effort that sifts through available historical records to seek the truth about the wrongful arrest and state murder of an innocent man. The author also reveals a little of the tension between the judiciary and govt. The latter determined to hang Dic Penderyn regardless of evidence that placed him elsewhere at the time that the soldier Black was wounded.
A revealing insight into the abuse of power. That we still suffer from today.

[Jonathan Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent attempt to distinguish between fact and folklore. The author has worked for many years to research and write up a compelling account of the life and death of Dick Penderyn.
As such, the book is worth reading if you want to know what really happened to Dick Penderyn.

[Gareth Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great overview of the life of Richard Lewis (Dic Penderyn). Unjustly hanged in the 1830s for a crime he didn’t commit. “Arglwydd, dyma gamwedd”! Indeed.