The Complete Letter Writer, printed
in Salisbury, 1768 with handwritten letters supposedly from Thomas, signed
Hilliker, on the night before his execution in Fisherton Jail, Salisbury,
Wiltshire, March 22nd 1803.
The story of Thomas Helliker (sometimes
spelt Hilliker or Elliker), Trowbridge’s Martyr is little known outside of
Wiltshire’s county town.
Born in 1783 into a local family
employed as cloth workers he was apprenticed as a shearman at the age of 14, Shearmen
were amongst the most skilled and highly-paid workers in the woollen industry
and at that time, Trowbridge was a centre for the production of the finest
broadcloth. Helliker’s job would have been not to cut the cloth but to finish
it by shearing it flat after it had been washed and the nap raised by teasels.
The industrial revolution brought mechanisation,
causing many tradesmen to fear for their jobs. Riots began and in 22 July 1802 when
shearing frames were introduced at Littleton Mill it was burned to the ground.
Thomas had an alibi and it is doubtful that he took any part in the destruction
but despite protesting his innocence he was arrested, charged and sent for
trial, in Salisbury where he was subsequently found guilty and hanged at
Fisherton Gaol on his 19th birthday on 22 March 1803. Public outrage ensued.
Afterwards Helliker’s innocence was generally
accepted but was believed that he had known those who burned down the mill and
had refused to inform on them. It is said that he had been framed by
powerful clothiers determined to make an example.
His body was carried in procession
on a cart across Salisbury plain and buried in St James Churchyard in
Trowbridge. The procession growing larger as it reached his hometown, accompanied
by girls dressed all in white who formed a guard of honour.
A fine carved chamber tombstone, the
finest in the churchyard, was erected by the Shearmen of Yorkshire, Wiltshire
and Somerset over the grave. This fell into disrepair over the years but was restored by Trowbridge Trades Council in
the 1980s. Each year the White Horse (Wiltshire) TUC hold a commemorative
wreath lying at the tomb on 22 March.
 |
| 1980's tomb erected for Thomas Helliker |
No comments:
Post a Comment