The Farnley Wood Plot was a conspiracy in northern England in October 1663. Intended as a major rising to overturn the return to monarchy in 1660, it was undermined by informers, and came to nothing.
The major plotters were Joshua Greathead and Captain Thomas Oates, operating primarily in Farnley, West Yorkshire, but also with links to Gildersome, Morley, West Yorkshire and Leeds. The aim was to capture and overthrow the Royalist strongholds of Leeds city centre. The plot was disbanded on 12 October 1663. Twenty-six men were arrested, imprisoned and then hanged, drawn and quartered as traitors.
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After the Restoration of the monarchy and government by Charles II, the son of executed and defeated king Charles I, there was still division in the nation. Fear of Catholicism continued, with the success of the Counter Reformation in Europe and the military successes of Louis XIV. The religious settlement had re-established the Church of England, but presbyterians and other dissenters were suspicious of what they interpreted as its 'Popish' practices. Charles II was at the very least sympathetic to Catholicism.
Paul Hobson, a Particular Baptist preacher, was involved in the planning of the rebellion in the north; but he was arrested on 20 August. He was later accused of having turned informer.[1]
The Plot was launched by two main players, one being Joshua Greathead, a local squire who had fought in the Civil War in Oliver Cromwell's army, and had led his own squadron. He e was a resident in Gildersome, one of the nearest villages to Farnley. The second character was Captain Oates of Morley.
The main objective of the plot may have been to storm the city of Leeds. On the morning of the 12th October, the group of around twenty six men had disbanded and the plot was deemed a failure. The group of men, mostly local farmers and businessmen, did not want to fight in battle; and there had been a poor turn-out. The men disbanded and headed back to their villages. Farnley is located halfway between Leeds and the town of Morley, and, largely wooded and it provided an opportunity to meet in numbers.
In fact Greathead turned informer after being over-ruled by the plans made by Oates. When the group disbanded on October 12, Greathead alerted the authorities, who set in action the arrests of twenty-six people.
The arrested men were taken to await the assizes in York, where they were remanded in Clifford's tower. They were executed for treason, though three of them (Robert Atkins, John Errington and Henry Wilson) did manage to escape to Leeds. They hid in an inn, but were finally arrested once more. On 14 January, 1664, they were sentenced to death for treason. They were transported to Chapeltown Moor, where a gallows had been constructed. They were hung by chains, before being dissected. The executioner, a local joiner of the name Peter Mason, cut off the three heads, and preserved them. The following day, they were stuck on the railings of Moot Hall. In 1677 the skulls were blown down in a gale.
Others implicated included Thomas Palmer.[2] The authorities rounded up others, parliamentarian supporters including Thomas Jollie, Richard Salwey, Robert Venables and Henry Wilkinson.[3]
When the Cavalier Parliament met again in early 1664, it repealed the Triennial Act. This legislative step has been attributed to the effect on domestic politics of the uncovering of the ramifications of the plot for a northern rebellion.[4]