| Description | Papers relating to biographical research on Rev William Bowerbank (died 1840, aged 71), curate of Pleasley and headmaster of Mansfield Grammar School. Including extracts/printed copies of contemporary newspaper accounts, an article by W Clay-Dove from Nottinghamshire Historian (23, Summer 1979) entitled "Around The Parish: Memories of a 19th-Century Vicar of Sutton-In-Ashfield", and other published sources |
| Administrative History | In 1831, Revd William Bowerbank was accused of sending a letter to the Nottingham High Sheriff, John Coke, threatening to burn his house down if he did not desist in a "villanous attempt upon advancing the price of coals". It was signed Swing, linking it to a nationwide phenomenon of similar "Swing letters", sent psuedonymously to various targets. Bowerbank was further accused of sending a "Swing letter" to a fellow teacher at Mansfield Grammar School. He was found not guilty. |