The Yorkshire Coiners: The True Story of the Cragg Vale Gang

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These coins were made from valuable metals, more or less worth their weight in silver and gold. The Coiners, led by Hartley, clipped edges from these coins, shillings and moidores usually bought from local traders who would get a cut of the profits, and melted the clippings with metal scraps to forge counterfeit coins. Portuguese moidores were commonly forged because they were the most valuable, worth around 27 shillings a piece, roughly a week's wages. The chances of discovery were made even more remote by the fact that during the 18th century, England had no public officials corresponding to the modern day Police. Constables were unpaid and played only a minor role in law enforcement. Halifax, seven miles away, had only two Constables and two Deputy Constables and the nearest Magistrate was fourteen miles away in Bradford. Vinter, Robyn (16 June 2023). " 'Definitely a lot busier': TV show lures visitors to coin gang's Yorkshire home". The Guardian. When I first read the scriptments, it was so exciting. As Sam said, there’s a very strong sense of Shane’s voice and his humour coming through, but I was also really attracted to the story of these people, their resourcefulness, their shrewdness, their tenacity to survive. And to me the story seems so relevant to now, to today. Coming out of this pandemic, the story of structures that are oppressive and exploitative and people finding a way to survive living within those and the gap between the haves and the have-nots. The first time I read the scriptments they felt so current and important, it didn’t feel like an old story to me, it felt like a story of today.

Despite being named in many depositions and examinations as the man that had arranged the murder of Dighton, paid the murderers and obtained and disposed of the weapons; Isaac Hartley was never charged in connection with Dighton’s murder and he died an old man (reports vary between 78 and 85 years of age) in 1815 at his home at White Lee in Mytholmroyd.In the mid 18 th century, David Hartley learnt his trade as an ironworker in Birmingham, where the practise of clipping and forging coins was abundant. Hartley is thought to have learnt the coining process himself during his apprenticeship and later left Birmingham for fear that his illicit activities there may be discovered. Their exploits were punishable by death. But the scale of the forgery was so vast, the Cragg Vale Coiners nearly brought down the British economy. The Coiners would use the gold collected from about 7 or 8 genuine coins to create an imitation Portuguese Moidore, with a higher face value of 27 Shillings and feed this fake coin into circulation for its face value. They would only use about 22 Shillings worth of gold to create the fake, making a substantial profit on each new coin they forged. If you have an ancestor who was possibly in the gang, or are interested in the activities of the Yorkshire Coiners or the history of the area in which they lived, the book will hopefully be of interest to you. The book is now available in bookstores and online retailers, or directly from the publisher, Amberley Publishing .

This particular gang of Yorkshire Coiners are perhaps often referred to as the Cragg Vale or Turvin Coiners due to their base being in an area just off the Calder Valley in West Yorkshire. Hartley seems to have been an enigmatic individual. With him as ringleader, the activity spread to other families at nearby Hill Top Farm and Keelham Farm, forming the beginnings of a gang of dozens of individuals; the Cragg Vale Coiners. Hartley became known as ‘King David’ Hartley and local publicans helped the gang by placing the counterfeit coins into circulation. Coins scattered on the grave of 'King' David Hartley, leader of the Cragg Vale Coiners (Image: Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror) They clipped and filed the edges of gold coins and return the clipped coins to circulation. Then they used the gold collected from several coins to cast blanks and stamp new coins using skilfully made dies. The new coins, usually Portuguese Moidores, were then put into circulation and as a result the Coiners made a healthy profit. Apparently, Shane Meadows completed Christopher's walk alone while planning the three-part drama. Christoper says: "Shane Meadows was bigging them [my maps] up so he must have seen and liked it. I wish he would have asked me; I would have shown him around," adds Christopher smiling.I think audiences will enjoy seeing proper rural Yorkshire, I think they’re in for a treat in the fact that there’s not a large female presence in the book but I think the women do really take quite a lot of control in the scenes and I really enjoy that. The fact that they’ve included sex workers and these minorities or groups that might not get a lot of platforms in life, I think that’s really cool. Samuel Edward-Cook Ben Myers, author of The Gallows Pole on when and how he came across the true story behind his book: Working with Shane is like swimming in the ocean, in the sense that it’s limitless. It’s so open and terrifying, because you’re given so much room to explore, to take a risk. That’s very rare and also Shane puts a lot of trust in you, he invites you to decide what your personal investment is and to decide what matters to your character and where do you want to go and that very generous invitation, it gives you a lot as a performer, and not just as a performer, but also as a person, so you ask yourself what matters to me and what am I wanting to explore here and what am I bringing to this and what is this other person bringing and what are we making together. I think that’s just a gift really. Adam Fogerty

Most of the local population were involved in the weaving trade and the region produced high quality, hardwearing Worsted cloth. After a boom during the Seven Years War (1756-1763) the woollen industry in the West Riding of Yorkshire fell into decline during the post war recession, due to a reduced demand for the Worsted which had been used largely for military uniforms. As with all Meadows stuff, the cinematography is magnificent, particularly that of the eye-misting scene in which William Sr is buried on the hillside. The modern and trad folk score is haunting, particularly Barb's a capella laments at William Sr's wake. One of the counterfeit coiners, James Broadbent, betrayed the group and gave evidence that revealed the conspirators in exchange for leniency of his own crimes. Dighton then arrested Hartley, which enraged his brother, Isaac. He rallied a gang of men who conspired to kill Broadbent (and in probably one of the earliest forms of crowdsourcing, raised 100 guineas from people who supported the plan) and on 10 November, 1969, two farm workers, Matthew Normanton and Robert Thomas, fatally shot Broadbent. The punishment Benjamin Myers wins the 2018 Walter Scott Prize". Walter Scott Prize. 1 June 2018. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. For a few years, Normanton and Thomas escaped justice, in part thanks to the gang's rule of terror. While drinking in the Union Cross Inn, Heptonstall, a couple of Coiners overheard farmhand and Dighton's informer Abraham Ingham saying he knew who Dighton's killers were. For his trouble, the Coiners murdered Ingham by throwing him in the fire and pouring burning coal down his breaches.

Understaffed, underpaid, undervalued, underequipped,” is how one patient describes the lovable lineup of Welsh nurses. But they give it their all, with Mikey dealing with a man whose wife ran him over, Leah trying to comfort a patient who just wants to die, and Angelo keeping patients’ spirits up with spot-on flirting and good old-fashioned banter. Hannah Verdier David Fuller: Monster in the Morgue 9pm, Sky Documentaries The story of the coiners is told in a song called "King of the Coiners" written by UK singer/songwriter/guitarist Steve Tilston published in his 2008 album Ziggurat. Bankfield Museum in Halifax has a display featuring some of the original dies used by the Coiners to stamp their gold discs into coins, as well as panels telling more of their story. Bankfield Museum has FREE entry and is open Tuesday to Saturday 10am – 4pm (closed Sundays and Mondays). Working with Shane, I’ve come to really learn that he’s probably one of the most humble people I’ve ever met in my life. Even though when you watch his work, you’re like wow this is Shane Meadows, but when you meet him and work with him, he’s so humble in terms of he’s like a friend, the way he speaks to you, he’s welcomed me as a non-professional who’s come from the open casting, and he’s treated me exactly the same as everybody else on the job. Thomas Turgoose

A breakthrough came in the following month, when James Broadbent from Mytholmroyd, who was active on the fringes of the Coiners gang, approached Dighton. Dighton allegedly offered Broadbent 100 guineas to betray ‘King David’ Hartley and his close associate, James Jagger.Despite their efforts to maintain secrecy, the Coiners’ operation eventually came to light. In 1769, David Hartley was captured, and several members of the group were arrested and brought to trial. Hartley was found guilty of high treason and sentenced to death. On April 28, 1770, he was executed, hanged on a gibbet at York Tyburn. A serious, intense person (in The Gallows Pole, his novelisation of the gang’s story, Benjamin Myers writes of a “seldom-seen smile”), Hartley was a brutal man, not unaccustomed to using fists and force to bend others to his will. It’s inaccurate to paint him as an altruistic, charming Robin Hood figure; that he forged a network of allies and associates was probably less to do with charisma and more with intimidation. It seems that there are two sides to the coin when remembering David Hartley: revered or reviled. But there's also something intrinsically human in why his story continues to be told, according to Billingsley. Still, there's a bit of humour in the actual titles written in quasi-Georgian gibberish. Director Shane Meadows is described as 'Purvey'r of Scenes' and editor Lucas Roche is titled 'Cutteth'r' while Goat are billed as 'Most Wonderous Troubadours'. With end-of-the-world imagery shooting about interspersed with scenes from the actual drama and The Mystery Lights buzzing away, it's all a bit Peaky Blinders goth – after a few magic mushrooms.