Date: July 30th
Category: Political History | Grassroots Resistance | Radical Print Culture
Long before universal suffrage, long before trade unions or legal protest marches, there were men (and some women) writing by candlelight, gathering in back rooms, and printing pamphlets like their lives depended on it.
They called themselves the London Corresponding Society.
Their mission?
To reform Parliament, one working-class voice at a time.
Today, The Time Traveller’s Guild traces the bold, brilliant, and occasionally treasonous history of the late 18th-century organisation that gave Britain its first real taste of grassroots democracy.
🕰️ What Was the London Corresponding Society?
Founded in 1792 by shoemaker Thomas Hardy, the LCS was a political organisation for ordinary working men. Their motto?
“That our numbers may be increased, and our knowledge extended.”
Their goals:
- Annual elections
- Universal male suffrage
- Parliamentary reform
- Free speech and fair representation
And crucially: correspondence — they believed change began by writing, educating, and organising, not by violence.
🧵 Who Were Its Members?
Mostly working-class artisans, tradespeople, and small business owners — shoemakers, printers, tailors, and carpenters. What united them was literacy, passion, and a hunger for political inclusion.
Famous members included:
- Thomas Hardy – founder and secretary, arrested for high treason
- John Thelwall – radical orator and poet
- Maurice Margarot – transported to Australia for sedition
- Joseph Gerrald – died in exile, but became a symbol of peaceful resistance
🖨️ Pamphlet Power
The LCS believed in printing over pistols. They produced:
- Pamphlets, such as The Rights of Man by Tom Paine
- Political essays, broadsheets, and open letters
- “Address to the Nation” leaflets left in alehouses and on market stalls
- Minutes of meetings, correspondence with other societies, and networks across Britain
They used cheap presses, volunteer printers, and even book smuggling routes to circulate their ideas — ideas that terrified the establishment.
⚖️ Crackdown and Courage
In 1794, the British government struck back:
- Hardy and others were arrested and charged with high treason
- The Treason Trials followed — all defendants were acquitted, but the government cracked down harder
- The 1799 Combination Acts outlawed radical societies
- The LCS dissolved shortly after — but their spark lived on in the Chartists, trade unions, and suffragists
“It is not to be supposed that we shall relinquish our rights, or abandon our cause.” – LCS letter, 1795
🗺️ Visit the Sites of Resistance
- Chancery Lane, London – site of early LCS meetings
- Friends House Library – holds rare pamphlets and letters
- Museum of London – exhibits on working-class radicalism
- Newington Green Unitarian Church – connected to radical publishers and free thinkers
🎒 Guild Tip: Bring a facsimile pamphlet or make your own — share it with a stranger and keep the tradition alive.
📚 Want to Know More?
- Liberty Against the Law: The London Corresponding Society and the British Government by John Barrell
- The Treason Trials, 1794 – National Archives case files
- Tom Paine: A Political Life by John Keane
- British Library – Radical Print Archive
💬 Ready to Correspond?
Have you made your own zine, pamphlet, or protest print? Do you believe in coffee, ink, and revolution? Tag @TimeTravellersGuild and use #GuildOfResistance — we’ll feature your creations in our Radical Reprint Roundup next month.
