William Prowting Roberts

W. P. Roberts (11 December 1806 – 7 September 1871) was a noted Chartist who became known as the "attorney-general" of the coal miners in the 1840s.

Family

William Prowting Roberts was born in Chelmsford, Essex to Rev. Thomas Roberts, who was head of the local grammar school for 40 years, and to a granddaughter of William Prowting, who was surgeon and treasurer of St Luke's Hospital for Lunatics. Roberts was a popular public speaker in the West Country where he also defended fellow Chartists in court. He himself was sentenced to two years of imprisonment in March 1840 after a turbulent meeting in Devizes, Wiltshire. He secured an early release in July 1840 and undeterred by imprisonment he continued his Chartist associations. He was delegate to the 1842 convention and was treasurer of the Chartist Co-operative Land Company. and lectured at Church of England societies. They moved to Heronsgate House in 1867 which was an old school built on O'Connorsville which was the first Chartist land settlement at Chorleywood, Hertfordshire. Roberts died there on 7 September 1871 and is buried in Chorleywood churchyard.

Sources and further reading

"W.P.Roberts" Looking At History: Chartist Lives North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers: The Miners' Monthly Magazine, April 1844: Tracts Vol.28 Durham Mining Museum Morpeth Herald: 11 June 1859; page 5; column 2: The History of the Wiltshire Constabulary 1839–2003 by Paul Sample; page 6; Riots and Rebellion: