Wigan Diggers’ Festival

In 1630, a 21 year old textile trader moved to London. He did well at first, but as a result of the abuse of power by the both the King and Parliament and then the outbreak of the English Civil War which started twelve years later, he saw his business ruined and in 1643 he became bankrupt.

His father-in-law helped him move to Cobham in Surrey, where he initially worked as a cowherd.

However, by the time of the defeat of the Royalist side and King Charles execution in early 1649, he and a group of others in a similar situation had got together to represent the voice of the common people, and especially that of the propertyless poor.

The man’s name was GERRARD WINSTANLEY.

He soon became the key spokesperson of the group  which the people living at the time referred to as ‘THE DIGGERS’.

The Diggers ‘nickname’ came from their belief that the land should be available to every person to dig and sow, so that everyone, rich or poor, could live, grow and eat by the sweat of their own brows, as according to them “The earth was made to be a common treasury for all.”

THE DIGGERS also advocated absolute human equality including equality between men and women which in the 1600s was a very radical idea indeed.