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

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The first time I read Shane’s scriptments, the colours, the characters, the world, Shane’s humour that a lot of us have seen throughout his work prior to this, was all there and that just jumped out straight away. Obviously there’s a lot of serious themes and the content at times is quite heavy but Shane’s very unique but familiar humour I was really drawn to first and foremost. Behind that is obviously this really rich history of the family itself, the Hartleys, but also the area, the Calder Valley and this particular part of West Yorkshire. It’s a real love letter to the area as well. In January 1774 Matthew Normanton was re-arrested, this time charged on suspicion of coining. In May, Robert Thomas confessed that he had present at Dighton’s murder, had shared the money robbed from his corpse but had not fired his pistol. In July Thomas was found guilty of highway robbery and sentenced to death – he was executed by hanging in York on 6 th August and his body hung from a gibbet at Beacon Hill in Halifax. 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. Isaac Hartley, "King" David's brother, engineered a plan to have Dighton murdered, with a number of coiners subscribing a total of 100 guineas in support of the plan. On 10 November 1769, two farm hands employed by the Coiners, Matthew Normanton and Robert Thomas, ambushed Dighton in Halifax and shot him dead in Bull Close Lane.

I think I connected to the story itself. So when we found out what the project was and where it was based (I live 20 mins from here), the passion and determination of this group of people hasn’t left Yorkshire in my family and other people’s families who are from here, and many moons have passed since the time of the coiners, but that’s not changed and that is very much what Yorkshire people are. Bending the law slightly, not so much anymore, but the determination to do the best they can with what they’ve got, is absolutely what drew me to it. Dave Perkins Hartley returned to his home, Bell House at Cragg Vale, in the 1760s, using his ironworking as a cover to clip or file the edges from gold coins, producing counterfeit coins from the shavings and returning the clipped coins into circulation. Shane Meadows hotly anticipated drama about an 18th-century Calder Valley gang premieres on BBC Two on Wednesday.

Soraya Jane Nabipour

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. Finish him': How Cheetham Hill, Doddington, Gooch and Salford gangs waged war in Greater Manchester's pubs and clubs Steve's family history was controversial growing up, and he remembers how his great-grandad rarely spoke of Hartley's escapades. "The older generations were ashamed of it," he said. Led by "King" David Hartley, the Coiners obtained real coins from publicans, sometimes on the promise that they could "grow" the investment by smelting the original metals with base ores. They "clipped" the edges of genuine coins, leaving them only very slightly smaller, and collected the shavings. They then melted down the shavings to produce metal for counterfeits. Designs were punched into the blank "coins" with a hammer and a "coining kit". The coiners then had their accomplices place the fakes into circulation. Most of the counterfeit coins had French, Spanish or Portuguese designs. When the trial of Dighton’s murderers took place, the case against Thomas and Normanton could not be proved because of unreliable evidence. Both men were acquitted.

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 Other factors also allowed this gang to thrive. In the 18th century, with no national police force, local constables had a minor role in law enforcement. Halifax had just two constables and the nearest magistrate was in Bradford. Also in the coiners’ favour was that much of the country’s money had been in circulation for many years and coins were so worn down it was difficult to spot fakes. Semi-improvised dialogue keeps things lively and adds to the authenticity. Rather than stilted pseudo-Georgian lines, it's contemporary English with the odd old expression, sharpened by expletives in every other sentence. 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.The Cragg Vale Coiners, sometimes the Yorkshire Coiners, were a band of counterfeiters in England, based in Cragg Vale, near Hebden Bridge, West Riding of Yorkshire. They produced debased gold coins in the late 18th century to supplement small incomes from weaving. 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). The scenery of the Calder Valley, much like some of its attitudes, has largely remained untouched since Hartley was alive. "This area has not changed an awful lot since those days," said Tilston. "This is where Hartley and his cohorts would have trudged. They would have looked out at the same views as we do today."

Much of the coinage in circulation at the time was old and worn, making the differentiation of a clipped or forged coin from a genuine one all the more unlikely. The mid-18th century must have felt like the end of days for the weavers of the Calder Valley. The Industrial Revolution was coming and a traditional industry, which had grown and sustained the valley's population since the Middle Ages, was being undercut by the advent of mechanisation. Similar to what Stevie says about connecting to the story, it’s the community having to really pull together and do something to get themselves out of a situation. It’s just a great story, and the bending the law bit, I’ve always been a bit on the edge of the rule book, so for me, I like the slightly rogue side of it as well. Anthony Welsh But while the three-part drama, which debuted this week on BBC2, is inspired and informed by what happened in Calder Valley in the mid-18th century, it is a fictionalised account. Here we take a look at the true story of the Cragg Vale Coiners.

Charlotte Ockelton

a b Claypole, Maurice (21 February 2023). The Coiner's Wife - A play in five acts: The untold story of Grace Hartley of Cragg Vale, wife of the infamous counterfeiter, 'King' David Hartley of the Yorkshire Coiners. LinguaBooks. ISBN 978-1-911369-62-2. The Coiners, led by 'King' David Hartley of Cragg Vale, near Hebden Bridge, obtained officially minted coins from bent officials, including the Deputy Constable of Halifax, Joseph Hanson. The gang would clip the edges of the coins, which was itself a capital offence, and use the clippings mixed with base ores to produce new coins. Element Pictures adds: “Working with the BBC and A24 on Shane Meadows’ first period drama is incredibly exciting for all of us at Element. Shane’s unique take on the story combined with the stunning cast he has assembled will make for an intoxicating and unforgettable series.”