Historian highlights famous case of Rufford Park poachers - and wants to find any descendents

The Rufford Park Poachers is the tale of an historic clash between gamekeepers and local workers on the hunt for food.

And Sam Millard, aged 75, is encouraging people to find out more about the incident, which saw four men sentenced to several years hard labour in Bermuda.

Inspired by a folk song The Rufford Park Poachers, Sam set off on a journey of discovery several years ago, delving into archives and court records to establish both sides of the brawl, which was reported in newspapers across the country.

Since then, he was written a booklet about his findings and, for the last four years, has given talks about the tale to community groups and at folk festivals.

Now, Sam is encouraging people to find out if their family history intertwines with the ‘heroes and villains’ tale, as the 170th anniversary of the skirmish is on October 13.

He said: “There are, without doubt, many readers who are unaware of this slice of their family history.

“The characters in this story, on both sides, were people trying to look after their families in the best way they could, even with the harsh penalties that could follow.

“I gathered together all of the names of the participants from both sides of the incident and detail of the subsequent arrests and trials.

“No doubt many of the descendants of those involved still live in the Mansfield, Ashfield area.”

Sam’s booklet on the Rufford Park Poachers is available to buy at Mansfield Museum, as well as via Ebay.

It contains the names of men involved in the fight, as well as witnesses at the trial.

Sam said: “I have researched this story in detail and have presented it to more than 40 local and national groups, regional TV and radio over the course of the past four years.

“Recently I did this as a Zoom presentation that had viewers in Australia and Canada.

“Back in 1851 it featured in newspapers throughout the land, from Tralee to Maidstone, from Truro to John O’Groats.”

‘Transported beyond the seas’

Sam’s research shows more than 30 men from Mansfield and Sutton set out to catch wild rabbits and other game to feed their families.

They were facing starvation as the framework knitting industry – the mainstay of the area at the time – was in terminal decline.

Recent law changes had made such hunting illegal on private land and landowner, the Earl of Scarborough, employed a team of gamekeepers to enforce the new laws.

The gamekeepers lay in wait for the men, and following a confrontation, a brawl broke out in which stones, flails and fists were used by both sides, leaving many injured and a gamekeeper fatally wounded.

Over the following weeks, suspects were rounded up and brought before magistrates in Mansfield.

Many were released due to lack of evidence, but six stood trial the following year in Nottingham.