Revised Second Edition, 2019.

The Ascott Martyrs by Beverley McCombs is the story of sixteen women from Ascott-under-Wychwood, Oxfordshire, who, 143 years ago, were jailed for trying to stop labourers from a neighbouring village working the fields while their own menfolk were on strike for better wages and work conditions. Newspaper coverage of their treatment in prison, and questions in the House of Commons, brought increased publicity for the fledgling union, and exposed for public scrutiny the exploitation of English agricultural labourers. The women were later celebrated as martyrs and several emigrated to New Zealand. Biographies of the sixteen women and an index of names is included in the book. This is a must-have publication, particularly for family historians researching their Oxfordshire forebears.