The Dumb Steeple at Cooper Bridge, Mirfield was erected on the road close to the nearby Kirklees Priory where Robin Hood died an old man. During the dark hours of early 1812, the fields around the Dumb Steeple and the Priory were the scenes of many nocturnal meetings held by the Luddites. Those men who would meet in these fields were obviously of the belief that they were meeting in absolute secrecy, although some nights they would have members of the local militia mingling with the crowds at the meeting.
