'The power of property was brought into creation by the sword', so wrote Gerrard Winstanley (1609-1676) Christian Communist, leader of the Diggers movement and "bete noire" of the landed aristocracy. Despite being one of the great English radicals, Winstanley remains unmentioned in today's lists of 'great Britons'.
John Gurney reveals the hidden history of Winstanley and his movement. As part of the radical ferment which swept England at the time of the civil war, Winstanley led the Diggers in taking over land and running it as 'a common treasury for all' provoking violent opposition from...