In the 1790s, the workers at Crowley’s ironworks near Newcastle-upon-Tyne took it on themselves to regulate food prices when they thought them too high. On one occasion, they burst into the quayside market in Sandhill and began selling off the foods in the stalls at bargain rates, leaving the legal merchants reeling.

With the town in uproar, the council decided to summon military assistance. Help duly arrived, but an impassioned speech by a Crowley employee convinced the militiamen to change sides, and instead of driving Crowley’s men out they became some of their most appreciative customers.

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