ABSTRACT
Throughout the period of their stay on St George’s Hill and Cobham’s Little Heath, the Diggers met with concerted and often violent opposition from sections of local society. Although large numbers of locals were involved in the campaign against them in the parish of Walton, this appears not to have been the case in Cobham. Opposition in this parish had a much narrower base, and it is evident that some local inhabitants came to support the digging venture. The Diggers’ gentry opponents in Cobham did not simply seek to target them as a threat to their property interests. By portraying them also as atheists, drunkards and enemies of the state, these opponents succeeded in eliciting the support of the government in their campaign to end the digging. The claims made by Winstanley to Crown as well as common land is also likely to have alienated members of the army, many of whom had initially shown a tolerant attitude towards the Diggers. Digger settlements in Surrey and elsewhere were swiftly brought to an end in the spring of 1650.
