ABSTRACT
Nottingham was already important in the annals of millenarianism. Earlier in the century, the freethinker Richard Carlile had been in contact with even some Muggletonians there; and the Millerites, Southcottians and followers of 'Zion' Ward had all, at various times, been strong there, the latter continuing into at least the early 1840s. In politics, Nottingham's long-standing tradition had helped make it one of the staunchest centres of support for the National Charter Association with a diverse range of cultural and political activity. James Sweet, a barber-bookseller, is described as having been, among the Nottingham Chartists, the foremost advocate of educational and moral improvement; he also advocated teetotallism. From their side, many of the millenarian groups, whether because of, or despite, their official theology, were also attractive to some people of radical views. Brown's cosmology and practice seem to have been even more cabalistic than astrological; and people are about to note millenarianism as anything but strange to versions of cabala.
