Set in the moorland hills of 18th Century Yorkshire, England, is a country divided. As the aristocracy are building the first cotton mills and factories, the common people are starving. David Hartley (Michael Socha) has been away from his family’s remote moor-top dwelling for seven years. On his journey home to Cragg Vale, West Yorkshire, David gets lost in the moors. He’s dragging a mysterious looking bag of tools with him and on his last legs.

As he’s about to lay down and die, he is saved by six mythical Stag Men who let him know that his work on earth isn’t done yet. David’s mission is to assemble a gang of weavers and land-workers to embark upon a criminal enterprise to bring comfort and dignity back to his community. Hidden in the wilderness of the Yorkshire hills and dales, their business is ‘clipping’ – the forging of coins, a treasonous offence punishable by death.

The Gallows Pole is coming to BBC Two and iPlayer from 31 May 2023