After exploring fringe subcultures and working-class communities in England for decades, director Shane Meadows is trying his hand at his first period drama.

Set in the moorland hills of 18th century Yorkshire against the backdrop of the coming industrial revolution, The Gallows Pole showcases a country divided, as the aristocracy are building the first cotton mills and factories while the everyday people are starving.

The new three-part BBC drama, based on the novel of the same name by Benjamin Myers, highlights this moment in history by fictionalising the true story of the rise and fall of David Hartley and the Cragg Vale Coiners.

After a mythical encounter, Hartley makes it his mission to assemble a gang of weavers and land-workers to embark upon a criminal enterprise that will capsize the economy and become one of the biggest frauds in British history.

Hidden in the wilderness of the Yorkshire hills and dales, their business is “clipping” – the forging of coins, a treasonous offence punishable by death.

“I really wanted to delve into the history of this story and the circumstances that lead to an entire West Yorkshire community risking their lives to put food in their children’s bellies”, says writer and director Meadows, who was behind the Bafta-winning 2006 film This Is England.

“It was during the workshopping process with the actors I realised there was also a story to tell leading up to Ben’s incredible book.

“A prequel that not only allowed us to understand why the Cragg Vale Coiners did what they did, but maybe fall in love with them a smidge while they did it.

“It may have turned into one of the biggest crimes in British history, but it was pulled off by a bunch of destitute farmers and weavers doing what they had to to survive, and I think people will resonate with that.”

The new series will see stars of This Is England, Michael Socha and Thomas Turgoose, rejoin Meadows as they play David Hartley and his younger brother William Hartley.

Socha prepared for the role by working on a farm where he learnt how to shear sheep and also tried his hand at clipping coins, which he admits he enjoyed doing.

“I’m playing somebody who existed, so I’ve also got a back story that was half made for me,” he says.

“Whereas the character I played in This is England was, I suppose, a version of me, I think there are definitely elements of myself here, but in terms of back story, it’s already written.”

The cast also features George MacKay, who starred in the war film 1917, Tom Burke, who was in 2022’s psychological drama The Wonder, Downton Abbey’s Sophie McShera and Cara Theobold, and Hollyoaks star Nicole Barber-Lane.

Alongside the team of established actors, Meadows was also keen to bring on new Yorkshire talent to create the series, which he believes is “unlike anything else I’ve made before”.

Despite being set more than 200 years ago, there is a sense that it is starkly relevant to a modern audience as communities across the country continue to experience hardship.

Charlotte Ockelton, who plays William Hartley’s wife Gwen, says: “Everyone has gone through really difficult times in their life and not had much at one point, especially with Covid as well, which is out of everybody’s control, and the financial impact that has happened through that.

“This story is important to now and what people will do to survive. If you have to feed your kids, you’ll do anything to keep them alive, more than yourself, and that desperation bit of the story, how desperate the community are, it’s very relevant to now.

“I think audiences will find familiarities in the story and some comfort in that. It shows the teamwork, the bond and the love that everybody has for each other really pushes them to do what they need to do.

“It’s not out of a bad place, it’s not like they want to do it just to be greedy, they need to do it to survive, so I think there’s definitely some common ground for every person to relate to that.”

Myers, the author of the original book, had heard whisperings of the local mythology after moving to a village in West Yorkshire in 2009, but he began really delving into the story of the Cragg Vale Coiners after his wife Adele came across the trial notes from 1770 in a museum.

His wife suggested the story should be turned into a TV series but as novel writing was more Myers forte, he set about writing his book in 2014 and joked that maybe one day Meadows could film it with some of the actors from This Is England.

And in a case of what could be called serendipity, the author received a call from production company Element Pictures in 2019 to inform him a director was interested in adapting his work – it was of course Meadows.

Recalling the “full circle” moment, he says he put his hand over the phone and swore excitedly to his wife before replying nonchalantly, “Oh great, that’s interesting”.

When approaching the material, Myers says he did not want to write a historical account as they already existed.

“I wanted to write something that was a bit psychedelic and over the top and kind of reflected the intensity of this landscape because at any time of year, but particularly in autumn and winter when you walk around these moors by yourself, you can feel a sense of history that’s there in the soil and it’s a magical feeling but it’s a bit malevolent as well.

“So I wanted to take a true story and crank it up into something that’s pushing the boundaries of what historical fiction is really.”

The Gallows Pole launches on BBC Two at 9pm and BBC iPlayer on May 31.