The first shop devoted to selling freethinking literature was established in 1823 by James Affleck, a founding member of Edinburgh’s freethinking society
English freethinkers described Edinburgh as the new ‘seat of war’ in the fight for freedom of opinion, and several travelled to Scotland in solidarity
When Paterson was released from his fifteen-month stay in Perth prison in February 1845, he took the opportunity to denounce his persecutors and returned to England, where he continued to play an active role in its infidel circles for several years