Agrarian Riots 1822 East Anglia

8/14/2019 Agrarian Riots 1822 East Anglia

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T he East A nglian Agrarian R iots o fBy PA U L M U S K E T T

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~ ' ~ T E A R S l i k e 1816, 183o--32,I835-36V w e r e e x ce p ti o na l o n l y i n t he

JL am oun t o f v io lence tha t took p lace.N o yea r in the f i r st ha l f o f the n ine teen thcentury was a quie t year in the east . Everyyea r was v io len t , and the am ount o f v io lencetha t took p lace was ve ry grea t indeed ." A JPeacock provides a necessary correc t ive tothe sent imenta l pic ture of the agr icul tura llaboure r s to ica l ly endur ing h is lo t un t i ldr iven to the po int of despera te revolt , bu t inemphasiz ing the genera l level of violencethere is a dange r tha t the par t icular fea tures ofagrar ian r iots , as opposed to other forms ofrura l protest , a re obscured. Dis t inc t ion shave to be made be tw een the va r ious form sof v io lence and care taken whe n a t tem pt ingto corre la te them.

Food r io ts , machine break ing and theprotests over t i thes , wages and the PoorLaws were a l l public ac t ivi t ies; the par t ic i-pants be l ieved they we re ac t ing in a jus tcause , an d sometim es del ibera te ly intro -duced an e lement o f spec tac le . O ne group ofmachine breakers in 1822 was accompaniedby a sma l l band , and when they found ama c h ine ne a r A t t l e bo r ough r e move d i t t othe tow n cen tre be fore b reak ing i t up . In a!a tcr inc iden t a ma chine w as loaded on to i tsca r r iage and then dragged t r iumphant lyf rom W infa r th in g to She l fanger where i t wassunk in I4 f ee t o f wa te r. 2

O the r types of socia l p ro te st , such a sarson, poachin g, sheep s tea l ing and ca t t lema imin g , need to be looked a t wi th c i r cum -spec t ion . T he grea t ou tburs t o f incendia r i sm

'A J Peacock, 'Village Radicalism m East Anglia' , inJ p Dunbabin(ed), Rural Discontent in Nit,eteenth Century Britain,x975, p 39.

~Norwid, Mercury (NM),9 March z8:~2;Bury Gazet t e (BG) ,25Septemberx822.

in 1843-45 wh en 250 f ires were repo r ted inNo r fo lk and Suffo lk , had some of thefeatures o f a conce r ted cam pa ign o f in t imid a -t ion , bu t an examin a t ion of those brou ghtbefore the S uffolk assizes shows th a t perso-na l r evenge , exh ib i t ion ism and juveni levanda l i sm lay beh ind the f i r e r ai s ing a s muchas any desire for socia l just ice . I t should benoted tha t culpr i ts in these ca tegor ies werem ore l ike ly to be caugh t , and tha t the f i resprov ided a p re tex t fo r b r ing ing in the v i l lagene 'e r-do-we l l s . Convic t ions were of tenobta ined on c i rcumstan t ia l ev idence , andgrea t exe r t ions in ex t ing uish ing a b laze w aslooked on a s h igh ly susp ic ious . 3 The up-surge o f incendia r i sm in the yea rs o f themajor r io t s cannot be d iscounted , bu t therese rva tions ove r the mot ives o f the a r son is t shave to be kep t in mind . Poaching a l sopresen ts p rob lems as 'an index of g row ingpove r ty and socia l t ens ion ' . 4 Th e Gam eLaws w ere re sen ted , and the i r ma in tenanceby the squires and parsons on the magister ia lbench must have fur the red a sense ofinjust ice , but the Laws a lso crea ted thepoachers ' marke t , by proh ib i t ing the sa le o fb i rds sho t wi th prope r au thor iza t ion .Poaching w as no t s im ply a ma t te r o f f ind ingme at for the pot , i t was a business interpr iseca r ried ou t by la rge a rm ed gangs, r eady tomaim and murde r to avo id cap ture andprotec t the ir ca tches.

There was a cor re la t ion be tween poacherand a r son is t in I843-45 , bu t a connec t ionbe tween open pro te s t and c landes tine prac -t ices cannot be presum ed, except in so far as

3D Jones,Crime , Protest, Com mun ity and Police in Nhteteenth Centur yBritait,,x982, p 46.

4E J Hob sbawm and G Rud6,Captain Swing,197o, pp 359-60.


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T H E A G R I C U LT U R A L H I S T O RY R E V I EW

they a re r e sponses to pover ty, unemploy-ment and explo i ta t ion . The I822 d is tu rb-ances differed fr om tho se o f 1816 and 183 o inbe ing more concent ra ted geographica l ly,and less diffuse in their objectives.

Th e 1816 r is ings had assumed three ma in

forms; t radi t ional food r iots a t Brandon,D o w n ha m Ma r ke t , L i t tl e po r t a n d E ly ;ma chine break ing in Suffo lk and Essex ; andincendiar ism to the so uth and east of Bur y.There were a lso wages r iots a t Swaft 'hamBulbeck and Wat t i sham, a t tacks on ove r-see rs a t Ram say and W arboys and a num berof r iotous assemb lies in the N orf olk Fens. A tBury the machine breake rs ' t a rge t was asp inn ing jen ny and in Ipswich the t r ia l s o fr ioters were the ca ta lyst for violent protestsove r the Corn Laws.5

IIThe Board of Agr icu l tu re ' s r eport oncondit ions in I816 presented a sombrepic ture o f the s i tua t ion in East Anglia .Tenants were q u i t t ing the i r ho ld ings in theface of high rents , mo rtgages and loanswhich could no t be me t a s g ra in pr icesdropped . 6 Div ersif ica t io n and the intensiveappl ica t ion of new techniques w ere even-tual ly to enable producers to take advantageof u rban expans ion and indus t ria l g rowth ,bu t in the immedia te pos t -war yea r s on lythose with adequate capi ta l could afford totake the long- te rm v iew. Most f a rmersthou ght in te rms of r a te and tax reduc t ions , amora tor ium on ren ts , inc reased pro tec t ionaga ins t impor ts , and cu t t ing of labour cos ts .

Moves towards r e t r enchment co inc idedWith the r e tu rn o f m en f rom the war and ther ise in the labour force resul t ing f rompopu la t ion increase. W itnesses to the Board

drew a t ten t ion to the p l igh t o f the laboure rson par ish re l ief and ant ic ipa ted the t roubles ,but the ac tual locat ions o f the r iots did not

5A J Peacock,Bread o r Blood ,t965, pp 09-82.Norfolk Chronicle(NC ), I8 , 25May 18 t6 ; N M 2oJanuary, 3 August 18 t6 ;S u . ~ lkChronicle (SC),27 April 18t6; N M 4 March 1815. Suffolk RO(SRO), HA247/5/48.

6G E M ingay (ed ),The Agricultural State of the Kingdom, 1816,197o,pp I9o-2, I97, 3oi, 325.

conform to a pa t te rn o f depr iva t ion andseems to have owed more to establ ishedprecedents . No rwic h , Ipswich , Bu ry andColches te r had a long h is to ry of food r io ts,and c lose exam inat io n of the coincidenttroubles in the surrounding vi l lages shows

that the agr icul tura l labourers were takingindepe ndent ac t ion. 7The m ost dis t inc t ive character is tic of the

r iots in Suffolk and E ssex was the destruct ionof machine ry, and th resh ing machines werethe targets of incendia ry a t tacks a t Cockf ie ldand Cla re. Thre sh ing machines had been inuse since 1 7 8 6 , and as early as 18oo theNorwich Mercuryw a s r e c omme n d ing the i radoption as a means of preventing waste ,reducing labour and checking f raud.Machines did not come into genera l use inEast Ang lia unt i l a f ter I8O5, wh en a t rans-por tab le mode l , worked by one or twohorses, was developed and the smallerfarmers cou ld e i ther invest in one or hire i t.There were entrepreneurs who leasedmachines on a fa ir ly la rge sca le , and m en wh owo uld spend a l i fe t ime 's savings on a s inglemachine which they would re ly on a s asource of income wh en they were pas t be ingable to perfor m heavier wo rk. s

The machines cou ld be ope ra ted byw om en and chi ldren, and so saved on wages,bu t they were f i r s t b rought in to use tocompensate for a labour shor tage , and thedirec t f inancia l advantage over handthreshing w as s l ight . A le t te r to theNorwichMercuryquest ioned the continued use of themachines at a t ime o f h igh unem ploym ent ,and c la imed tha t 'corn may be thrashed ascheap by hand as by machine ' . James Buckthought tha t ' the th resh ing machine oughtnot to be found in populous places am idst a

n u m e r o u s poor ' . 9VOutwell,Cambridge Chronicle(CC), 31 August 1793; Ho me O ffice(HO ), 42135 25 July 1795; Halstead,Cam bridge Intell(~,encerCI), 15August t795 ; Ramsay, HO 42 /3525 July; Wisbech, HO 42/35 3August; Stowmarket,Bury Post (BP),25 July 1795; M elton, SR OHA 365/2 5 Decemb er 1792; Clare,London Gazette, t5N o v e m b e rx8oo; Great Bardfield,London Gazette,8 July t8oo, H O42/50,Swaffilam Bulbeck, H O42/51 24 September x8oo.

S N M x8 October x8oo ; Hob sbaw m & Rud6 , op c i t, pp 359-63 ; SC27 April 1816;N M I OAugu st I816 ; NC aoJu ly 1816.

9 N M 15 June 18x6;Agricultural State qf the Kingdom,p 193.


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EA ST A N G LIA N RIO TS I8 2 2

Despite the doubts and the r iots , m achineswere k ept on, the farmers be l ieving i t wasessent ial to pu t the ir g ra in o n sa le before themarkets became sa t ia ted.

Smal l owners and occupie rs on the h eavyc lay loams o f the Nor fo lk-Suffo lk borde r,especia l ly those in the W aveney val ley, wereunder par t icular pressure . The soi l neededdeep p loughing and good dra inage i f t was toproduce co m peti t ive yields , and this m eantcap i ta linves tment . Landow ners and fa rmerspe r s i s ted wi th improvements , bu t whengrain prices fell to the ir low est level so far in1821 even the most opt imist ic lost hear t .Average pr ices can be misleading, for thepr ice var ied markedly according to qual i tyand area . In N ov em ber I82I w hea t was onsale a t W oodb ridge , Sud bury and Ipswich a t

be tween 5I / - and56/- a quar ter, while a tS towmarke t i t r anged f rom 3o/ - to 60 / - .These f igures are of l im ited use, s ince theremight we l l have been no buyers fo r thepoorer quality grains. 1o

Th e labourers der ived sm all benef i t f romfal ling gra in pr ices , s ince whatever fo rm ofwage subs idy was adopted the supplementwas tied to the price of bread. Scales of relieftended to be revised in accordance with thegrowing inab i l i ty o r unwi l l ingness o f thera tepayer to contr ibu te . J H R odw ell andRober t Harvey, witnesses before the 182ISelect Com m ittee o n Ag ricul tura l Distress ,bo th owned land on the Nor fo lk-Suffo lkborde r. Accord ing to Harvey ' In fourpar ishes in which I am co ncerned, take nineout o f te n occupie r s o f land , they have ve rymuch reduced the i r numb er o f laboure r s '.He preferred taking on extra me n to payinghigher ra tes , but he paid them onlyI / 9 d aday, 3d less than the average for I8OO-I4.The cus tom o f p rov id in g bee r had been

ended ' in conform i ty wi th the gene ra lpract ice o f the ne ighbo urho od ' . Discha rgedfa rm worke rs were 'on the roads or foundoccas iona l em plo ym ent 'as roundsmen. W ehave a descr ipt ion tha t some are dreadful ly

' B G 14 Novem ber, 19 Decem ber 1821.

distressed, m en labo ur in g for ninepence or ashi l l ing a day ' . R odw ell spoke o f 'a grea tnum ber o f hands , in consequence of thet ime s , t h r o w n ou t o f e mp loym e n t andmainta ined by the par ish a t a very smallpi t tance indeed ' . T her e w ere 480 in the localwo rkhou se: ten years ear l ie r there had been2 0 0 . ~

IIIOv er t protests af ter 1816 were few, but th erewas a fie rce gleaning dispute in 1820 betw eenth e poo r o f H oxne a n d E ye hun d r e ds, bo thareas m uch invo lved in the 1822 troubles ,and in Loddon there was a r iot direc tedagainst the overseers and churchwardens.This happened soon a f te r the in t roduc t ion ofnew sca le s o f r e lie f fo r m en wo rk ing on the

roads , which gave mar r ied m en w i th th reechildren I /4d a day and s ingle men Iod. t2The tota l c r ime f igures were r is ing s teeply:

com mitta ls for Suffolk rose by 73.3 per centin the f ive years 18 15-2o, and the increase forNorfolk was lO6.5 per cent over the sameper iod . The No r fo lk magis t ra te s were con -sider ing the organiza t ion of 'an establ ish-m ent tha t wil l give vigo ur and effec t to theexer t ions of the magistra tes in preventingrobberies, burglaries, larcenies, poaching,and fe lonies of var ious descr ipt ion ' , u Th evis it ing ust ices a t W ym ond ham , Sw affhamand Aylsham br idewe l l s r ecommended theear ly insta l la t ion of t read-wheels to de tercr ime. T he Sw aff l lam magistra tes lam entedthe delays tha t had a lready occurred,a s t h e y a r e e v e ry d a y m o r e c o n v i n c e d o f t h e e v il sa r is in g fr o m t h e w a n t o f e m p l o y m e n t . T h e p r i s o n is n ol o n g e r a p l ac e o f t e rr o r , a n d i n c o n s e q u e n c e o f i t ( a n do w i n g g r e a t l y t o t h i s c a u s e a s t h e v i s i t o r s t h i n k , ) t h en u m b e r is e v e r y y e a r i n c r e a s i n g : t h e r e a re n o w n of e w e r t h a n e ig h t y t h r e e p r is o n e r s , n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g t h eo p e r a t i o n o f t h e l a s t V a g r a n t A c t v e r y fe w v a g r a n t s a r e

a m o n g t he n u m b e r .Prisoners were packed three and four to a

ce l l , and there was no way they could be

"R epo r t qf the Select Comm it tee on Agr icul tural Dist ress, 18z1,pp 33-42, 82-7.

" - N M 3 Septenlbcr 182o;N M 3 F ebruary 1821;N C 3 March 1821.,3 Report o f the Select Conunittee on C rim inal Co nunittals,1827, p 62;

B G 19 De cem ber 1822.


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T HE AGRICULT URAL HIS TORY RE V IE W

c l as s if ie d a c c o r d i n g t o H o m e O ff i cer e c o m m e n d a t i o n s . ~ 4

I n F e b r u a r y I 8 2 2 i t w a s a s s e r t e d i n t h eC o m m o n s t h a t B u r y g a o l h o u s e d 2 0 0p r i s o n e r s , ' a n d o f t h e s e s i x t y w e r e c o n f i n e df o r p o a c h i n g , a n d i t w a s a f a c t t h a t s o m e

c o m m i t t e d t h e o f f e n c e i n o p e n d a y f o r t h ep u r p o s e o f b e i n g s e n t to p r i s o n '. J o h nO r r i d g e , t h e g o v e r n o r , d i s p u t e d th i s, b u t b yh i s o w n a c c o u n t t h e r e w e r e 1 51 p r i so n e r s a n d4 1 c o n v i c t e d u n d e r t h e G a m e L a w s . T h e r ew e r e 7 8 c o m m i t t a l s f o r p o a c h i n g i n 1 8 2 2 ,a n d t h e c as e w o u l d s e e m t o b e m a d e f o r u s in gthese o ffences a s a gu ide to soc ia l d i s -con ten t , i s

A d i ff i cu l ty i s tha t the re i s no co r re la t ionb e t w e e n t h e v i l l a g e s w h e r e p o a c h e r s w e r e

a c t iv e a n d t h e v i l l a g e s i n v o l v e d i n t h e 1 8 22r io t s. C o s t e s s y h a d a n o t o r i o u s g a n g o fp o a c h e r s , h o u s e b r e a k e r s a n d p o u l t r yt h ie v e s, i t w a s w i t h i n t h e m a i n N o r f o l k r io ta r ea , b u t p l a y e d n o p a r t i n t h e t r o u b l e s . ~6T h ep o a c h e rs w o u l d n a t u r a l l y b e m o s t a c ti v e o nt h e l a rg e r e s t a t e s w h e r e t h e o w n e r s c o u l da f fo r d to p r e s e r v e t h e w o o d l a n d a n d p a y t h ew a g e s o f k e e p e rs , a n d m u c h o f th e l an d i ns o u t h - w e s t N o r f o l k w a s o w n e d b y s m a l lf a rm e r s . N e v e r t h e l e ss , s o m e p o a c h i n g i n c i-d e n t s s u g g e s t a g r o w i n g s e n s e o f b i t t e rn e s s i nt h e c o u n t r y s i d e . A s p r i n g g u n w a s f ix e d t of i r e a c r o s s t h e d r i v e a t C o s t e s s y P a r k , a n dg u n s w e r e f ir e d i n t h e v i c i n i t y to t r y a n d l u r et h e k e e p e r s t o th e s p o t . A t C u l f o r d , o n t h ee s ta te o f L o r d C o r n w a l l i s , o n e k e e p e r w a ssho t and f ive bea ten wi th f l a i l s in an a ff rayw i t h I 6 p o a c h e r s . W i l l i a m B i l s o n o f G r ea tS a x h a m o w e d h i s li fe t o a f la s h i n t h e p a n , a n dl a te r i n t h e y e a r t h e r e w e r e s h o o t i n g e p i s o d e si n v o l v i n g p o a c h e r s a t C a v e n h a m a n d M i l -d e n h a l l . I t m a y b e s i g n i f i c a n t t h a t i nF e b r u a r y 1823 t h r ee m e n f r o m K e n n i n g h a l la n d t h r ee f r o m E a s t H a r li n g , b o t h r i o to u sv i l l a g e s , w e r e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r b r e a k i n g t h e

a r m s o f t w o k e e p e rs , t h e j a w o f a n o t h e r, a n db o t h t h i g h s o f a f o u r t h i n a f i g h t a tS h r o p h a m . A m o n t h l a t e r a s e r v a n t o f M rS m i t h o f F re n z e H a l l, T h e l v e r t o n , w a s b a d l yb e a t e n b y p o a c h e r s ; F r e n z e li es a m i l e f r o mD i s s . O p e n p r o t e s t h a d f a i l e d , a n d i t i sp o s s i b l e t h a t p o a c h i n g w a s s e e n a s a na l t er n a t iv e . W h e t h e r r i o t e r s w e r e p e n a l i z e db y t h e ir e m p l o y e r s c a n n o t b e k n o w n , b u tt w o o f t h e F o x h a l l r i o t er s w e r e l a te r a r r e st e df o r p o u l t r y a n d p i g s t e a li n g , a n d J a m e sG a y f o r, a c q u i t t e d o f s e n d i n g a t h r e a t e n i n gle t te r, was t a ken in fo r pos ses s ion o f s to lenpig s. i7

J o h n O r r i d g e a t tr ib u t e d t h e r e c o rd n u m -b e r o f c o m m i t t a l s f o r p o a c h i n g i n 1 82 2t O ' t hew a n t o f e m p l o y m e n t a n d t h e i n a d eq u a c y o f

t h e p r i c e o f l a b o u r ' . I8 T h i s v e r d i c t w a ss e c o n d e d b y J o s e p h C r a n n i s, c o m m i t t e dt w i c e t o B u r y g a o l . L e f t a l o n e i n t h er e c e p ti o n r o o m f o r h a l f a n h o u r , h e h a d t i m et o d r a w t h r e e p h e a s a n t s o n t h e w a l l a n d t ow r i t e a p o e m .

I am a carpenterby trade, I neverwas incroaching,I had no work no mo ney, which made me go apoaching.Three hen pheasants I had got, and hom eward I wasmaking,Tw o fellows stop'd me in the road, so poor Joe was

taken,Then to theJustice they did bring m e, with h im I couldnot prevail,For my m ittimu s he did sign, and sent me offto gaol.The pheasants I should h ave caught, I have now left fors t o r e ,A n d t h i s s u m m e r i f t h e y h a v e l u c k, t h e y ' l l b r e e d p l e n t ymore,And as soon as ever the nex t season do com e in,IfI am alive and no t con fined I shall be ready to b egin,And if that I am taken again the mo ney I w ill pay,For I shallnever stand for money , while pheasants ookso gay.19

C r a n n i s d e f i e s c a t e g o r i z a t i o n a s d o w n -t r o d d e n l a b o u r e r, r u r a l c r i m i n a l o r s o c i a lp ro te s te r.

,4 Norfolk A rchives Office (NAO) C 54/3 Quarte r Sessions MinuteBook, January 182e-December 1823, pp 125-33.

' s BP 27 February 1822;Select Committee on Criminal Committa ls,x827, p 41.

' 6 N M 5 January 1822.

'TNC 19 January 182 2;N M 2 February I822 ; SR OI , HA24/5o/19/44 (2).

, s Se lec t Co mmit tee o ll Cr imina l Comm it ta l s, 1827, p 41.' V B G 3 April 1822.


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EAST ANGLIAN RIOTS 1822

IVThe l a s t months o f 182I and the open ing o fthe new yea r was a pe riod o f g rea t ha rdsh ipfor the labourers . The harvest had beenin te r rup ted by heavy ra ins , and had no tp rov ided a pe r iod o f con t inuous em ploy-

m ent for w hole fami l ies . Th ey re l ied on thisto br ing in the incom e needed for rents , newboots and other c lothing, and i tems such astea, tobacco, coals, candles and soap. W hea twas spoi l t by the wet , but the farmersbrou ght i t t o ma rke t ' rega rd le ss o f cond i -t ion '. T hresh in g mach ines were b l amed fo rcausing a glut , as wel l as den ying w ork to thelabourers . Prospects of a l te rna t ive emplo y-men t were cur ta i led by a p ro longed pe r iod o fra in and gale s in Nov em ber and December,

the sodden s t a te o f t he g round p reven t ingsow ing o r ' f a l lowing the land a t the p rope rseas on '. 20

Despi te the obvious dis t ress , the highcrime rate an d the p recedents o f 18 I6, therewas n o ant ic ipa t ion of a second r i s ing.Incendiary f i res were repor ted a t Buxhal l ,Grea t F inn ingham , Ipswich and Ne t t l e s teadin Janua ry, but these were too dispersed toam ou nt to a camp aign. 2~

Twenty mach ines were demol i shed inN orfo lk on 4 and 5 M arch bu t the prec ise

loca t ion of every inc ident i s not recorded.Those tha t can be ident i f ied were : Wy-mo ndh am (2) At t l eboro ugh (2) Shroph am (3threshers , I dr il l) Snet te r ton (2) Blo N orto n( th re she r and d r il l) New Bucke nham , Hap-ton , Winfa r th ing and Mor ley S t Boto lph .The to ta l o f 52 mach ines b roken in No r fo lkand Su ffolk compares wi th a to ta l of 3o givenfor the two count ies dur ing the Swing r iots( Ho b sb a wm a n d R u d e , Captain Swing,p 305).

The f i rs t machine breaking inc identsoccurred in Nor folk and Suffolk on 13 and I6Februa ry to the nor th and Diss and a roundEye. At f i rs t the labourers were contents imp ly to s top the th re sh ing mach ines f rom

:BG 3 October 1821;Ipswich ournal (Ij),8 Dece mber 1821, t 5January 1822;N M 5, 26January 1822.

~' SC 5, 19 Janu ary 1822;I j 5 January I822;N M 5 January x822.

TA B L E I

M achine Breaking Incidents, 1822

D a t e L o c a t i o n

13 / 14 Feb r ua ry1 6 F e b r u a r y

1 8 F e b r u a r y1 9 F e b r u a r y2 8 F e b r u a r y

4 / 5 M a r c h

4 M a r c h5 M a r c h

5 - I 5 M a r c h

2 1 M a r c h3 A p r i l

I 4 - I 7 A p r i l

I J u l y

5 J u l yI 7 A u g u s tI I S e p t e m b e r

I 3 S e p t e m b e rI 8 S e p t e m b e r

I 9 S e p t e m b e r21 D e c e m b e r

Burston, Gissing,Shimpling N)Ey e

Eye (seed drill), WinfarthingEye. Occold (2), TivetshallWinfarthing,Threshingmachineand dressingmachineWinfarthing,Attleborough,Shropham, Snetterton, OldBuckenham, W ymondham ,MorleyStBotolph, NewB uckenham,Hapton, Blo Norto nCratfieldLaxfield 5)Southolt

BungayWoodton, Ditchingham,PoringlandWrentham, Henstead, chaffcutterBurgateBedingfieldWeeley Essex)FoxhallNortonAttleboroughWin arthingMendham

being used, bu t once it becam e apparent thefarmers were no t going to desis t volun tar i ly,the ac t ion became more mi l i tant . At thesecond W infa r th ing r io t t he p ro te s te r s b roketh roug h a cordon o f constab le s and fa rmers,and se i z ing Richa rd Dogge t ' s mach ine .T h e y p r o c e e d e d t o d e m o l i s h th e o b n o x i o u s e n g in e . Ad e s p e r a t e a t t a c k c o m m e n c e d w i t h b l u d g e o n s a n d a l lk i n d s o f w e a p o n s . O n e g e n t l e m a n w a s f e l le d f r o m h i sh o r se , a n d s e v e ra l m o r e w h o w e r e w e l l m o u n t e d w e r ecompelled to retrea t in all direction s amidst a heavydischarge of ston es and oth er missiles.2a

Magist ra tes enrol led specia l constablesand enl i s ted the a id of the loca l gen t ry to he lpbr ing in suspec ts . W hen a bod y o f r io t e rs wasbrought in to Di ss the re was a ma jor

""BP 27 February x822;N M 9 M arch x822;B P H March 1822.


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THE AGRICULTURAL HISTORY REVIEW

disturbance in the town itself. Fearingfurther unrest the justices applied to theHo me Office for a directive to be sent to theSecretary at War requiring him to ordersome regular troops into the area. Thirtymen of the I6th Dragoons arrived on 8

March, three days after the worst o f theriots.-'3These began on 2 March, and it was

reckoned that 2o threshing machines werebroken, dismantled, or stopped from oper-ating in Guilt Cross and Diss hundreds. 24

The Suffolk and Norfolk y eoman ry werecalled out, and though there had beenconcern over 'procuring proper persons toact' against the rioters, John Surtees ofBanham managed to recruit 25o mounted

special constables. ~s In Suffolk a secondoutbreak at Laxfield was rapidly broughtunder control by 'the firm and conciliatorymeasures adopted by the inhabitants ...Several landlords have written to theirtenants requesting them to decline the use ofthreshing machines on their respectivelands. '-6 A will ingness to adopt this stra-tagem might have terminated the riotsthroughout the border region, but theauthorities were alarmed and tended to thinkmor e in terms o f repression than concession.Colonel Ray, comma nder of the Eyeyeomanry , described the disturbed area asf a st a p p r o a c h i n g t h e s t at e o f o u r I r i s h n e i g h b o u r s , a n di n d e e d , i f a n i m m e d i a t e c h e c k i s n o t p u t t o t h ep r o c e e d i n g s o f t h e e v i l d i s p o s e d i n t h i s d i s t r i c t , I f e a rt h e c o n t a g i o n w i l l s p r e a d a n d b e c o m e a m o s tf o r m i d a b l e e v i l . T h r e a t e n i n g l e t t e r s a r e c i r c u l a t e da m o n g u s m o s t l i b e ra l l y, a n d t h e f i r e b r a n d , t h e m o s tf o r m i d a b l e o f w e a p o n s , i s t h e p o r t i o n o f t h os e w h op e r si s t i n t h e u s e o f th r e s h i n g m a c h i n e s o r a n y w a y a r eo b n o x i o u s t o t h e p a r t y, ~7

By the time Ray reached Diss the area wasquieter, bu t on the afternoon of 5 March 'w ewere gratified by the arrival of an express

announcing positive information that a mobof 60o strong were at that time on their marchto Buc kenham Green'. The 600 turned out tobe nearer 6o, a 'mot ley crew' w ho could havebeen dispersed by a 'sergeant's guard'. Facedwith drawn swords and loaded firearms, the

rioters tried to escape into the fields, buttwenty were arrested and six committed toNorwi ch Castle. ~8

When the prisoners came into Nor wich acrowd pelted their escort with stones, andwere not impressed by the threat of shoot-ing. The Norwich textile workers hadreason to sympathize with any protestagainst mechanization and there were wageriots in the city in the summer . The NorwichMercury dismissed the rioters as 'loose

disorderly boys' but the anxiety expressedby Mayor Racham and the other magistratessuggests the situation was mor e serious. ~-9A r i o t o u s d i s p o s i t i o n h a s w i t h i n a f e w d a y s m a n i f e s t e di t se l f a m o n g s t t h e p e a s a n t ry i n v a r i o u s t o w n s i nN o r f o l k i n th i s n e i g h b o u r h o o d , a n d s t il l e x i st s i n th ea l le g e d p u r p o s e o f d e s t r o y i n g t h r e s h i n g m a c h i n e s , a n dt h i s d i s p o s i t i o n ha s p r o d u c e d a fe v e r i sh t e m p e r i n t h el o w e r c l as s es o f t h e i n h a b i t a n t s o f t h i s c i t y )

There were further riots after the trialswhen the men convicted of machine break-ing were moved off to the bridewells atSwaffham, Wy mondh am, Walsingham andAylsham. it had been feared an attemptwould be made to rescue the rioters beforethe trials, and the magistrates formed aspecial committee for the duration of theemergency. The West Norfolk Militia weremobilized and the Norwich Light HorseYeomanry sta tioned in the local barracks. 3~

No rescue bid materialized, and althoughthere were rumour s of further gatherings bythe labourers it was felt safe to stand downthe yeomanry during the second week ofMarch. 3: There were numerous incendiaryattacks in February and March, and some of

3 N M9 M arch 18aa; HO4o/17/133a;HO 4o/17/3a; HO41/6 3, 4, 7March 18a:..

~ 4 N M9 March t82z; HO 4o/I7/3t 7 March 1822.~sSRO HA24.7/5/85;HO 4o/x7/3a.~ 6 S C I6 M arch xSz2.a7SRO H A2 4 7 / 5 / 8 5 .

~SSRO HA247/5/87; N M 9 M arch 182a.:gAnuual Reis ter,18z2, pp t22-3;IJ 9 March 1822;B P I3 March

18a2.aHO 40/I7/IO.a'BG 20 March 1822; HO41/6 7 March 1822; NA O C 54/3 p 136.a21j 9 March I822.


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EAST ANGLIAN

the villages in the main riot areas wereaffected, including Diss, Attleborough,Botesdale, East Harling and Eye. The mainconcentration of fires lay to the west of Eye,in villages where there were no reports ofmachine breaking. 33

The Loddon yeomanry had to be calledOUt on 21 March when parties oflabourersassembled at Broome and Ditchingham. Athreshing machine was broken in Bungaythe same week, but there were no seriousoutbreaks until 3 April. On that daymachines were broken at Ditchi ngham andWoo&on; 20 men were arrested and broughtto Bungay, and in anticipation of furtherdisturbances, the magistrates swore in spe-cial constables and sent to Norwich formilitary assistance. These precautions werenot totally effective, for the troops weremobbed outside the Three Tuns and the RiotAct had to be read before the crowd woulddisperse. 34

The incidents recorded in the remainder ofApril seem to have been minor affairs, thework of individuals or small groups. TheJuly cases, however, were full-scale riots;there were no arrests following the outbreakat Burgate, and it needed a full turn out ofmagistrates, constables and volunteer far-

mers to check the riot at Bedingfield. 35Sizeable groups were also involved in theSeptember riots. When a posse of dragoons,constables and magistrates went to Winfar-thing to arrest the machine breakers, 'atumultuous mob . . . behaved with brutalviolence, and evinced a spirit of daringinsubordination'. The Woodbridge yeo-manry had to be brought in to deal with theFoxhall rioters, after the constables had beenbeaten off, and even then the arrests weremade in a dawn raid to avoid popularopposi tion. 36 In Loddo n hundred, 50 to 60labourersJ3 BG , N M , S C February-April I822.34BG 27 March, Io A pril 1822;B P IO, 17 Apr il "822; NA O C

51/21. For lat er troubles in the Bu ng ay area, see SP,O HA247/5/91.

3SlJ 14 April 1822;B G 24 Ap ril 1822;B P , o , t 7 Ap ril 1822; SROHA 24/5o/I9/44(2); BG 17july I822.

3e,B G 25 September;J 14, 21 September I822; SRO HA 247/5/IOl.

RIO TS 1 8 2 2 7

v i s i te d m o s t o f t h e f a r m s a t N o r t o n , H a d i s c o e ,A l d e b y, T h u r l t o n C r o f ts , R a v e n i n g h a m , H a l es G r e ene t c. i n N o r f o l k , f o r t h e p u r p o s e o f a s c e r t a i n i n gw h e t h e r a n y m a c h i n e s w e re a t w o r k . T h e y h o w e v e rd i d n o t o f f e r a n y v i o l e n c e to t h e f a r m e rs w h e r e t h e yc a ll e d, b u t c o n t e n t e d t h e m s e l v e s w i t h i m p r e s s i n g a l lt h e f a r m i n g h a n d s a s t h e y p r o c e e d e d o n t h e ir v i s i t s ) 7

The final episode in the I822 disturbanceswas at Mendha m on the Waveney, midwaybetween Diss and Bungay. George Rant hadhis threshing machine dismembe red' beforea posse of peace officers arrived and took 6supposed ringleaders into custody. 38

VBefore the riots the East Anglian press hadpublished letters critical of machinery andhad expressed concern for the plight of theagricultural labourers. Once the troublesstarted the tone of the reports became morehostile. Thrashing machines were 'far fromsuperseding the use of manual labour . . .more instead of fewer hands have beenemployed where they have been resorted to'.'Some of the individuals who wereapprehended in Norfolk were single men,and constantly earning from IO/- to 12/- aweek, wages which at the present momentcannot justify a murm er of complaint.'

Machine breaking and arson were 'notunaccompanied by other indications of themost savage ferocity'. Labourers had beenstirred up by 'the artful and malignantrepresentatives ofpoliticalincendiaries' . TheBury G azettequo ted with approval an articlefrom the Sun suggesting the risings were aconspiracy designed to divert troops fromIreland. All the papers carried the NorwichMercury account of parties of up to 500labourers marching through the countrysidein search of threshing machines and having 'aregular system ofo rganisat ion between thevarious villages'. 39 Ray mentioned thatreports on the size of the mobs were 'much

37U21 September 1822.JxU4January 1823; SRO HA 24/5o/19/44(2).3~SCzMarch x822; BG 6M arch, to April I822 ;Ij9M arch 1822;

NM9March 1822.


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.

T H E A G R I C U L T U R A L H I S T O R Y R E V IE W

exaggerated', and where actual cases wererecorded the parties were estimated atbetween 30 and 6o.

The first trials of the rioters were con-ducted against this background of alarm andindignation. Opening the Norfolk quartersessions, the chairman reminded the jur y ofthe threat that violent protest posed toagricultural investment, and argued that ifmachines were harmful to the labourers theymust also be harmful to the farmers. 'Thewages and comforts of the poor weredependent on a peaceable and soberdisposition. ,,o

Thirty-three men were held on charges ofrioting .and machine breaking, but 6 weresent to the assizes at Thetford: 2 on arson

charges, I as an evidence against them, and 3who had been involved in the same machinebreaking incident at Winfarthing. Of thosetried at the sessions 2 were acquitted, 5 boundover, and the remainder given gaol sentencesfrom I week to I year, though most of thesentences were for 2, 3 or 6 months. RobertChatton, identified as the leader of theShimpling riot, was fined 5, gaoled for ayear, and bound over for 2 years on suretiesof 20o. 'He appeared to be a man who is

prosperous in life.' James Sparham, theprosecutor in the Shimpling case, gave theothe r men good characters, but JamesGoddard was imprisoned for 12 months forassaulting a magistra te, and James Cr ick wasalso awarded I year in Norwich Castle.James Caley escaped with a month inAylsham bridewell: 'He has shown muchcontrition for his offence and expressed hisfull contrition of his error by having beenemployed for the purpose of working amachine since the riot.'4~

Dixon, Ellsey and Coleman, the Winfar-thing rioters tried at Thetford, were all givenI year, and William Baker received I8months. He had avoided trial for arson by

turning King's evidence, but he was believedto have been the instigator of the Winfar-thing troubles. 42 In his address to the grandjury Baron Richards reminde d them o f thePentridge rising, where he had conductedthe trial ofJ er emy Brandreth. Consideringthat precedent, the Norfolk rioters werelightly punished, but the two accused ofarson were sentenced to death.

Noah Peak and George Fortis had set fireto the property of John Kent, farmer andPoor Law official at Diss. They were both'principally employed in the roads by thesurveyor of Bressingham'. Their motivewas that Kent had been 'so hard hearted as toreduce the allowance of the poor'. Peak andFortis were the only capital convicts at

Thetford refused a commutation ofsentence. 43 Peak was 40, and left a wife and 6you ng children. Fortis was 29, married with4 children. They had both seen militaryservice; Peak with the West Suffolk Militiaand the King's Own Regiment of Foot,fighting at the battles ofBusaco, Albuero andWaterloo, Fortis with the Royal StaffCorpsand also at Waterloo. 44

There was little consistency in the punish-ments meted out for machine breaking.

Three Laxfield men, initially gaoled for 3months for malicious trespass, were thenbroug ht before Sergeant Firth at Bury assizecharged with riotous assembly. John Winkreceived 2 years, William Riches 18 monthsand William Forman, I year. The heaviersentence for Wink was justified by his being acarpenter, without the same excuse formachine breaking as the farm labourers. Themost rigorous sentences imposed by thejustices fell on the Woodton and Kirsteadrioters. Three me n were gaoled for 2 years, 3for I year and the rest for 6 months atSwaffham and Wymond ham bridewells. Atthe summer assizes Cornelius Goose wasgaoled for 2 years and James Reeve for I year

4NM 9 Mar ch 1822.4 , N A O C 5 1 / 2 I p p I 0 7 - I I;N M 9 , 16 , 23 Mar ch I 822 . T he wa r r an t

f o r C h a t t o n ' s a r r e s t d e s c r i b e d h i m a s a la h o u r e r : S R O H D79/AF4/311.

4 ' H O 4 o / x 7 / 4 ;N M 9 Mar c i a t 822 ;BP xo Apr i l I 822 .43NM 6 Apr i l 1822 .44NM 2o Apr i l I 822 .


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E A S T A N G L I A N R I O T S 1 8 2 2

f o r h a v in g b r i b e d J o h n R u s h m e r t o b r e a k t h em a c h i n e a t W o o d t o n . G o o s e w a s h i m s e l f af a r m e r, a n d R e e v e k e p t t h e B i r d i n H a n d a sTa s b u r g h ; t h e y h a d a p p r o a c h e d R u s h m e ra n d s o m e o t h e r s o f t h e ri o te r s w h e n t h e yw e r e w o r k i n g o n t h e r o ad . 45 T h r e e o f t h o s ew h o t o o k p a r t i n t h e S e p t e m b e r r i o t a tW i n f a r t h i n g w e r e g a o l e d f o r I y e a r, 2 f o r 6m o n t h s a n d 2 fo r I m o n t h . B y c o n tr a st t h eF o x h a l l d i s tu r b a n c e l e d t o 11 m e n a p p e a r i n gi n c o u rt , b u t o n l y 6 w e r e f o u n d g u i l t y a n d t h ep e n a l t y w a s a s h i l l in g f in e a n d 1 m o n t h i ngao l. g6

T h e S u f f o l k m a g i s t r a t e s w e r e m o r e l e -n i e n t t h a n th e i r N o r f o l k c o u n t e r p a r t s a n d t h ejus t i ce s t ended to be l e s s s eve re than thej u d g e s , b u t a n i m p o r t a n t f a c t o r w a s t h e

prec i s e t imes a t wh ich the d i f fe ren t r io t s too kp lace . I f the a t tacks o ccur re d du r ing a t ime o fgene ra l un re s t , a s in Februa ry, M arch andA p r i l 1822, t he re w as a fh r g rea te r chance o fh e a v i e r p e n a lt i es b e i n g i n c u r r e d . T h e s a m ep a t t e rn w a s a p p a r e n t i n 1 8 15 - 1 6 . N i n e m e nw e r e g i v e n I m o n t h f o r b r e a k i n g 2 t h r e s h in gm a c h i n e s a t G o s b e c k i n 1 81 5, b u t o n c e t h ed i s t u r b a n c e s b e c a m e w i d e s p r e a d t h e s e n -t e n ce s w e r e i n c r ea s e d so t h a t t h o s e t h o u g h tt o b e t h e r i n g l e ad e r s w e r e q u i t e li k e l y t o b esen t away fo r 18 m on ths o r 2 yea rs . 47

Tr ia ls a n d p u n i s h m e n t s s e r v e d 2 p u r p o s e s ,jud ic ia l an d po l i t ic a l , an d i f a pa r ti cu la ro f f e n c e c o u l d b e i n t e r p r e t e d a s p ar t o f a w i d e rconsp i racy, o r a s ind ica t iv e o f a sp i r i t o fi n s u r r e c ti o n t h e n e x a m p l e s h a d t o b e m a d e .T h e s a d d e s t co n t r a s t i n 1 81 6 w a s b e t w e e n t h ee x e c u t i o n s a t E l y a n d t h e B r a n d o n r i o t e r sd i s c h ar g e d w i t h a n a d m o n i t i o n a t t h e l a te rNor fo lk a s s i ze s . The re was no g rea t d i f fe r-ence in the na tu re o f th e i r o ffences. * s

T h e r e w a s n o r e p e t i t i o n o f th i s in1822, b u t

t h e N o r w i c h q u a r t e r s e s si o n s i nJanu a ry 18 3 Ip r o v i d e d a g r a p h i c i l l u s t r at i o n o f t h e t h i n k -i n g b e h i n d t h e i m p o s i t i o n o f se n te n ce s . O n em an was t ransp or ted fo r 14 yea rs and 7 fo r 7

y e a rs , b u t o t h e r w i s e : t h e s e n t en c e s w e r em o s t l y b e t w e e n I a n d 9 m o n t h s . O n c e t h et r o u b l e s w e r e o v e r t h e m a g i s t r a t e s c o u l dre tu rn to co ns id e r ing ind iv id ua l ca se s. InM a r c h 1 8 31 J o h n P l a t te n w a s g a o l e d fo r am o n t h f o r h is p a rt i n b r e a k i n g 2 m a c h i n e s ,a n d a m o n t h l at er R o b e r t R a n d l e a n d J o h nW h i t t a k e r w e r e g i v e n a f o r t n i g h t f o r as i m i la r o f fe n c e . T h e r e i s n o t h i n g t o i n d i c a t et h a t h e w a s a n y l e s s c u l p a b l e t h a n G e o rg eCa ws on , s en t to Aus t ra l i a fo r 14 years . 49

I n S u f f o lk t h e r e w a s o n l y t h e o n e in s t a n c eo f m a c h i n e b r e a k i n g i n 1 83 o, b u t a g a i n , o n em a n w a s t r a n s p o r t e d f o r 1 4 y e a rs a n d 7 f o r 7y e a rs . 50 T h e i d e n t i t y o f p u n i s h m e n t i n b o t hc o u n t i e s w a s u n l i k e l y t o h a v e b e e n c o i n -c identa l .

V IO n e h u n d r e d a n d t w e n t y - t h r e e m e na p p e a r e d b e f o r e t h e c o u r t s i n c o n n e c t i o nw i t h t h e a g r a r ia n d i s t u r b a n c e s o f 1 82 2. T h eBury Gazettes u g g e s t e d t h a t 'g r e a t s p o u t i n gr a di ca ls ' h a d f o m e n t e d d i s c o n t e n t , b u t o f a llt h o s e w h o s e o c c u p a t io n s w e r e g i v e n o n l y 5w e r e d e s i g n a t e d a s o t h e r t h a n l a b o u r e rs ; ay e o m a n , a f a r m e r, a n i n n k e e p e r, a c a r p e n t e ra n d , a l m o s t p r e d i c t a b l y, a s h o e m a k e r. T h er io te r s were usua l ly ac t ive in the i r ownv i ll a g es a n d n o e v i d e n c e w a s p r o d u c e d o f a n yg e n e r a l c o n s p i r a c y o r ' o rg a n i z e d s y s t e m ' .Th e 1816 and 183o r i s ings too k a va r i e ty o ffo rms , bu t in 1822 the l aboure rs weres i n g l e m i n d e d in t h e i r d e t e r m i n a t i o n t o p u t as to p t o m a c h i n e r y. T h e r e w a s n o r e p o r t o ft h e e x t o r t i o n s w h i c h w e r e s u c h a fe a tu r e o fe a rl ie r ri o t s a n d o n l y o n e i n c i d e n t o f t h e f t w a sr e c o r d e d c o n c u r r e n t w i t h t h e r i o t s . S '

Ve r y f e w i n c e n d ia r ie s w e r e b r o u g h t t ot r ia l in 1822, bu t ev en in the t ria ls tha t w ere

h e l d t h e t h r e s h in g m a c h i n e q u e s t i o n c r o p p e dup . A t the t r ia l s o f Ch a r le s S tokes and theJe ffr i e s b ro th e rs fo r ince nd ia r i sm a t Eye , aw i t n e s s c l a i m e d t h a t ' Wi l l i a m J e ff r ie s

45BG 13 Marcia, to April 1822;B P 3 , I o April 1822; NA O C 5t/zxpp 117-2o;B P t7 April ~822;N M 31 July ,822.

a ' B G 25 October t822;N M 26 December 1822.4 V N M 8 April x815, 2oJanu ary, 3, xo August 1816.aS Bread or Blood,pp 81-2.

4 9 N C 8, I3 January, 5 March, 5, 9 April I83I.5John Mead,Social Protestin R,,ral Suffo lk , unpuhl thesis , Univ

Essex, t978.S'BG 13 March 1822.


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obse rved tha t M r. Co bbo ld had go t a newthresh ing machine , and i fa l l wo uld agree l ikehim , i t should be broken ; a lso said he shouldl ike to have revenge on Mr. Cobbold , and onwi tness a sk ing h im wh a t sor t o f revenge heshould l ike to have , he answered "se t hispremises on fire". 's~ Ray believed the usersof m achine ry were the pa r t icu la r ta rge ts o ff i res , but there were other motives. Peakadmi t ted to a t tempted in t imida t ion of fa r-mers and Poor Law officials; a f ire atThrandes ton was thought to be the d i rec tresul t of the occupier 's givin g evidence in theCo bbo ld case, and ano ther farm er suffered af i r e whi le he was away a t cour t g iv ingevidence in an arson case . W il l iam Peters was

the autom atic suspect for a f i re a t S tonhamAspell because he had been told there w ouldbe no mo re w ork for h im once the th resh ingwas f in ished. W i l l iam Aldous was thoug htto have a gr ievance against his master, but heseems to have been s im ple -m inded and wasconvic ted on the s t r eng th of one of h iss ta tements in w hich he confessed to s tar ting af ire. He was the only Suffolk m an accused o fa r son who was convic ted , and the judgere fused to suppor t the ju r y ' s r ecomm enda-t ion for m ercy. Ald ous was seventeen. 53

A spate of f i res in the Ipsw ich area m ayhave been more organized. A broadsheetscattered in the streets called on th e people to'P repa re fo r the grand mut iny on the CornH i l l . . . a nd r e n der yo u r a ss is ta nc e r oun d thetow n to burn the cour t s, M r.Cobbold ' s , M rEdgars , M r Roe 's and Mr S tew ard ' s p remi-ses down, our pa r ty i s no w f ive hundred andf i f ty s t rong ' . Seekamp, the mayor o fIpswich, dismissed the broad sheet as a hoax,but R oe and Co bb old did suffer f i res and hehad to ad mit there w as a 'spir i t of discontent 'b rought about by ' the a lmos t to ta l want o fem ploym ent ' . 54

Th e fee l ings of the labourers a bout arsonare diff icul t to d e term ine . I f quest ioned

S:BG31 Ju ly 182~ .S3BG I o A p r i l , 13 N o v e m b e r 1 8 2 z ; H O 4 o / I 7 / I 1 4 .~ 4 H O 4 o / I 7 / I I 4 ; H O 4 o / I 7 / I I 7 ; H O 4 o / 1 7 / x 7 a ; H O 5 2 / 3 / 4 2 ; H O

52/3/77.

T H E A G R I C U LT U R A L H I S T O RY R E V I E W

direc t ly they wo uld express abhorrence , butthe lack of prosecutions, and the fa i lure tosecure convic t ions indica tes a grea t unwil-l ingness to assis t the author i t ies in br ingin gthe culpr its to just ice . O n occasions the

c rowds o f on lookers w ould impede the f i ref ighters and a t Li t t le Th orn ham the labourerswere repor ted a s say ing 'Th ey w ould be g ladi f ha l f the town or co unt ry w ere burned , a sthe re would be p len ty of wo rk ' . A mee t ing a tHoo was supposed to have passed a resolu-t ion to the effec t tha t a l l fa rmers whopersis ted in the use of threshing m achinesshould be burnt , a long w ith the ir proper ty, s5The press was careful to mention whenvillagers helped to deal wit h f ires, al m ost as if

th i s was someth ing unusua l and dese rv ingc omme n da t ion .Agra r ian incendia r i sm should no t be

equa ted w i th the more ove r t fo rms o f p ro te s tsuch as food r iots and machine breaking.Spite , revenge and pyromania motivatedsom e of the f ires at least; but the cor respo n-dence of an increasing num ber of f ires w ithother s igns of discontent cannot be expla inedby personal malice or menta l aberra t ion, andthe cases bro ugh t before the cour ts w ere toofew to a l low for reasonable genera l iza t ionsabout the incendiar ies .

V IICo n te mp or a r y c omme n ta to r s n o t e d thespecif ic na ture of the r iots : threshingmachines were ' the only objec t ' and ' thepeculiar o bject of th eir v enge ance'. 56 Th isconcentra t ion on ma chine ry as the source ofprovoca t ion d ive r ted a t ten t ion away f romdeeper roots of socia l mala ise in the Ea stAngl ian count rys ide . Fo l lowing the t roublesowners and occupiers in Laxf ie ld, Wing-f ie ld , Hi tcham, Bly thburgh , Yoxford ,M etf ie ld , and M arlesford agreed to suspendthe use of thre shing machines for a year.57The vir tua l absence of machine break ing inSuffolk in I83o suggests tha t landlords

" B G 6 March 182a;S C 16 March 1822.S'NM9 March I822 ; HO 4o /17 /4 ; SRO HA247/5/85.~7Ij 14, , ' I September 1822;B G 4September 182- ' .


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continued to d iscourage their use , bu t th isd id no t save Su ffo lk f rom 'Swing ' .

NO such self -denying ord inances wererepo r ted in Nor fo lk , and mach ines weree m p lo y e d i n D i ss h u n d r e d t h r o u g h o u t t h e

r io ts . Joh n W right , a res ident jus t ice insou th -wes t Nor fo lk , d r ew the a t ten t ion o fPeel to the fact that 'There is not a singleres ident gent leman . . . and i t is a heavyenc losed cou n t ry in the hands genera l ly o fsmall p ropr ie tors and occupiers , and ofcou r se the common peop le muchnegle cted ' , s8

Thir ty-seven v i l lages in the d is turbedreg ion o f No r fo lk had been a f fec ted byenclosure s ince 1800, includin g Bun well , theTive tsha l l s , A t t lebo rough , D i tch ingham,

W ym ond ham , and Diss , bu t i t does no tfo l low that enclosure w as a s ign if ican t issuein the rio ts . Eas t A nglian agr icu l tural wo r-kers d id pro tes t agains t enclosure , bu t therewas only one recorded incident in the areadis turbed by mac hine bre aking in I822. s9When enclosure pro tes ts were made, theytook p lace in the ear ly s tages , wh en the landwas being surveyed , or no t ices were postedon the church d oor, no t af ter a lapse of years .

In Suffolk there had been enclosure acts forRick ingha ll , Walsham- le -Wil lows , E ye andStradb roke, all since 181I, bu t there wasagain no correla t ion between enclosure andr io t ing . Mead found when look ing a tenclosure awards in Suffo lk f rom 1816 inconnect ion with 'Swing ' that , 'no cor rela-t ion ex is ts between recent enclosure and theincidence of e i ther r io ts or the completespectrum of d is turbance ' .6

The absence o f majo r l and lo rds mig h taccoun t fo r the co n t inued u se o f th r esh ingmach ines in D iss and Gu i l t Cross hund reds ,but there is no ev idence to suppo r t W right ' sin ference that the presence of the gen trycould have s topped the r io ts f rom everoccu r r ing . W hen they had monopo l ized the

~ H O 4o /x7 /3 ,S g N M 4March , I Apr i l 1822 ; R H indr y M ason , H is to ry o f Norfo lk ,

1885, pp 619-2I.6W E Ta te ,A Handlist of Suffolk Enclosure Acts and Awards,t952,

pp 247-63.

R I O T S 1 8 2 2 I I

comm iss ions o f the peace the y made noeffor t to regulate w ages , desp i te the decl inein their real value f ro m 177o to 1795. I t wasthe gen t ry who p ressed fo r the es tab l ishmen to f workhouses in Su ffo lk and Nor fo lk in the

I76OS, advan cing as one reason for the newsystem their being spared associat ion withthe lower orders a t meet ings of the par ishves try. 6~

There was no ma rked d i s t inc t ion be tween'c losed ' and 'open ' v i l lages in the d is t r ibu t iono f the r io ts ; D i tch ing ham , W oo& on , K i r-s te ad , B u n w e 11 a n d W y m o n d h a m w e r edescr ibed as hav ing 'many owner s ' , bu tSh imp l ing was con t ro l led by the Duke o fGraf ton , and the lo rds o f the mano r a t theTive tsha l l s , Win fa r th ing and Mendham,

Bress ingham an d Shelfanger, were the Ear lso f O r f o r d a n d A lb e m a r l e a n d th e D u k e o fN or fo lk. 6"-

Ar thu r You ng used the v i l lages o f Sne t te r-ton , A t t lebo roug h and Hing ham to p rov ideexamples o f the inadequa te hous ing p ro -v ided for farm wo rkers , and the 182I censussuppor t s h i s cho ice o f sou th -wes t N or fo lk asthe wors t pa r t o f the coun ty in r espec t toaccommodat ion . D is s had the wors t over-c rowd ing o f any hundred in the coun ty, w i than average of i .45 famil ies to every house, asopposed to a coun ty average o f 1.22 . Ov erthe bo rder, in Hoxne and Har t i smerehund reds , the s i tuat ion was s l igh t ly worse;these were the mos t r io t -p rone hun dreds inSuffo lk . Though the populat ion increase inthe 'ope n ' v i l lages was s ign if ican t ly h igher,as much as 52.9 per cent in ten years atMe n d h a m , t h e y w e r e n o m o r e o v e r c ro w d e dthan the smaller 'dosed ' se t t lements ; a tG iss ing the num ber o f f ami lies to a houserose fro m I to I . 64 be tw een 1811 and 182 I . 63

Promising as the connect ion seems be-tween overc rowd ing and an inc l ina t ionto r iot, there are qualif ications. Winfar-thing, such an active centre, was the least

6'Paul Muskett , 'A Picturesque Litt le Rebellion? The SuffolkWorkhou ses in 1765 ,Bull S ocfor Study of Labour History,41, p 28.

6: White's Direc tory of.Norfolk,i845 , pp 4t4, 700, 72o-6, 893.63 N Riches, Th e Agricult,~ral Revolution in Norfolk,2nd edn, 1967,

pp t43-6 ;Cereus,x8 t l , I82 t .


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1 2

overc row ded v i l lage in Diss hundred , whi leRoydon , t he w or s t - o f f in t e r ms o f a c c om-moda t ion , p layed no pa r t in the d is tu rb-ances. W hat can be legi t imate ly argued is tha tthe presence or absence of the gen t ry made

little difference.Wr igh t a l so s t r e ssed the number o f

' infer ior meeting houses ' in his area , ' thepulpi ts o f wh ich are f il led by those i l l i te ratepreachers wh ose doctr ines are of the mo stdangerous tendency, be ing a l l pre-dest inar ians ' . 64 Metho dists and Par t icularBaptis ts had made inroads in East Anglia ,but there is no evidence to l ink them to theI822 protests . Rura l ant i-c ler ica l ism, espe-c ia l ly in . the l ight o f the t i the r iots o f183 o, is a

mo re ho pefu l f ie ld o f enqui ry. E r ic Evanscalls this period ' the age of the clericalmagis t r a te ' and draws a t ten t ion to theconf l ic t be tween the ir magister ia l and pas-toral roles.By dispens ing such jus t ice as was emb odied in theharsh ga m e laws o f 1800, 1803 and 1816, the squarsonswere cu t t ing them selves of f f rom the in teres ts of thepoor, jus t as their new rector ies sym bolised the socialgu l f be tw een them. 6s

Squarsons were cer ta inly ac t ive in 1822.Surtees, who had enrolled 25o specialconstables , w as rec tor of Ban ham ; the 6magis t r a tes wh o me t a t F ram l ingham to dealwith the Laxf ie ld r iots were a l l c lergymen;the j u s t ic e w h o c omm i t t ed t h e W r e n th a mmac hine breakers was the Reverend Sher iffe.Cle rgy m en were the ta rge ts o f th rea ten ingle t te r s and incendia r i sm. Be tham ofStonham Aspal suffered two f ires , Wil l iamKirby received a threa tening le t te r and theReverend Hi l l had a f i r e on h is p rope r ty.Given the sma l l num ber o f a r son cases

brou ght to t r ia l , c le rgym en figure ve ryprominent ly a s v ic t ims , bu t in eve ry casethey were the owners , no t the occupie rs , o fthe pr ope r ty bur nt or threa tened. 66 As a

a4HO 4o/ i7 /3 I.6SE Evans , 'Some Reasons for the Growth of Engl i sh Rura l

Anti-C lericalism, c. 175o-c. 185o',Past and Present,LXVI, 1975,pp IOZ-3.

e'6SRO HA 24/5o/19/44(2);B G 13 March 1822.

T H E A G R I C U LT U R A L H I S T O RY R E V I E W

subs tan t ia l l andowning group the c le rgywe re bou nd to suffer in periods o f agrar ianunrest , but i t was no t unt i l 183o tha t the y canclear ly be identif ied as the objec t of protest onaccount of their clerical office.

VI I INewspaper r epor t s which desc r ibed thepursui t of r ioters in the langua ge of the hunt ,and references to the pr otest ing labourers as' the En em y ' ind ica te a b reakd ow n of socialr e la t ionsh ips in the Eas t Angl ian count ry-s ide , bu t the same te rminology was useddur ing the earl ie r food r iots , and wh ile it isappa rent that the social divisions in 1816 andI822 were wide , compar isons wi th the

outb reaks of 174o, 1765-66 and 1772 do notindica te a s ignif icant de ter iora t ion.Th e difference was tha t in the la ter per iod

those in au thor i ty were more conce rned toexpla in wh a t was happening , and to t ry andf ind some kin d o f rem edy. In the processthey exposed the l imi ta t ions of the i r ima-ginat ion. P ov er ty w as recognized as a majorcont r ibu tory fac tor towards unres t , bu t i twas seen as the inevi table resul t of thewo rk ing of economic laws . The fa ilu re o fmagistra tes to reg ula te pr ices , or to lay dow nminimum wages , o r to ban the morehum il ia t ing fea tures o f parish re l ief , wereneve r considered. Th e fac t tha t some of ther ioters were not per sonal ly in despera te wantwas not seen as evidence of a dis interestedsense ofsoc ia l just ice , but as a man ifesta t ionof peculiar wickedness. When i t came toprov iding a solut ion to the r is ing cr ime rate,fa i th was placed in the eff icacy of thetread-wheel , ' the only thing as to theexpendi tu re o f the coun ty of which fa rmers

have not com plained ' . 67 I t is a sad i r ony tha tin 1828 a treadm il l was se t up a t S tradbrokefor thrash ing corn, and the occupiers of landagreed to use this , or han d thr eshing, so as tokeep the labourers in em ploy. 6s

To explain wh y som e v i l lages r io ted whi leo the r s imi la r communi t ie s in the same

'v Select Com mittee on Cr imin al C omm ittals,1827, p 43.~'SE Purceh ouse,Waveney /a l ley Studies ,undated, p 237.


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hundred r emained qu ie t , wou ld r equ i r eaccess to in formation on ind iv idual charac-ters and the n etw ork of social re la tionswith in the v i l lages . There w ere areas wh ichhad a r io tous t rad i t ion , l ike the Suffo lk-Essex bo rder, and a round W oodbr idge , andi t is remarkable how of ten the same v i l lagewo uld be inv olve d in rio ts a t d ifferen t times .O ld B uck enha m was the cen t re fo r mi li t an tpro tes t in 18oo, 1822 and 183o, wh en peoplef rom there jo ine d in the r io t s a t A t t lebu rgh .Diss had h ad brea d r io ts in 1795, bu t in 183owhi le the hundred was very d i s tu rbed , thetow n i tse lf was r io t f ree . La xf ie ld featuredp rom inen t ly in 1822 , and the chu rch be llswere rung to celebrate the death of Cast le-reagh , yet there is no me ntion of th is 'par ish

RIOTS 1822 13

noto r ious for po l it ical ped dl ing ' in prev iousr io ts or in 183o, again sho w ing th e need forde ta iled kno wled ge o f pa r t icu la r com mu ni-t ies a t par t icu lar t imes i f a pred ispo si t ion toriot is to be identif ied. 69

Perhaps the sum ma ry o f the 1822 t roub less h o u ld b e l e ft t o H e n r y H o w a r d , a Me n d h a mlaboure r, and the on ly r io te r who had h i sv iews r eco rded :a h a r d e n e d o l d f e l l ow, w h o b e h a v e d w i t h g r e a tinso lence to the magis t r a te and prosecu tor, dec la r ingt h a t h e h a d d o n e n o t h i n g b u t w h a t w a s p r o p e r a n djus t i fiab le , and th a t the gene ra l sense of he coun t ry wasi n f a v o u r o f p u t t i n g a fi na l s t o p t o m a c h i n e r y o f e v e r yk ind .7

('vBP2t Octo ber x795, i8Jun e I80o;BG I t September I822;NC IXDecember 183o, 8January 1831.

7 1 j4 January 1823.

C O N T E N T S

MACSEN, MAXIMUS AND CONSTANTINE.J.F. Matthews

'AN OLD AND MUCH HONOURED SOLDIER' : GRIFFITH JONES, LLANDDOWROR.Geraint H. Jenkins

WALES AND THE PARLIAMENTARY REFORM MOVEMENT, 1866-68.Ryland Wallace

THE LLANELLI RIOTS, 1911.D e i a n Hopkin

'THE SQUIRE OF FAIRFIELD' :RHONDDA ON THE EVE OF ITS INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION.

T.J. Prichard

WOMEN WORKERS IN WALES, 1968-82.Gwyn A. Williams

OBITUARIES :IORWEFtTH CYFEILIOG PEATE (1901-1982)

WILLIAM HENRYWATERS (1896-1983)

Documents

Agrarian Riots 1822 East Anglia