Survivor of the Bristol Riots, 1831
Rioters allegedly plundered this table from a house in Queen Square, Bristol, during the Bristol riots of 1831.
The riots took place after the Tories in the House of Lords quashed the second Reform Bill which aimed to do away with rotten boroughs and give Britain's growing industrial centres such as Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham, Coventry, Derby, Nottingham, Bradford and Leeds more equal representation in the House of Commons. The Tories staunchly opposed this attempt at reform, despite holding a view that was not held by the vast majority of the British public.
When news of the bill's defeat reached Bristol, it was three weeks before growing resentment among the local population erupted into violence - aggravated in part by the ostentatious arrival in the city of former Tory MP Sir Charles Wetherell, a prominent opponent of the bill. The rioting that took place was so fierce that the government feared unrest on a scale that had not been seen since the English Civil War.* Bristol's magistrates called upon the military to restore order. A sabre-wielding cavalry charge ensued. As the cavalry cut through the crowds "like a scythe", hundreds of protesting men, women and children were ruthlessly killed and wounded.
The death count was not enough to satisfy the retributive demands of the authorities, in particular the judge and former Tory MP Nicholas Tindal who saw to it that four of the captured rioters were hanged and a further 88 transported or imprisoned.
* A fear that was by no means unfounded. At this time, Britain was teetering on the brink of revolution.
***
How this table came to be in the library's possession is something of a mystery, although it is likely that it was bought legitimately. On 1st November 1831, Bristol's magistrates gave notice that they had appointed the Exchange on Corn Street as a "Receptacle for Property saved from the Fire and have directed the Exchange Keeper to keep it". The council may have subsequently sold some of this property at auction.
Survivor of the Bristol Riots, 1831
Rioters allegedly plundered this table from a house in Queen Square, Bristol, during the Bristol riots of 1831.
The riots took place after the Tories in the House of Lords quashed the second Reform Bill which aimed to do away with rotten boroughs and give Britain's growing industrial centres such as Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham, Coventry, Derby, Nottingham, Bradford and Leeds more equal representation in the House of Commons. The Tories staunchly opposed this attempt at reform, despite holding a view that was not held by the vast majority of the British public.
When news of the bill's defeat reached Bristol, it was three weeks before growing resentment among the local population erupted into violence - aggravated in part by the ostentatious arrival in the city of former Tory MP Sir Charles Wetherell, a prominent opponent of the bill. The rioting that took place was so fierce that the government feared unrest on a scale that had not been seen since the English Civil War.* Bristol's magistrates called upon the military to restore order. A sabre-wielding cavalry charge ensued. As the cavalry cut through the crowds "like a scythe", hundreds of protesting men, women and children were ruthlessly killed and wounded.
The death count was not enough to satisfy the retributive demands of the authorities, in particular the judge and former Tory MP Nicholas Tindal who saw to it that four of the captured rioters were hanged and a further 88 transported or imprisoned.
* A fear that was by no means unfounded. At this time, Britain was teetering on the brink of revolution.
***
How this table came to be in the library's possession is something of a mystery, although it is likely that it was bought legitimately. On 1st November 1831, Bristol's magistrates gave notice that they had appointed the Exchange on Corn Street as a "Receptacle for Property saved from the Fire and have directed the Exchange Keeper to keep it". The council may have subsequently sold some of this property at auction.