The Swing Riots that rocked West Berkshire

HISTORY enthusiasts recently heard a fascinating talk by Newbury historian David Peacock on the Swing Riots of 1830.

Dr Peacock, speaking at West Berkshire Museum, discussed the main causes, events and aftermath of the great agricultural uprising from a local perspective, referring to period illustrations, press clippings and court proceedings as supporting evidence.

The Swing Riots were triggered by progressive impoverishment and unemployment among Britain's agricultural workforce.

The first outburst occurred in Kent in the summer of 1830. More revolts soon followed across the South and East of England.

The name of the riots stems from its mythical figurehead, 'Captain Swing', first documented in October 1830. Under his name, rioters sent threatening letters to parsons, magistrates and newspapers.

The causes of the riots were manifold and both political and socio-economical in nature.

Years of war, high taxes and unbearable winters caused great hardship, as did the tithe system, whereby people contributed a tenth of their income to the Church.

The Old Poor Laws made parishes responsible for subsidising low wages. For different reasons, a bad harvest being one, parishes did not always fulfil this commitment.

Workers also resented wealthy tenant farmers lowering their wages, implementing harsh working conditions and replacing them with the latest agricultural machinery.

In 1795, a group of magistrates devised the Speenhamland System at the George and Pelican pub in Newbury. The system meant to increase the benefits paid to each child within a family as the price of bread increased.

Unfortunately, dubious landowners exploited a loophole in the practice, paying low wages knowing the parish would cover the rest. This further enraged the workers and set the scene for the riots.

In January 1830, the chairman of the magistrates, Captain Charles Dundas, from Kintbury, expressed his concerns for the labourers, saying: "The poor were starved almost into insurrection".

Mobs rampaged across the county, forming in Newbury, Thatcham, Kintbury, Hungerford, Inkpen, Lambourn and the surrounding villages. Some were more radical than others.

Acts of arson, vandalism, coercion and robbery against farms and stagecoaches were common, but violent attacks less so.

Pubs played an important role. Rioters would congregate in such public venues to share and vent their grievances.

The Thatcham mob, the first to mobilise locally, convened at The Hinds Head in Aldermaston. It was responsible for vandalising machines at the Colthrop Paper Mills.

The Kintbury mob based their headquarters at The Blue Ball and attacked several nearby farms.

Relentless civil unrest eventually led to severe reprisals by the authorities.

In the absence of a modern day police force, local militias were raised and soldiers dispatched to crush the uprisings and round up the offenders, many of whom were imprisoned at Reading Gaol.

The Swing Riots did not end in any deaths or serious injuries.

Despite this, 19 workers were executed across the South of England. Around 2,000 workers were tried and 664 jailed.

A further 500 were transported to New South Wales (today Australia).

In West Berkshire, three ringleaders, William Winterbourn, William Oakley and Alfred Darling were sentanced to death, but only Winterbourn was killed.

Winterbourn was buried in Kintbury churchyard. His grave was re-discovered in 1984 and residents gather every year to pay their respects at his graveside.

Penny Stokes, from Hamstead Marshall, recalls a chance interaction she shared with the descendent of a Swing rioter: "In the mid-1990s, I was contacted by a lady in Australia seeking information about her great-great-grandfather, Isaac Burton, who was transported to New South Wales following the Swing Riots of 1830.

"Several generations of the Burton family had worked for the Craven estate as carpenters and wheelwrights, living in the Hamstead Marshall house in which, by coincidence, I’ve lived since 1985.

"Like many other Swing riot transportees, Isaac sailed from Spithead to Sydney on board the convcit ship, 'The Eleanor', on February 19, 1831."

Rioters stopped at Hamstead Marshall in November, demanding money from Lord Craven. He reluctantly agreed.

Lord Craven later enacted his revenge by arresting the rioters, of which Isaac Burton was one.

When questioned on the riots' success, Dr Peacock responded: “No. They failed to secure an improvement in the condition of agricultural labourers.

"Their practical outcome was a very punitive replacement benefit system, the union workhouse system which followed the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834. And the increasing mechanisation of farming continued.

"However, their failure could be seen as a lesson which helped to inspire the organisation of labour in the 19th century, with the creation of the trades unions."

Norman Fox, a former writer for Newbury Weekly News, authored the book From Berkshire to Botany Bay, which is regarded as a leading text on this subject.

The talk was held on Thursday, September 15, from 1.30pm to 3.30pm, and was organised by the Berkshire Family History Society.

Visit the society's website to keep updated about future heritage talks and events.