{{short description|British civil disturbance}} [[File:Bristol Riots of 1831.jpg|thumb|The 3rd Dragoon Guards acting to suppress the Bristol riots on 31 October]]
The '''1831 reform riots''' occurred after Tory legislators voted against the [[Reform Act 1832#Second Reform Bill|Second Reform Bill]] in Parliament in October 1831. Civil disturbances occurred in London, [[Leicester]], [[Yeovil]], [[Sherborne]], [[Exeter]], [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]] and [[Worcester, England|Worcester]]; and riots at [[Nottingham]], [[Derby]] and [[Bristol]]. Targets included [[Nottingham Castle]], home of the anti-reform [[Henry Pelham-Clinton, 4th Duke of Newcastle|Duke of Newcastle]], other private houses and jails. In Bristol, three days of rioting followed the arrival in the city of the anti-reform judge [[Charles Wetherell]]. A large portion of the city centre was burnt, £300,000 of damage inflicted, and perhaps as many as 250 persons killed or wounded.
== Background == [[File:Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey after Sir Thomas Lawrence copy.jpg|thumb|British Prime Minister Earl Grey]] The British parliament consists of two houses: the [[House of Lords]] and the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]]. In the early 19th century the House of Lords was populated by [[hereditary peer]]s and the House of Commons by [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Members of Parliament]] (MPs) elected in constituencies. The boundaries of the constituencies had not been redrawn to reflect population change for many decades, so there were many so-called pocket boroughs with less than 100 voters and [[rotten borough]]s, where only few hundred or thousand voters elected one or two MPs, while [[Manchester]] and other large urban centres elected no MPs. The franchise was small with only 5% of Britons able to cast a vote.<ref name=tna>{{cite web |title=The Great Reform Act |url=https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/politics/g6/ |website=Power, Politics and Protest |publisher=The National Archives Learning Curve |accessdate=11 May 2020}}</ref><ref name=museum>{{cite web |title=The 1831 Reform Riots in Bristol |url=https://museums.bristol.gov.uk/narratives.php?irn=3064 |website=Bristol Museums |accessdate=6 May 2020}}</ref>
In March 1831, [[Whigs (British political party)|Whigs]] introduced a Reform Bill to address the matter. This was defeated in parliament, and the prime minister, [[Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey|Earl Grey]], resigned. Grey was returned to office with a majority in the [[1831 United Kingdom general election|subsequent general election]] and introduced a [[Reform Act 1832#Second Reform Bill|second Reform Bill]]. This passed in the House of Commons, but was defeated in the Lords on 8 October 1831.<ref name=parl>{{cite web |title=Reform and the Birmingham connection |url=https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/electionsvoting/chartists/case-study/the-right-to-vote/thomas-attwood-and-the-birmingham-political-union/reform-and-the-birmingham-connection/ |website=UK Parliament |accessdate=11 May 2020 |language=English}}</ref>
The rejection of the bill and the second resignation of Grey resulted in political unrest and social disorder that was characterised as "the closest that Britain came to revolution".<ref name=parl/> Inhabitants of cities and towns expressed anger at the failure to pass the bill. Serious disturbances occurred in London, Leicester, Yeovil, Sherborne, Exeter, Bath and Worcester.<ref name=tna/><ref name=williams>{{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=Chris |title=A Companion to Nineteenth-Century Britain |date=2006 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4051-5679-0 |page=156 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7pcMC7ANpmoC |language=en}}</ref> The disturbances in [[Birmingham]] were so severe that the British Army's [[Scots Greys]] cavalry regiment was deployed to the city.<ref name=parl/> Full-scale riots erupted in Bristol, Nottingham and Derby.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Caple |first1=Jeremy |title=The Bristol Riots of 1831 and Social Reform in Britain |date=1990 |publisher=E. Mellen Press |isbn=978-0-88946-224-3 |page=vi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MIZnAAAAMAAJ |language=en}}</ref>
== Nottingham and Derby == [[File:Nottingham castle fire henry dawson.jpg|thumb|''Nottingham Castle on Fire, 10 October 1831'' by Henry Dawson]] Rioting broke out in Nottingham on 9 October upon learning of the defeat of the bill. This was initially directed against the private houses of known opponents of reform. On 10 October a public meeting turned to violence, the attendees marched on [[Colwick Hall]], home of [[John Musters]], which was damaged.<ref name=uon/> The same day the mob burned [[Nottingham Castle]], home of anti-reform peer [[Henry Pelham-Clinton, 4th Duke of Newcastle]], who was away at parliament.<ref name=uon>{{cite web |title=Two documents concerning the Nottingham reform riots of 1831, comprising affidavit regarding damage to the property of Dr A. Manson, and warrant to the Sheriffs of the town and county of Nottingham, 1831 - Archives Hub |url=https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/archives/462a6a85-38ef-3b35-b7ad-2e6a58fb616d |website=Archives Hub |publisher=University of Nottingham Manuscripts and Special Collections |accessdate=6 May 2020}}</ref><ref name=man>{{cite web |title=Riots and Reform |url=https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/manuscriptsandspecialcollections/learning/dukeofnewcastle/theme2/riotsandreform.aspx |website=Manuscripts and Special Collections |publisher=University of Nottingham |accessdate=6 May 2020}}</ref> Jails in Derby and [[Markeaton]] were also attacked and Lowe's Silk Mill in [[Beeston, Nottinghamshire|Beeston]] was burnt on 11 October, the same day the riots ceased.<ref name=uon/> The Duke was able to gather [[yeomanry]] and his own tenants to successfully defend his residence at [[Clumber Park]].<ref name=man/>
On 4 January 1832, 26 men arrested during the riots were tried by a special commission, the local magistrates being suspected of having possible sympathies with the defendants.<ref name=man/> Eight of these men were found guilty, though none were brought to justice for the attack on the castle, and three were hanged on 25 January.<ref name=uon/><ref name=man/> The Duke accused the Nottingham magistrates and the Home Office of failing to prevent the riots and, after a lengthy dispute, was awarded £21,000 in damages in August 1832. In protest at the event the Duke refused to restore the castle and the burnt shell stood on the site for some time afterwards.<ref name=man/> He also halted works on [[The Park Estate]], a housing development described as "the Belgravia of Nottingham".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Beckett |first1=J. V. |last2=Brand |first2=Ken |title=Nottingham: An Illustrated History |date=1997 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=978-0-7190-5175-3 |page=Colour Plate 6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h2K7AAAAIAAJ |language=en}}</ref>
== Bristol == {{main|1831 Bristol riots}} Rioting took place in Bristol after the arrival of anti-reform judge [[Charles Wetherell]] in the city for the annual assizes on 29 October. Wetherell's carriage was attacked and civic and military authorities lost control of the situation. There followed two days of rioting and looting in which much of the city centre was burned and prisoners freed from the jails.<ref name=museum>{{cite web |title=The 1831 Reform Riots in Bristol |url=https://museums.bristol.gov.uk/narratives.php?irn=3064 |website=Bristol Museums |accessdate=6 May 2020}}</ref> The riots were brought to an end on 31 October by which time £300,000 of damage had been caused and up to 250 casualties incurred.<ref name=odnb/><ref name=tna>{{cite web |title=The Great Reform Act |url=https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/politics/g6/ |website=Power, Politics and Protest |publisher=The National Archives Learning Curve |accessdate=11 May 2020}}</ref>
The Bristol Corporation, the local authority, was criticised for its handling of the riots. Its mayor, [[Charles Pinney]] was tried for neglect of duty and found not guilty.<ref name=odnb>{{cite ODNB |title=Pinney, Charles (1793–1867), mayor of Bristol |url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-22303? |year=2004 |accessdate=15 May 2020 |language=en |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/22303}}</ref> The military commander, Lieutenant-Colonel [[Thomas Brereton]], was court-martialled for his actions in the event though killed himself before he could be sentenced.<ref name=museum>{{cite web |title=The 1831 Reform Riots in Bristol |url=https://museums.bristol.gov.uk/narratives.php?irn=3064 |website=Bristol Museums |accessdate=6 May 2020}}</ref><ref name=thomas8>{{cite book |last1=Thomas |first1=Susan |title=The Bristol Riots |date=1974 |publisher=The Historical Association (Bristol Branch) |location=Bristol University |page=8|url=http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/History/bristolrecordsociety/publications/bha034.pdf}}</ref> A royal commission found the corporation incapable of controlling the city and it was subsequently reformed by the [[Municipal Corporations Act 1835]].<ref name=thomas12>{{cite book |last1=Thomas |first1=Susan |title=The Bristol Riots |date=1974 |publisher=The Historical Association (Bristol Branch) |location=Bristol University |page=12|url=http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/History/bristolrecordsociety/publications/bha034.pdf}}</ref>
== Passing of the Reform Act == [[File:Detail House of Commons.JPG|thumb|''[[The House of Commons, 1833]]'' by [[George Hayter]]. The first meeting of the reformed House of Commons]] Grey resigned after the loss of the vote and King [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]] called upon the [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]], leader of the Tory party, to form a government. Wellington was unable to secure the support necessary during a period of political uncertainty known as the [[Days of May]] and so Grey's government was recalled.<ref name=parl/><ref name=williams/> The Whigs voted a Third Reform Bill through the House of Commons and it was sent to the House of Lords. The king, who had previously been opposed to reform, now agreed to use his powers to create enough new pro-reform peers to overcome the Tory majority in the upper house. This action did not need to be carried out as the Tory lords, threatened with an influx of Whigs, abstained on the vote and the bill passed.<ref name=tna/> The bill, afterwards known as the [[Reform Act 1832|Great Reform Act]], received [[royal assent]] on 7 June 1832.<ref name=parl/>
The act removed many of the rotten boroughs and granted new seats to the industrial towns and cities. The franchise was, on the whole, extended being granted to any man who owned property worth £10 or more. In some boroughs, the so-called [[potwalloper]]s, this actually reduced the electorate as they had previously granted the vote to any man with a [[hearth]] big enough to boil a cauldron.<ref name=tna/> Local government was investigated by the Royal Commission on Municipal Corporations in 1833 and the subsequent [[Municipal Corporations Act 1835]] applied reforms to many, including Bristol.<ref name=thomas12>{{cite book |last1=Thomas |first1=Susan |title=The Bristol Riots |date=1974 |publisher=The Historical Association (Bristol Branch) |location=Bristol University |page=12|url=http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/History/bristolrecordsociety/publications/bha034.pdf}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}} {{EngvarB|date=January 2024}}
[[Category:1831 riots]] [[Category:Riots and civil disorder in England]] [[Category:1831 in London]] [[Category:October 1831]] [[category:19th-century riots in London]] [[Category:Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey]]