# Garden House riot

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1970 riot in Cambridge, England

The **Garden House riot** was a civil disturbance at the Garden House Hotel in [Cambridge](/source/Cambridge) on Friday 13 February 1970.[1] It was the only serious disturbance at the [University of Cambridge](/source/University_of_Cambridge) in the period around the widespread [1968 student protests](/source/1968_student_protests). The event has been described as a marking a watershed in [student protest](/source/Student_protest) in the UK.[2]

## Background

The [Greek Tourist Board](/source/Greek_National_Tourism_Organization) organised a "Greek Week" in Cambridge in 1970, with support from the Greek government and local travel agents, including events at the Royal Cambridge Hotel and its sister hotel, the Garden House.[3] Protesters against the [Greek junta](/source/Greek_junta), the 'Colonels' regime', gathered outside the hotels for several days, culminating with a crowd of several hundred protesters – mostly [Cambridge University](/source/Cambridge_University) students organised by socialist groups – demonstrating against a Greek dinner for 120 guests being held in the River Suite at the Garden House Hotel from 7:30 pm on 13 February.[4]

## Events

The protesters [picketed](/source/Picketing_(protest)) the venue – in a narrow [cul-de-sac](/source/Cul-de-sac) off [Mill Lane](/source/Mill_Lane%2C_Cambridge), beside the [River Cam](/source/River_Cam) – to discourage diners from entering. The noisy crowd attempted to disrupt speeches inside, with a loudspeaker in a [Fellow](/source/Fellow)'s room in neighbouring [Peterhouse](/source/Peterhouse%2C_Cambridge) playing music by dissident Greek composer [Mikis Theodorakis](/source/Mikis_Theodorakis). Protesters invaded the hotel's garden, still icy from recent snow, banging on the windows of the venue and climbing onto the hotel roof. An attempt to break up the crowd using a fire hose played from a first floor window at the hotel failed, and violence broke out: the hotel was invaded and damaged (estimated at £2,276), one policeman was seriously injured, others received minor injuries, and a [University pro-proctor](/source/Proctor#Education), zoologist Dr Charles Burford Goodhart,[5] was struck by a half-brick and taken to hospital.[6] Around 80 policemen accompanied by [police dogs](/source/Police_dog) restored order by about 11 pm.

Six students were arrested on 13 February, and the university proctors provided the police with the names of approximately 60 people they had spotted in the crowd. Fifteen students were tried on a variety of charges at the Hertford [Assizes](/source/Assizes) in June and July 1970, including [riotous assembly](/source/Riot), [unlawful assembly](/source/Unlawful_assembly), [assaulting](/source/Assault) a police constable, and possessing [offensive weapons](/source/Offensive_weapon).[7] Charges against another four people – including economist [Bob Rowthorn](/source/Bob_Rowthorn), the only senior member of the university to be charged – had been dismissed at a [committal hearing](/source/Committal_procedure) in May.[4]

## Aftermath

Cambridge DoubleTree, formerly the Garden House Hotel, in 2009

After a trial of seven days, the jury took nearly four hours to reach its decision. Seven of the defendants were acquitted, but eight students were convicted,[8] including the six arrested in February and two others seen pushing in the crowd. All were aged between 19 and 25. Judge [Melford Stevenson](/source/Melford_Stevenson) controversially gave harsh sentences to those involved.[9] Six of the convicted students were sentenced to between 9 months and 18 months in prison, and two aged under 21 were sentenced to periods in [borstal](/source/Borstal). One student from Brazil and a second from South Africa were also recommended for deportation.[10] The sentences were criticised as heavy-handed, as was the judge's comment that he would have passed heavier sentences but for the "evil influence of some senior members of the university".[10] The [Vice-Chancellor](/source/Vice-Chancellor) of Cambridge University, [Owen Chadwick](/source/Owen_Chadwick), contradicted press statements that students were incited to violence by more senior members of the university.[11]

All eight made appeals to the [Court of Appeal](/source/Court_of_Appeal) against their sentences, and three against their convictions. The appeals were heard by [Lord Justice](/source/Lord_Justice_of_Appeal) [Eric Sachs](/source/Eric_Sachs), Mr Justice [Maurice Lyell](/source/Maurice_Lyell) and [Ralph Cusack](/source/Ralph_Cusack) on 18 August.[12][13] Only one appeal – the South African student, found with a mole fuse (a small [smoke bomb](/source/Smoke_bomb) for smoking out [moles](/source/Mole_(animal))) in his pocket, and convicted for possessing an offensive weapon – was allowed, but the recommendation for deportation of the Brazilian student was also cancelled.[14][15] The case remains a precedent for the legal principles that holding strong political views is no excuse for violent acts, that prosecuting only a few out of a number of potential defendants is permitted, that a defendant's individual acts should not be considered in isolation but must take their share of blame from the broader context of the disorder, and that encouraging or promoting disorder by words or actions is as culpable as participating in it. The case also continues to be cited in deportation cases, for the principle that a decision to recommend deportation following a conviction must be justified by the potential detriment to the UK if the person is allowed to stay. The president of the [National Union of Students](/source/National_Union_of_Students_(United_Kingdom)), [Jack Straw](/source/Jack_Straw) (who was [Home Secretary](/source/Home_Secretary) from 1997 to 2001), accused the court of discriminating against students.[16]

Several of the defendants returned to their degrees after serving their sentences; others had already completed their studies.[17] The incident led to a reform of the powers of the Cambridge University proctors.[*[vague](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Vagueness)*]

The Garden House Hotel was destroyed by a fire on 23 April 1972 in which two guests died.[18][19] It was rebuilt the following year. Later the hotel became the [DoubleTree](/source/DoubleTree) by Hilton, Cambridge,[20] then, at the start of 2020, the Cambridge Hotel.[21] In 2021, it became [Graduate Cambridge](/source/Graduate_Hotels#England), after a complete interior renovation;[22] the refurbished 148-room hotel has a restaurant called Garden House.[23]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [*The Pocket A-Z of Criminal Justice*](https://books.google.com/books?id=NiTusWStHucC&pg=PA204), Bryan Gibson, Waterside Press, 2009, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-904380-50-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-904380-50-6), p.204

1. **[^](#cite_ref-bevan_2-0)** Bevan, William Ham (23 November 2010). ["The Varsity protest that shaped a generation"](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/the-varsity-protest-that-shaped-a-generation-2141131.html). *The Independent*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** "Students invade a Cambridge hotel". *The Times*. 14 February 1970. p. 1.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-CAM_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-CAM_4-1) Bevan, William Ham (29 September 2010). "Riot at the Garden House". *CAM*. **61**. University of Cambridge: 22–7.[\[1\]](http://www.alumni.cam.ac.uk/uploads/File/CAM61/CAM_61_web.pdf) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20111005171629/http://www.alumni.cam.ac.uk/uploads/File/CAM61/CAM_61_web.pdf) 2011-10-05 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Charles Goodhart: A Twentieth Century Life"](https://www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/alumni/biographies-of-zoologists/charles-goodhart-a-twentieth-century-life). Retrieved 7 December 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [*A History of the University of Cambridge: 1870-1990*](https://books.google.com/books?id=55v1Mxat9YEC&pg=PA557), Christopher Nugent Lawrence Brooke, Damian Riehl Leader, p.557-9

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** "£2,276 damage in riot at Cambridge hotel". *The Times*. 25 June 1970. p. 3.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** "Seven students acquitted". *The Times*. 3 July 1970. p. 4.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-NYTObit_9-0)** [Sir Melford Stevenson, A Judge and Barrister](https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE1D91F3BF933A05751C1A961948260), *New York Times*, 30 December 1987

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-gaoled_10-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-gaoled_10-1) "Cambridge shocked as six students are gaoled". *The Times*. 4 July 1970. p. 1.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Letter to *The Daily Telegraph*, 7 July 1970; referred to in *A History of the University of Cambridge: 1870-1990*, Christopher Nugent Lawrence Brooke, Damian Riehl Leader, p.557.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** "Law Report August 18, 1970 Court Of Appeal, Cambridge Students: Judgment Today, Regina v. Caird And Others". *The Times*. 19 August 1970. p. 11.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** *R. v Caird (Roderick Alexander)* Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), 19 August 1970; *R v Caird* (1970) 54 [Cr App R](/source/Criminal_Appeal_Reports) 499, CA 184; [1970] [Crim. L.R.](/source/Criminal_Law_Review) 656; (1970) 114 [S.J.](/source/Solicitors_Journal) 652

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** "Law Report August 19, 1970 Court Of Appeal, 'Stern' Sentences On Students Upheld, Regina v. Caird And Others". *The Times*. 20 August 1970. p. 10.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** "One student freed, six appeals fail". *The Times*. 20 August 1970. p. 1.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** "Bitterness at Cambridge". *The Times*. 20 August 1970. p. 8.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** [Student protest led to prison sentence](http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Home/Studentprotestledtoprisonsentence.htm) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120923134325/http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Home/Studentprotestledtoprisonsentence.htm) 23 September 2012 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), *Cambridge News*, 17 February 2010

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** "Hotel fire deaths". *The Times*. 25 April 1972. p. 4.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** Elliott, Chris (23 April 2017). ["Remembering the deadly Garden House fire of 1972"](https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/history/remembering-deadly-garden-house-fire-12926017). *Cambridgeshire Live*. Retrieved 7 December 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** ["DoubleTree"](https://doubletree3.hilton.com/en/hotels/united-kingdom/doubletree-by-hilton-hotel-cambridge-city-centre-STNCBDI/index.html). Retrieved 7 December 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-21)** ["Cambridge Hotel"](https://cambridgehotel.co.uk/). *cambridgehotel.co.uk*. Retrieved 2 January 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-22)** ["Graduate hotels open in Cambridge and Oxford"](https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2021/09/19/graduate-hotels-open-in-cambridge-and-oxford/). Retrieved 30 December 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-23)** ["Graduate Cambridge: First look at Cambridge's new hotel with stunning riverside views"](https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/graduate-cambridge-first-look-cambridges-21581530). *Cambridgeshire Online*. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2021.

## Further reading

- *The Cambridge Garden House Hotel Riot of 1970 and its Place in the History of British Student Protests*, David Crook, Journal of Educational Administration and History, Volume 38, Issue 1, April 2006, Pages 19 – 28

v t e Riots in England 12th–17th centuries 1189–1190 Massacres of the Jews The revolt of 1196 1355 St Scholastica Day riot 1381 Peasants' Revolt Treason Act 1381 1517 Evil May Day 1668 Bawdy House riots 18th century 1710 Sacheverell riots 1714 Coronation riots 1715 England riots Riot Act 1766 food riots 1766 Nottingham cheese riot 1768 Massacre of St George's Fields 1769 Spitalfield riots 1780 Gordon riots 1791 Priestley riots 1793 Bristol Bridge riot 1795 Revolt of the housewives 19th century 1809 Old Price riots 1816 Spa Fields riots 1816 Ely and Littleport riots 1819 Peterloo Massacre 1821 Cinderloo Uprising 1830 Swing riots Captain Swing 1831 reform riots 1831 Bristol riots 1832 Days of May 1838 Battle of Bossenden Wood 1842 Pottery Riots 1865 Leeds dripping riot 1866 Hyde Park demonstration 1887 Bloody Sunday 1896 Newlyn riots 20th century 1900s–1940s 1907 Brown Dog riots 1919 Epsom riot 1919 Battle of Bow Street 1919 Luton Peace Day riots 1932 Old Market riot (Bristol) 1932 National Hunger March 1936 Battle of Cable Street 1943 Battle of Bamber Bridge 1944 Park Street riot 1945 Aldershot riot 1950s–1970s 1958 Notting Hill race riots 1968 student riots 1970 Garden House riot 1974 Red Lion Square disorders 1975 Chapeltown riot 1977 Battle of Lewisham 1979 Death of Blair Peach 1980s 1980 St Pauls riot 1981 England riots 1981 Brixton riot 1981 Chapeltown riots 1981 Toxteth riots 1981 Moss Side riot 1981 Handsworth riots 1985 Handsworth riots 1985 Brixton riot 1985 Broadwater Farm riot Murder of Keith Blakelock 1987 Chapeltown riot 1989 Dewsbury riot 1990s 1990 Poll Tax riots 1990 Strangeways Prison riot 1991 Meadow Well riots 1991 Handsworth riots 1992 Hartcliffe riot (Bristol) 1993 Welling riots 1994 Criminal Justice Bill riot 1995 Manningham riot 1995 Marsh Farm riot 1995 Brixton riot 1996 Trafalgar Square riots 1999 Carnival Against Capital riot 21st century 2000s 2001 Bradford riots 2001 Oldham riots 2001 Harehills riot 2005 Birmingham riots 2009 G20 London summit protests Death of Ian Tomlinson 2009 Upton Park riot 2010s 2010 UK student protests 2011 Stokes Croft riot (Bristol) 2011 UK anti-austerity protests 2011 London anti-cuts protest 2011 England riots Killing of Mark Duggan House of Reeves fire Timeline 2020s George Floyd protests in the United Kingdom Actions against memorials in the United Kingdom during the George Floyd protests 2022 Leicester unrest 2024 Harehills riot 2024 United Kingdom riots Reports 1981 Scarman report Related Riots in Leeds Riots in London Riot Act Public Order Act 1986 Territorial Support Group

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Garden House riot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_House_riot) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_House_riot?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.