List of riots in London

{{EngvarB|date=June 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}} The following is a list of riots and protests involving violent disorder that have occurred in London: [[File:Killingnomurder.jpg|thumb|Cartoon of the [[Old Price Riots, 1809]], following a rise in the price of theatre tickets]] *1189: The [[Richard I#Coronation and anti-Jewish violence|Massacre of the Jews]] at the coronation of [[Richard I]] *1196: [[William with the long beard]] causes riots when he preaches for the poor against the rich *1222: Riots occur after London defeats [[Westminster]] in an annual [[wrestling]] contest; ring-leaders hanged or mutilated in punishment.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Palmer |first1=Alan |last2=Palmer |first2=Veronica |year=1992 |title= The Chronology of British History|publisher= Century Ltd|location=London|pages= 79–81|isbn= 0-7126-5616-2}}</ref><ref name=HRI>{{Cite web|url= http://www.hrionline.ac.uk/strype/TransformServlet?page=app1_008&display=normal|title=John Strype's Survey of London Online|work=hrionline.ac.uk |accessdate=15 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614102107/http://www.hrionline.ac.uk/strype/TransformServlet?page=app1_008&display=normal|archive-date=14 June 2011 }}</ref> *1268: Rioting between [[goldsmith]]s and [[tailor]]s<ref name=HRI/><ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=64806 |title=Introduction|publisher = British History Online |accessdate=15 December 2010}}</ref> *1340: [[Worshipful Company of Fishmongers|Fishmongers]] riot with [[Worshipful Company of Skinners|Skinners]] after a Skinner murders a Fishmonger's servant, Ralph Turk.<ref>{{cite book|title=Of Good and Ill Repute: Gender and Social Control in Medieval England|author=Barbara A. Hanawalt|year=1998|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780195109498|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QvRC39Cty3YC&pg=PA45}}</ref> {{Quote box|align=right|title=A dispute arose between certain of the craft of the goldsmiths and certain of the craft of the tailors|quote=The Justiciar...took proceedings against them in the King's behalf, saying that they, against the peace and their fealty to his lordship the King, had gone armed in the City, and had at night wickedly and feloniously wounded some persons, and had slain others, whose bodies, it was said, had been thrown into the Thames.|width=25%|source={{Citation|title=Chronicles of the Mayors and Sheriffs of London|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=64835}}}} *1391: Riots break out in Salisbury Place over a baker's loaf<ref name=HRI/> *1517: [[Evil May Day]] riot against foreigners takes place *1668: [[Bawdy House Riots]] took place following repression of a series of attacks against brothels<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Striking+the+posture+of+a+whore%3A+the+Bawdy+House+Riots+and+the...-a0214102515|title=Striking the posture of a whore: the Bawdy House Riots and the "antitheatrical prejudice". – Free Online Library|publisher=thefreelibrary.com|accessdate=15 December 2010 }}</ref> *1710: [[Sacheverell riots]], following the trial of the preacher, [[Henry Sacheverell]] *1719: [[Spitalfields]] [[weaving|weavers]] rioted, attacking women wearing Indian clothing and then attempting to rescue their arrested comrades<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22161|title='Industries: Silk-weaving', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 2|work=british-history.ac.uk|accessdate=15 December 2010}}</ref> *1743: Riots against Gin Taxes and other legislation to control the [[Gin Craze]], principally the Gin Act 1736; rioting was fuelled by consumption of the drink itself<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://staticandwine.blogspot.com/2008/09/gin-craze-and-gin-riots.html|title=The Gin Craze and Gin Riots|work=staticandwine.blogspot.com|date=22 September 2008 |accessdate=10 August 2011}}</ref> *1768: The [[Massacre of St George's Fields]] after the imprisonment of [[John Wilkes]] for criticising the King *1769: The [[Spitalfield riots]] when silk weavers attempted to maintain their rate of pay *1780: [[Gordon riots]] against Catholics *1788: The notorious Westminster by-election held in the summer of 1788 resulting in 2 deaths and more than 40 injured.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://thehistoryofparliament.wordpress.com/2018/09/06/the-cause-of-decency-against-indecency-lady-chatham-and-the-1788-westminster-election/ |title=Westimnster by election riot of 1788|work=thehistoryofparliament.wordpress.com|date=6 September 2018 |accessdate=28 July 2019}}</ref> *1794 The Crimp Riots against [[Impressment]] into the army and navy by crimps and press gangs<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/1E02A48813E10B2B918BAC96CC4B3793/S0020859000004004a.pdf/the-london-crimp-riots-of-1794.pdf#:~:text=Though%20in%20recent%20years%20there%20has%20been,their%20features%2C%20particularly%20in%20the%20London%20context. |title=The London Crimp Riot of 1794|work=International Review of Social History volume 17|date=1971 }}</ref> *1809: [[Old Price Riots]], following a rise in the price of theatre tickets *1816: [[Spa Fields riots]], [[Spenceans]] met in support of the common ownership of land *1830: Attacks against the [[Duke of Wellington]] in his carriage and on his home, for his opposition to electoral reform (which had been seen partly as a solution to [[Swing Riots|rioting]] by rural workers). *1866: a [[Reform League#Hyde Park demonstration of 1866|riot]] took place in [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]] after a meeting of the [[Reform League]] was declared illegal *1886: The [[West End Riots]] followed a counter-demonstration by the [[Social Democratic Federation]] against a meeting of the [[Fair Trade League]].<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.whatnextjournal.co.uk/Pages/Back/Wnext19/Rioting.html|title=Marxism and Rioting|publisher=whatnextjournal.co.uk|accessdate=15 December 2010}}</ref> *1887: [[Bloody Sunday (1887)|Bloody Sunday]], a demonstration against [[Irish Coercion Act|coercion in Ireland]] and to demand the release from prison the MP [[William O'Brien (Irish nationalist politician)|William O'Brien]] *1907: The [[Brown Dog affair#Riots|Brown Dog riots]], medical students attempt to tear down an anti-vivisection statue. *1919: The [[Battle of Bow Street]], Australian, American and Canadian servicemen rioted against the [[Metropolitan Police]] *1919: Some of [[1919 British race riots|that year's race riots]] took place in the East End *1932: The [[National Hunger March, 1932|National Hunger March]] ended in rioting after the police confiscated the petition of the [[National Unemployed Workers' Movement]] [[Image:Battle-of-Cable-Street-red-plaque.png|thumb|Red commemorative plaque in Dock Street]] *1936: The [[Battle of Cable Street]] saw rioting against the Metropolitan Police as they attempted to facilitate a march by the [[British Union of Fascists]] *1958: [[Notting Hill race riots]] between [[White British]] and [[British African-Caribbean community|West Indian]] immigrants. *1968: Rioting outside the [[Embassy of the United States, London|United States Embassy]] in [[Grosvenor Square]] in [[Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War|opposition]] to the [[Vietnam War]]. *1974: [[Red Lion Square disorders]] happened following a march by counter-fascists against the [[National Front (UK)|National Front]]. *1976: Riots during the [[Notting Hill Carnival]]. *1977: The [[Battle of Lewisham]] occurred when the Metropolitan Police attempted to facilitate a march by the National Front<ref>{{Cite news|url= https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/13/newsid_2534000/2534035.stm|title=BBC ON THIS DAY – 13 – 1977: Violent clashes at NF march|publisher=BBC|access-date=15 December 2010|date=13 August 1977}}</ref> *1979: [[Southall riots]] during an [[Anti-Nazi League]] demonstration in opposition to the [[National Front (UK)|National Front]]. *1981: [[1981 Brixton riot|Brixton riot]] against the Metropolitan Police. Especially on 10 July, rioting extended to other parts of London and numerous other cities around the UK<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.warwick.ac.uk/CRER/differentreality/timeline.html |title=A Different Reality: minority struggle in British cities |publisher=University of Warwick |accessdate=12 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926055138/http://www.warwick.ac.uk/CRER/differentreality/timeline.html |archivedate=26 September 2011 }}</ref> *1985: [[1985 Brixton riot|Brixton riot]] against the Metropolitan Police after they shot the mother of suspect [[Michael Groce]] *1985: [[Broadwater Farm riot]], residents of Tottenham riot against the Metropolitan Police following a death during a police search *1990: [[Poll Tax riots]] followed the introduction of a [[poll tax]] *1993: [[Welling]] riots, October 1993.<ref name="welling">{{Cite web|url= http://www.dkrenton.co.uk/welling.html|title= Memories of Welling|author= DK Renton|publisher= DKRenton.co.uk|accessdate= 22 January 2009|url-status= dead|archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20130609105442/http://www.dkrenton.co.uk/welling.html|archivedate= 9 June 2013|df= dmy-all}}</ref> A march organised by the [[Anti-Nazi League|ANL]],<ref name="Dearlove 2000 108">{{Cite book|title=Introduction to British politics|last=Dearlove|first=John|year=2000|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|isbn=978-0-7456-2096-1|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontobr0000dear_u2c0 |page=108}}</ref><ref name="hans">{{Cite news|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1993/oct/18/welling-disturbances|title=Welling: Disturbances|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|date=18 October 1993 |access-date=30 January 2010}}</ref> the [[Socialist Workers Party (Britain)|SWP]] and [[Socialist Party (England and Wales)|Militant]] resulted in riots against the Metropolitan police.<ref name="welling"/>{{#tag:ref|The march was against the headquarters of the [[British National Party]], located in the area.<ref name="Dearlove 2000 108"/> Thousands of people attended the demonstration, for which 2,600 police officers were deployed.<ref name="hans"/> A hardcore element associated with the [[Socialist Workers Party (UK)|SWP]] and [[Socialist Party (England and Wales)|Militant]]<ref name="swpmilitant">{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/hardleft-violence-hurting-antiracist-organisations-1504398.html|title=Hard-left violence 'hurting anti-racist organisations' |work=[[The Independent]]|date= 15 November 1993|accessdate=22 January 2010|location=London|first=Jojo|last=Moyes}}</ref> refused to accept police instruction to divert the march away from the BNP's headquarters itself, once it had gone past it. In a resulting riot, 21 police officers and 41 demonstrators were injured.<ref name="hans"/> In 1995, Welling Council shut down the BNP headquarters.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Race and British electoral politics|last=Saggar|first=Shamit|year=1998|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-85728-830-8|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/racebritishelect00sagg |page=136}}</ref> |group=note}} *1994: Riot during the second march against the [[Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994|Criminal Justice Bill]] *1995: [[1995 Brixton riot]] against the Metropolitan Police occurred after a death in police custody *1996: [[1996 Trafalgar Square riots|Rioting in Trafalgar Square]] and surrounding streets following [[England national football team|England]] losing against [[Germany national football team|Germany]] in the semi-final of [[UEFA Euro 1996]] [[Image:Police push back rioters in Camden, 2011.jpg|thumb|Police push back rioters during the 2011 London riots]] *1999: [[Carnival Against Capital]] riot *2000: Anti-capitalist May Day riots in Traflagar Square and Kennington Park<ref>{{Cite news |url= https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/1/newsid_2480000/2480215.stm|title=BBC ON THIS DAY – 1 – 2000: May Day violence on London streets|publisher=BBC|access-date=15 December 2010 |date=1 May 2000}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/may/02/mayday.world |title=Protests erupt in violence |work=The Guardian |date=2 May 2000 |first1=Will |last1=Woodward |first2=Paul |last2=Kelso |first3=John |last3=Vidal}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/may/03/london.mayday |title=Blair vents outrage at rioters |work=The Guardian |date=3 May 2000 |first1=Michael |last1=White |first2=Will |last2=Woodward }}</ref> *2001: May Day riot in central London by anti-capitalist protestors.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/may/01/mayday.immigrationpolicy|title=The London May Day protests at a glance|work=The Guardian|accessdate=15 December 2010|date=1 May 2001}}</ref> *2002: Rioting around [[The New Den]] stadium following [[Millwall F.C.]] losing against [[Birmingham City F.C.]] in the [[2002 Football League play-offs|2002 Football League Division One play-off]]. *2009: [[2009 G20 London summit protests|G-20 London summit protests]] occurred in the days around the [[G20]] summit. *2009: [[2009 Upton Park riot|Upton Park riot]] before, during and after a [[2009–10 Football League Cup]] second round match between [[West Ham United F.C.]] and [[Millwall F.C.]] *2010: [[2010 United Kingdom student protests|UK student protests]] against increases in student fees and public sector cuts. *2011: [[2011 London anti-cuts protest|Anti-cuts protest in London]] against government public spending cuts. *2011: [[2011 England riots|England riots]], initially in London, following the police shooting of [[Mark Duggan]] in [[Tottenham]] *2020: Violent disorder at Black Lives Matter protest in Whitehall in two separate incidents in June.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-52954899 |title=George Floyd: London anti-racism protests leave 27 officers hurt |work=BBC News |date=7 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53031072 |title=London protests: Demonstrators clash with police |work=BBC News |date=13 June 2020}}</ref> *2024: [[2024 United Kingdom riots|Anti-immigration riots]] following a [[2024 Southport stabbings|mass stabbing]] in [[Southport]].

==References== {{reflist|30em}}

==Notes== {{Reflist|group=note}}

[[Category:Riots in London| ]] [[Category:London-related lists|Riots]] [[Category:Lists of riots|London]] [[Category:United Kingdom history-related lists|Riots in London]]