| THE ANDOVER RIOTS |
| At the beginning of the 19th
century the daily life of the agricultural labourer in
general, was depressing. The deterioration of their
standard of living had left many people penniless. Their
existence was made even worse by the introduction of
machinery, both on the land and in the factories, and the
labourers realised that these would deprive them of many
of their traditional sources of income. The social and financial gulf between farmer and labourer widened. The farmers were hiring the labourers for less than a year, this meant the unemployed could not claim on the Poor Rates. (similar to today's Income Support). Labourers protested about this situation and sent threatening letters to farmers. They invented a Captain Swing as their leader, and he became a figure of fear to the landed gentry. This is why the Riots are also called the "SWING" Riots. The men demanded a minimum wage, the end of rural unemployment and tithe and rent reductions. The rioters used a range of methods including machine breaking; arson; threatening letters; attacks on Justices of the Peace and overseers of the poor; riotous assembly; publishing and distributing handbills, posters and robbery. On 20th November 1830 at approx 11am approx 300 labourers marched into Andover. Some had pitch forks with mouldy crusts of bread on them. They marched up the High Street to the Angle Inn where the local magistrates were meeting with the farmers. The two ringleaders of the crowd John Gilmore and William Shepherd forced their way into the meeting. The magistrates suggested that the farmers increase the labourers wages to keep the peace. The farmers agreed if in turn their rents and tithe were reduced. Gilmore also was a labourer; he was twenty-five years old and had been a soldier. At approx 4pm the rioters marched on to Taskers iron foundry. As Mr.Tasker thought there may be trouble at his foundry he had given the workers the day off and had locked the factory. The rioters broke in and damaged the machinery, the building, the roof and walls they tried to rip the place apart. Mr. Tasker estimated that the damage was approx £1,000.00 On their way to Taskers they damaged ornamental iron bridges on the way. The 'Swing' riots were the first large-scale demonstration of agricultural labourers' strength, although outbreaks were localised. Agitation continued, especially after the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act. There were no agricultural trade unions because jobs and therefore homes were at stake. The 'Swing' riots did influence the passing of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act and the 1836 Tithe Commutation Act, but wages and conditions did not improve. Agricultural labourers continued to be the worst paid, worst fed and worst housed of all the working communities. The men demanded a minimum wage, the end of rural unemployment and tithe and rent reductions |
