Swing Riots 1830-31 Agricultural Unrest in the 19^th Century

Dr Michael Holland - 21 November 2025

AT the recent November meeting of Thurrock History Society Dr Michael Holland told members and guests of the agricultural uprising in Essex in the 19^th century, known as the Swing Riots, which had started in Kent.

In 1795 at the time of high grain prices and low wages the Berkshire Speenhamland system came into being, relating the cost of bread to wages. If a farmer could not afford to pay this the parish made up the difference. However, this encouraged employers to reduce wages, resulting in even more people on poor relief. In 1819 the Select Vestries Act provided relief with a loan, failure of repayment resulting in imprisonment.

There were many protests - incendiarism, threats by anonymous letters, animal maiming and machine breaking. These felonies could result in the death penalty. Other protests such as riots and strikes were classed as misdemeanours, penalties being whipping, community service or imprisonment.

During the winter the elderly, young and women worked as threshers, using flails. A threshing machine was invented, turned by hand, reducing the labour force. During the Swing Riots 1830-31 'Captain Swing' signed the protest letters, perhaps named after the swinging stick of the flail used in hand threshing.

The Swing Riots.

Several machines were broken, with arson and riots widespread. Incendiary was far worse, when haystacks were fired, using combustible material, likely live coals, put in after a section of rick was removed. Fire engines took an hour to arrive, tackling the blaze with bucket chains.

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There was a report of the Bradwell fire in September 1830 in the Chelmsford Chronicle, and a further one at Layer da la Haye.

Dr Holland gave several examples of rioting and arson.

At Rayleigh on 5 November 1830 there was a farm on fire, with a reward of £1000 offered (£1.5m in today's money) leading to an arrest. James Ewen was accused, sent for trial at Chelmsford and sentenced to death, being hanged on Christmas Eve. Some men were in possession of gunpowder, used for rick burning, claiming it was for lighting a pipe!

One anonymous letter was traced through a watermark on the paper, resulting in six months' hard labour for the culprit. Other letters were sent, also threatening behaviour demanding higher wages. Various villages were involved, the farmers saying they couldn't afford it.

Rioters used hammers, with threshing machines the main target, but also other machines were attacked. Questionnaires were sent out, asking for the cause of unrest, restlessness being blamed. Incendiarism had been the biggest problem; machine breaking did not occur again.

The group's next meeting is on Friday, 12 December, the Christmas get-together. Ou

The next lecture is at 8pm on Friday,16 January at St John's church hall, Victoria Avenue, Grays, when John Matthews will be enlightening visitors on "Using AI for Local and Family History". Visitors are most welcome.