On 2nd April 1880 the electors of the Borough of Great Marlow went to the polls to elect an MP. When the Liberal candidate was revealed to have lost out to Conservative Owen Williams tempers frayed amidst the deep disappointment of many working class people. Men, women, boys and girls threw stones at William's election base at the Crown and at other town centre properties known to be occupied by his supporters. They then took to using umbrellas, walking sticks and clubs to do damage. As the evening drew on the women and children melted away and Marlow men were joined by those who had come from Bisham, Little Marlow and High Wycombe to protest. Some estimates give the number of rioters then at over 2000, some even 3,000. Violence escalated when ladders that had been left leaning up against the Crown by those putting up new lights were used to break windows and as an attempted battering ram to try to get into the building. (The men using the ladders may have been working on the framework intended to hold illuminations to mark Williams victory.) Police were outnumbered and summoned soldiers to quell the riot. This they did but not until some £1000 worth of damage had occurred in the town.
45 people were arrested as a result, of which 42 were charged. Of the 42 most were Marlow men, said to have been at a disadvantage as the local constables knew their faces and names and so could easily find them later if not seized at the time. Wycombe men could flee with less risk of being called to account. I could not find evidence of an outcome for all of those charged, or even all their names, at least not yet. It may be not all charges were pursued.
The following were those I have found charged with being part of the riot, with outcomes to their cases if any are known. I have confined myself to Marlow men. None of the ladies were arrested. To read about an earlier mainly female lead riot in Marlow see this post
Reuben Anderson
Bill against him thrown out by Jury at early stage in legal process. A labourer aged 36 in Oxford Road at time of 1881 census. But he lived St Peter's Street 1880, a few months after the riot, when he intervened to stop a woman neighbour of his being harassed and threatened by a man who had fallen out with her brother. A few weeks later fined for gathering wood that didn't belong to him. He died in 1890. Read a biography of Reuben here
Alfred Edward Allum
Age "25" or "26", court reports differed [probably actually a few years older] labourer when sentenced. 2 months hard labour. Probably aka Brassey - see here
Edward Anson
Aged 18. Sentenced to just one day in prison because of his youth and low involvement in events. Had been recommended for mercy by the jury.
William Borden or Burden or Barden
Only rioter denied bail. 2 months hard labour.
Henry Bowles
Age 27. Labourer. 2 months hard labour. Grew up Dean Street. Also known as Harry.
John Bowles
2 months hard labour. Age 24, labourer.
Robert Bowles
Age 22 and a labourer when tried. 2 months hard labour. 1881 census - skewer maker. For more on this trade in Marlow see this post. Son of Robert, a fruiterer, and Eliza. Grew up Hatches Row, Dean Street and still there 1881 census. This row is now demolished. He was an agricultural labourer age 13 on 1871 census. Robert was allegedly one of those who wrested a ladder from workers at the Crown, in order to use ladder to batter their way inside. He struck the man in charge of the ladder - bricklayer John White - causing John to loose vision in his eye for three days. Described by one policeman as "very violent" on the day.
Joseph Cox
Sentenced to 2 months hard labour. Presumably the 49 year old labourer who appears in Marlow on the 1881 census in South Place although it sounds in some accounts he was younger. Was seen with a bludgeon by one witness.
Joseph Dormer
Sentenced to 2 months hard labour. Bricklayer's labourer around 40 years old. Lived Marefield at time, later York Road (the same area). Grew up Gun Lane [now Trinity Road] and Dean Street.
Henry East
Six weeks hard labour. Without a stated age impossible to identify in other records.
James East
Six weeks hard labour. Without a stated age impossible to identify for certain in other records.
James Folly / Folley alias Steptoe
Aged 32/34 and a bricklayer. Seen using a ladder to break windows. 2 months hard labour.
Joseph Hicks
A tinker who lived Dean Street 1881. In his late 40s, exact age varies on censuses. Fined the year before the riots along with another man for stopping their cart in the road for too long. Case not proceeded with for riot.
John Langley junior
Ringleader of the initial protest but tried hard to calm things down when shops started getting damaged. Given 6 weeks hard labour only after jury recommended mercy. Could afford his own representation at the Quarter Sessions. Aged 25. On the 1881 census a salesman, earlier was a fruiterer, a long time Langley association. His conviction caused outrage in some quarters as it was believed he was targeted because of recent active promotion of the Liberal cause in Marlow. His father, also John had campaigned for the Liberal candidate Griffith too. A subscription fund was set up and the money raised was used to present to John a tea and coffee set from an expensive London maker as a token of esteem. The presentation was made at the Verney Arms, Dean Street, long connected with the Langley family. Read more about the pub here. John himself wrote a public letter of complaint against his conviction, after he had completed his sentence. He said he had been denied the opportunity to call witnesses that could have proved his innocence. A full biography of John is available here
Charles Mullett
Labourer aged 41. Lived in Dean Street 1881 census and a "pensioner". Originally from High Wycombe. Bill against him is "ignored" eg not proceeded with.
William Moody.
Threw stone at a policeman early on. Sentenced 2 months hard labour. Nearly 40 years old. Lived Oxford Road 1881 and a chair polisher.
Albert Rockell
Age "18" [actually nearly 22]. Labourer when convicted. 6 weeks jail. (Or 8 weeks according to second source) He was the son of James, a bargee / labourer and Sarah an embroiderer. Grew up in Gun Place and Gun Lane Marlow. The former no longer exists, the latter is called Trinity Road today. Albert had been fined £1 in 1876 for playing the illegal game of pitch and toss (coin throwing game which involved betting and was very popular with young men) at Bovingdon Green. He was listed as a hawker on the 1881 census when he lived with his older brother George and his family. Two years later was fined 10 shillings for assaulting a William Fletcher.
Henry Rockell
2 months hard labour. There are a couple of different potential Henry Rockells in other records which this one could be. Was said to be very active at Remnantz, throwing stones and attempting to break in, unsuccessfully.
William Henry Silvey
A 33 year old shoemaker. Had a witness, grocer Joseph Dorsett of Market Square to show he went shopping with his wife [Fanny] early in the evening after leaving the Crown crowd. However witness admitted William's pockets looked bulging and prosecution said yes that was with stones he later returned and threw at the Crown. 6 weeks jail. On 1881 census he and Fanny lived Cambridge Road. Later lived Queen's Road. Later convictions for drunkenness.
James Benjamin Smith
Aged 22. Bricklayers labourer. 6 weeks in jail. Probably of Lane End. Limited evidence of his direct involvement in any serious damage but considered to be just as guilty as those taking a more active part simply by his presence there!
George Sparkes
Jury threw out bill against him. A 28 year old general labourer. Lived Oxford Road 1881 census.
Henry Stone
Six weeks hard labour.
Thomas Stone
Six weeks hard labour. Was seen to be one of those wielding ladder that broke the Crown windows.
William Tubb
Fined £5 plus costs by Magistrates for malicious damage, relating to breaking a pane of glass at The Horns, Chapel Street. (One of 17 broken there that day.) He went to the pub the following day, denied breaking the glass and asked the landlord John Coleshill not to press charges for the sake of his wife and 5 children. Coleshill's daughter Sarah had said there were about 40 persons in the mob outside their premises but she only recognised Tubb. He did not have to go to Quarter Sessions after evidence behind further charges for riotous assembly was not considered sufficient. Shoemaker aged 33 on 1881 census. Lived Dean Street.
Cases not proceeded with against Wycombe men Owen and John Watkins, both chairmakers and labourer Charles Mullett also of Wycombe.
*Additional info by Kathryn - Riot Act was read by magistrate Somers Cocks at about 9pm, 3 hours after the election result was announced. (Some reports say at 8pm) All the lights had been put out. An 1882 account says that hot water and a hose from the brewery was used to dispell the group. Later accounts list other dispersal tactics, not necessarily mutually exclusive, of which the one that's survived longest in the popular imagination is the idea that guns were loaded with red jam and blanks to make the rioters think they had been both shot and hurt. I have not found a contemporary reference to this yet though! (The same story was related about the commotion after the 1868 election, complete with raspberry jam.) Contemporary reports say that although a call for help was made for military assistance to the Grenadier Guards at Windsor, some confusion meant it was not actually delivered. Those describing the riot first hand immediately afterwards do not mention any Guards present while the riot was ongoing. The Bucks Herald says a repeat order for military assistance was countermanded as quiet had been restored by about midnight. The Buckinghamshire Advertiser credited the end of the riot to the gathering together of about 60 special constables, under command of a police superintendent from High Wycombe, who formed a barrier across West Street and used their truncheons "freely". (This superintendent thought there was 3,000 men gathered by 7pm!) The following morning 70 police and an untold number of special constables were on duty in Marlow while the operation of bringing the alleged ringleaders to court was ongoing, and that of rounding up other participants. The police were to patrol in groups, according to the order of the Chief Constable of Bucks. He had arrived on the morning after the riot to assume control of the police force in Marlow temporarily.
Violence had actually broken out before the voting even began, outside the Crown as Conservative headquarters. Blows were exchanged with liberal supporters but they dispersed before law and order arrived. The Greyhound was regarded as the centre of Liberal supporters before voting day. It hosted a "working man's meeting" the week before, which ended in a vote to support Liberal candidate Mr J Griffiths. Among the other damaged properties were the Prince Of Wales pub, the Three Tuns (every window broken and the bar damaged), the brewery offices, the shops of Charles Miller Foottit (chemist, High Street and Conservative supporter, lamp and flag pole trashed, upper windows broken, lower ones protected by iron shutters) and William Hankin (tobacconist, High Street. Shop totally sacked. Pipes from here were allegedly bring flogged cheaply in the beer houses that evening), the home of Charles Carter (parish surveyor), the home of George Ward (High Street, all windows and any sashes broken), the home of Dr Shone, and in a minor way, the Railway Hotel (the Marlow Donkey as it's now known. The widowed Mrs Porter in charge had apparently been seen sporting Conservative colours on her carriage the week before). At the home of Robert Hammond Chambers, the avalanche of stones was severe enough to break plate glass windows a quarter inch thick and smash the substantial closed wooden shutters inside them. The stones damaged a wall across the other side of the room. A man was seen to be in the attempt of using a large stone to smash the entrance door but he was knocked down by a constable before he could break in. Foottit said he'd found a quarter of a hundredweight of large stones on one of the beds in his home. Some paving slabs had been torn up for use too!
Interestingly Superintendent William Sargent of Wycombe said that the defeated Liberal candidate Griffiths had warned him long before the result was known that he suspected the potential for trouble if the Liberals lost. He added that Griffiths had suggested that policeman should be stationed outside the Conservative Wethered's home but he declined to do so in case it "tantalized" the crowd and he was blamed personally for this. Reports that the contents of Bisham's ballot box were going to be seized by a group of "roughs" as they were bought across the bridge to be counted in Marlow were taken more seriously. It was closely guarded.
Griffith's himself appears to have left in his carriage quite soon after his loss was announced. Some reports say he passed the Crown just as the victor Colonel Williams appeared at an upper window to address the crowd, and that Williams called for three cheers for his opponent, but had trouble being heard.
Even children (of both sexes) were apparently seen throwing stones at the various windows. The Bucks Herald (very pro conservative) said the first blow was struck by a liberal supporter on a conservative one, who was taken into the Crown with the aid of 4 men fighting their way through. They also claim that there was a cry to torch the Crown. The next day (Saturday) there were here and there "significant stains of blood" to be seen in the streets. Even then a flare up of violence was feared and 70 police were on duty. Colonel Wethered decided that most of the arms of the Volunteers should be removed from their Armoury which was then at the Crown. He bought them back to his home and placed them under the care of 16 armed men. Two consignments of the Berkshire police were put on guard outside Bisham Abbey and Temple House but they had nothing to do. The biggest interest on Sunday was in viewing the damage, and people are said to have travelled from Wycombe to do just that. Some later reports suggest a guard made up of members of the Volunteers had been kept up outside the brewery for the next week.
It's interesting that Colonel Williams held an open session at the Crown in the following April to hear complaints from his tenants about their treatment. He said during the election campaign he'd often been told his tenants were against him but he didn't believe it as no one had said so to his face. On reflection he thought "2 or 3" of these complaints justified further investigations and so so the aggrieved could present their case to him at The Crown on the day mentioned. If any did so, I don't know.
Rioters info researched and written by Charlotte Day. Additional research Kathryn.
Related Posts:
Marlow people loved a good riot. So far we have posts up on three previous riots, the 1800 Women's Riots here, 1847 Election riot here and the Swing Riots here.
Voters bribery case of Jason Povey here
For other crime related posts look see the list here
To find every mention of an individual here, see the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu.
©Marlow Ancestors.
Sources:
Census, my transcription from microfilm.
Great Marlow Parish Registers, my transcription
Newspapers from the British Library / BNA collaboration: Buckingham Advertiser 3rd July 1880, Bucks Herald 3rd& 10th April, 26th June and 7th August and 30th August 1880, Maidenhead Advertiser 14th April 1880, Reading Mercury 17th April 1880. Buckingham Advertiser and Aylesbury News April 10th 1880.
Judicial records research of Jane Pullinger.
Padk, Arthur Thomas From Lock to Lock, a playful guide, "Judy Office" 1882.
Information from Anthony Wethered.
Bucks Free Press 8th June 1934, High Wycombe library
