What caused the ‘Swing Riots’ in the 1830s?

Lesson at a glance

Suitable for: Key stage 4, Key stage 5

Time period: Empire and Industry 1750-1850

Curriculum topics: Georgians & Regency, Political and social reform

Suggested inquiry questions: What were the causes of the ‘Swing Riots’? How did farm workers try to protect their jobs in the 1830s?

Potential activities: Use the external links in this lesson to find out more on the Swing Riots and look at further original sources. Research the link between the Swing Riots and the movement for political reform in the 1830s.

Download: Lesson pack

Political and social reform in 19th century Britain

In the eighteenth century, one of the main autumn and winter jobs for farm workers was threshing. This meant separating the grain from the stalks of corn by beating it. In the late 1820s and early 1830s, farmers began to introduce threshing machines to do this work. This put large numbers of labourers out of work and without enough money to support themselves during the winter months.

Low wages and unemployment, plus poor harvests in 1829 and 1830, resulted in hunger, protests and disturbances in the countryside, especially in the east and south of England. Farmers were sent threatening letters demanding that wages increase or at least stay the same. These letters often demanded farmers not to use threshing machines. Farmers and landowners also had their hayricks and farm buildings burnt.

The protesters used the name ‘Captain Swing’. This made-up name was intended to spread fear among landowners and protect the protesters from discovery. Use the original documents in this lesson to find out more about the ‘Captain Swing’ disturbances in the 1830s.


Tasks

Task 1

Two pages from a letter from Hadlow in Kent to the Home Office about a suspicious fire, 1830. Catalogue ref: HO 52/8 folios 87& 88

An incendiary was a person who deliberately sets fire to property or a person who stirs up political quarrels.

Read Source 1a and 1b.

  • What was reported in this letter to the Home Office?
  • Why do you think some agricultural labourers decided to set farms on fire?
  • How did local labourers react to the fire?
  • Why do you think this letter is a Home Office record?

Task 2

A reward poster from Kent, probably posted in August or September 1830. Catalogue ref: HO 52/8

  • How many times was Jonathan Thompson’s property set on fire?
  • What was the job of the County Fire Office?
  • Why do you think these fires were started?
  • What do you think was the purpose of this poster?
  • How does the creator of the poster try to make it demand attention?
  • Is there a connection between this source and source 1?

Task 3

A letter about the destruction of threshing machines in Kent, 22 September, 1830. Catalogue ref: HO 52/8

A ‘thrashing machine’ was invented in the later years of the eighteenth century to separate grain from the stalks and husks of corn- threshing machine in modern spelling.

Read source 3a and 3b.

  • Why did the Clerk to the Magistrates write to the Secretary of State?
  • How does the writer describe the disturbances?
  • Why was it difficult to find out who was involved in these activities?
  • What impression does this letter give you about the situation in East Kent?

Task 4

A poster about a fire in Pampisford, Cambridge, December 1830. Catalogue ref: HO 52/6

  • What was the cause of the fire described in the poster?
  • Who was found responsible for starting the fire?
  • What do you think was the purpose of this poster?
  • What does the poster reveal about the methods of criminal detection in the 1830s?

Task 5

A poster distributed in Surrey in December 1830. Catalogue ref: HO 52/10 f.284

  • Do you think the poster was produced by the magistrates or by the labourers?
  • What form does the poster take?
  • Why do you think it has been written this way?
  • What audience do you think this poster is aimed at?
  • How much do the labourers claim to be earning each day?
  • How healthy was their basic diet do you think?
  • If a labourer were unemployed, he and his family would have to go to the workhouse. What were the conditions like in the workhouse, according to this conversation?
  • How does labourer B explain the fact that farmers cannot afford to pay higher wages?
  • How does labourer B expect the disturbances to end?

Task 6

Extract from a poster produced in Dorking, Surrey, in December 1830. Catalogue ref: HO 52/10 f.285

  • Do you think this ‘Notice’ poster was produced by the magistrates?
  • Who was blamed for the disturbances?
  • What reasons does this poster give to explain why ordinary labourers have become involved in the disturbances?
  • Who was the intended audience of this poster?
  • What was the purpose of this poster?
  • Can you explain any link to source 5?

Task 7

‘Swing’ letters, sent to two colleges at the University of Cambridge and forwarded to Lord Melbourne, ‘Secretary for the Home Department’, 8 December 1830. Catalogue ref: HO 52/6

Swing’ letters were often sent to farmers demanding that they increased wages for farm workers. Farmers were warned if they did comply, their property would be damaged or burnt.

  • What was Dr Lamb’s reaction to the ‘threatening letters’ mentioned in source 7a?
  • Can you explain his reaction to the letters?
  • What does his letter infer about the Government’s response to this matter?
  • Why might someone send ‘Swing letters’ to these university colleges in 1830?

Background

The 1830s began badly for the government with numerous acts of arson, machine breaking and the sending of threatening letters. Popularly known as the ‘Swing Riots’, this series of disturbances engulfed parts of rural England in the second half of 1830. Prompted by a decline in the prices of agricultural produce and wages, the introduction of threshing machines, and an influx of Irish labour, the rioters wished to restore their standard of living.

Most of the ‘Swing Riots’ took place in rural south and south east England, but some took place elsewhere. Some were aimed at industrial rather than agricultural targets, such as the attacks on Buckinghamshire paper mills. Most ‘Swing’ activity was not overtly political but was phrased in terms of a defence of ‘traditional rights’ of the past.

The reaction of the government to the Swing disturbances was harsh. Following riots, 19 people were executed, 505 transported to Australia and 644 imprisoned. The story of individual incidents can often be put together, as in this lesson, from handbills and posters that offered rewards for the capture of rioters (and pardons for those who helped in their arrest). The labourers gained little from their protest.

It is helpful to see the riots in the context of a government under pressure to extend political rights. Although in early November 1830, Tory Prime Minister Duke of Wellington declared against parliamentary reform, the government was defeated a few weeks later. This led to his resignation and the formation of a new administration under the Whig, Earl Grey. Over the next 14 months, campaigns inside and outside Parliament were waged. Their aims were to increase the numbers of people entitled to vote and to redistribute some seats from the poorly populated ‘rotten boroughs’ to the new urban centres such as Birmingham, Bradford and Manchester.


Teachers' notes

This lesson uses sources from The National Archives to examine the ‘Captain Swing’ protests in 1830. These protests included acts of arson, machine breaking and the sending of threatening letters. Disturbances in the countryside were caused by the fall in the price for agricultural produce, wages and the introduction of threshing machines.

Students start the activity by exploring an extract from a letter from Hadlow in Kent to the Home Office, 1830, about a suspicious fire at a barn. Can this be seen as an example of rural protest?

Next, they examine a reward poster from Kent, probably posted in 1830, to find the persons(s) responsible for the burning of buildings and stock at a farm in Kent.

The third source is a letter about the destruction of threshing machines in east Kent. Why would these be attacked by rural workers? The fourth source for consideration is a poster about a fire in Pampisford, Cambridge, and offers students the opportunity to find out how the authorities attempted to catch those responsible. The next source is an unusual form of poster distributed in Surrey in December 1830. The poster is written in the form of a ‘Conversation between two labourers’ and infers possible reasons for agricultural distress. The sixth source is a notice from magistrates in Dorking, Surrey, warning labourers against handbills circulated in the area aimed at exciting discontent and warned them from being drawn into crimes. Students could investigate a possible connection between sources 5 and 6.

Finally, students look at two very short notes, signed ‘Swing’ and sent to the University of Cambridge, which threaten to burn down two colleges. What is the significance of these sources in the context of the rural protest? Were they linked to the wider demand for political reform in the form of the Great Reform Bill? Were the notes an example of an attack on class privilege? Or were they threatening letters attempting to settle old scores or part of a picture of general discontent in 1830s Britain? The answer is not clear.

Please note that content in this lesson has been redeveloped from content in our Power, Politics & Protest focussed topic website, which has been archived as the interactive parts no longer work.

Sources

Illustration image:  A Swing’ letter, sent to Kings College, University of Cambridge, 8 December 1830, Catalogue ref: HO 52/6

Source 1: Extract from a letter from Hadlow in Kent to the Home Office about a suspicious fire, 1830, Catalogue ref: HO 52/8 folios 87& 88

Source 2: A reward poster from Kent, probably posted in August or September 1830, Catalogue ref: HO 52/8

Source 3: A letter about the destruction of threshing machines in Kent, 22 September, 1830, Catalogue ref: HO 52/8

Source 4: A poster about a fire in Pampisford, Cambridge, December 1830, Catalogue ref: HO 52/6

Source 5: A poster distributed in Surrey in December 1830, Catalogue ref: HO 52/10 f.284

Source 6: Extract from a poster produced in Dorking, Surrey, in December 1830
Catalogue ref: HO 52/10 f.285

Source 7: ‘Swing’ letters, sent to two colleges at the University of Cambridge and forwarded to Lord Melbourne, ‘Secretary for the Home Department’, 8 December 1830, Catalogue ref: HO 52/6


External links

More sources and information on the Swing riots from the Hampshire History website

Tolpuddle Martyrs and Captain Swing

LSE blog post with maps showing ‘Swing Riots’ link to threshing machines

Connections to curriculum

Key stage 4

Edexcel GCSE:

Crime and punishment in eighteenth- and nineteenth century Britain

OCR’s GCSE:

(History B Schools History Project) Crime and Punishment, c.1250 to present

Key stage 5

AQA GCE History:

The impact of industrialisation: Britain, c1783–1832: Economic developments: continuing industrialisation and developments in key industries; agricultural change; economic policies and free trade.

Edexcel GCE History:

Industrialisation and protest, c1785–c1870: the Swing Riots;

OCR GCE History:

British Period Study: British Government in the Age of Revolution 1783–1832: extent of popular discontent 1830–1832

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Lesson at a glance

Suitable for: Key stage 4, Key stage 5

Time period: Empire and Industry 1750-1850

Curriculum topics: Georgians & Regency, Political and social reform

Suggested inquiry questions: What were the causes of the ‘Swing Riots’? How did farm workers try to protect their jobs in the 1830s?

Potential activities: Use the external links in this lesson to find out more on the Swing Riots and look at further original sources. Research the link between the Swing Riots and the movement for political reform in the 1830s.

Download: Lesson pack

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