1. Bristol Bridge riot, 1793

2. Queen Square riots, 1831

3. Old Market riot, 1932

4. Park Street riot 1944

5. St Pauls riot, 1980

6. St Paul's riot 1987

7. Hartcliffe, 1992

8. Stokes Croft riot, April 2011

9. National riots, August 2011

10. See also

11. References

12. External links

The Bristol riots refer to a number of significant riots in the city of Bristol in England.

Bristol Bridge riot, 1793

In 1794 the populace of Bristol were said to be "apt to collect in mobs on the slightest occasions; but have been seldom so spirited as in the late transactions on Bristol-bridge."^[1] The Bristol Bridge Riot of 30 September 1793 began as a protest at renewal of an act levying tolls on Bristol Bridge, which included the proposal to demolish several houses near the bridge in order to create a new access road, and controversy about the date for removal of gates.^[2]

11 people were killed and 45 injured, making it one of the worst massacres of the 18th century in England.^[3][4]

Queen Square riots, 1831

The Bristol Riots of 1831 took place after the House of Lords rejected the second Reform Bill, which aimed to get rid of some of the rotten boroughs and give Britain's fast growing industrial towns such as Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham, Bradford and Leeds greater representation in the House of Commons. Bristol had been represented in the House of Commons since 1295, but by 1830 only 6,000 of the 104,000 population had the vote.^[5]

Local magistrate Sir Charles Wetherell, a strong opponent of the Bill, visited Bristol to open the new Assize Courts, on 29 October. He threatened to imprison participants in a disturbance going on outside, and an angry mob chased him to the Mansion House in Queen Square. The magistrate escaped in disguise but the mayor and officials were besieged in the Mansion-house.^[6][7]

The rioters numbered about 500 or 600 young men and continued for three days, during which the palace of Robert Gray the Bishop of Bristol, the Mansion House, and private homes and property were looted and destroyed, along with demolition of much of the gaol. Work on the Clifton Suspension Bridge was halted and Isambard Kingdom Brunel was sworn in as a special constable.^[8]

The mayor, Charles Pinney, requested the assistance of the cavalry as a precaution and a troop of the 3rd Dragoon Guards and a squadron of the 14th Light Dragoons were sent to Bristol under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Brereton. Brereton did not wish to incite the crowd and even ordered the squadron from the 14th out of the city after they had successfully dispersed a crowd. Seeing this as a victory, the riots continued, and eventually Brereton had to call on the 3rd and 14th to restore order and he eventually led a charge with drawn swords through the mob in Queen Square. Four rioters were killed and 86 wounded, although many more are believed to have perished in the fires set by the rioters. Along with the commander of the 3rd Dragoons troop, Captain Warrington, Brereton was later court-martialled for leniency, but Brereton shot himself before the conclusion of his trial.^[8][9]

Approximately 100 of those involved were tried in January 1832 by Chief Justice Tindal.^[10]

Four men were hanged despite a petition of 10,000 Bristolian signatures, which was given to King William IV.^[8] The mayor, Pinney, was tried for negligence but exonerated.^[11]

Old Market riot, 1932

On 23 February 1932 some 3,000 unemployed engaged in running battles with the police as they tried to march down to the city centre, led by the National Unemployed Workers Movement. Police baton-charged protesters outside Trinity police station and along Old Market.^[12]

Park Street riot 1944

The Park Street riot occurred in Park Street and George Street on 15 July 1944 when a large number of black GIs refused to come back to their camps after US Military Police came to end a minor fracas. More MPs was sent, up to 120 policemen, and Park Street was closed off with buses. In subsequent confrontation, an MP was stabbed, a black GI was shot dead, and several others were wounded.^[13]

St Pauls riot, 1980

The St Pauls riot started on 2 April 1980 in the St Pauls district, when the police carried out a raid on the Black and White Café, later known as "Britain's most dangerous hard drug den",^[14] located on Grosvenor Road in the heart of St Pauls. It is unclear why the riot started either due to the police ripping a customer's trousers and refusing to pay,^[15]

or they were simply attacked as they removed alcohol from the café. The riot continued for many hours and caused large amounts of damage including a Lloyds Bank and post office. Several fire engines and twelve police cars were damaged along with the shops. 130 rioters were arrested. The next day the Daily Telegraph headlined with, "19 Police Hurt in Black Riot" and blamed lack of parental care.^[16]

St Paul's riot 1987

7–9 May 1987, "Beginning of three days of clashes with the cops in St Pauls, Bristol." On the 9 May, "2 cops are injured when their patrol car is attacked by stones and other missiles in the third day of disturbances."^[17]

Hartcliffe, 1992

On 16 July 1992 there was a riot in Hartcliffe estate after two men who had stolen an unmarked police motorbike were killed in a chase with a police patrol car. The disturbance lasted for 3 days. Police were stoned and many shops in the Symes Avenue shopping centre were attacked and destroyed.^[18]

Stokes Croft riot, April 2011

On the evening of 21 April 2011, immediately before the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, there was a riot in the Stokes Croft area of Bristol.^[19] The night's operation cost around £465,000 and involved 160 officers from 12 different forces, including Avon & Somerset.^[20]

The riot followed a raid by police on a squat named Telepathic Heights. A protest ensued, and the police withdrew, however at 9 pm that evening, riot police blockaded the area and entered the squat. A crowd quickly gathered, with approximately 300 people defending the squat, and a further 1000 caught up in the mayhem. The reason for the operation given by the police was that they held intelligence that petrol bombs were on the premises designated for the Tesco development opposite. The riot eventually died down following the withdrawal of the police, after which the newly opened Tesco was attacked resulting in smashed windows and graffiti.

Local Labour MP Kerry McCarthy criticised the "heavy-handed" behaviour of the police and said that "[a Labour council candidate] was hit by a truncheon and I was shoved out of the way by a policeman at one stage." McCarthy described the riot as "an anti-establishment protest: against capitalism and corporations, similar to what we saw in the march against the cuts in London where Starbucks and banks were targeted."^[21]

A second set of riots took place a week later on 28/29 April.^[22] Tesco continued to insist that the protests were not fuelled by anti-Tesco feeling (despite opposition from protesters) and that it was only supported by a small handful of protesters.^[23]

The Tesco Express reopened on 24 May 2011, causing further peaceful protests during the day.

National riots, August 2011

In the early hours of the morning on Tuesday 9 August, it was reported that vandalism and looting occurred in Bristol in response to similar occurring elsewhere in the country, predominantly the 2011 England riots.^[24]

See also

• Peterloo Massacre
• Urban riots

References

External links

• BBC Bristol microsite on 1831 Queens Square riot
• Passages detailing the 1831 Queen's Square Riots and the Bristol Bridge Riot from Bristol Past And Present by James Fawckner Nicholls and John Taylor, published in 1882.

• Yorktown Heights (album)
• Yorktown Heights (NYC station)
• Yorktown High School (Texas)
• Yorktown Historic District
• Yorktown Mall
• Yorktown, North Carolina
• Yorktown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• York Township, Illinois
• York Township, Indiana
• York Township, Iowa County, Iowa
• York Township, Pottawattamie County, Iowa
• York Town, Tasmania
• Yorktown (Tulsa)
• Yorktown Wrecks
• York Tramways Company
• York Tyburn
• York, UK
• York United Methodist Church
• York University Controversies
• York University, Ontario
• York University Station
• York U.S. Army Hospital
• York, VA
• York View, Virginia
• Yorkville Bank Building