"force. Penalties for crime were harsh, with the death penalty being applied for fairly minor crimes. Public hangings were common in London, and were popular public events. In 1780, London was rocked by the Gordon Riots, an uprising by Protestants against Roman Catholic emancipation led by Lord George Gordon. Severe damage was caused to Catholic churches and homes, and 285 rioters were killed. 18th-century London The 18th century was a period of rapid growth for London, reflecting an increasing national population, the early stirrings of the Industrial Revolution, and London's role at the centre of the evolving British Empire. In"
"Gordon Riots The Gordon Riots of 1780 were several days of rioting based on anti-Catholic feeling. They began with a massive and orderly protest in London against the Papists Act of 1778, which was intended to reduce official discrimination against British Catholics. Lord George Gordon, head of the Protestant Association warned that the law would enable Catholics in the British Army to become a dangerous threat. The protest evolved into riots and widespread looting. Local magistrates were afraid of reprisals and did not issue the riot act. There was no repression until the Army finally moved in and started shooting."
"run their own schools and could once more acquire property. In protest against the act, Lord George Gordon, on 2 June 1780, gathered a large crowd in St George's Fields to march on Westminster. Refused a hearing, they became violent and so began a week of burning, plundering and killing in which many Roman Catholic chapels and houses were destroyed. There is a legend that the high altar of the cathedral stands on the spot where the march began. In 1786 there was only one Roman Catholic chapel in the whole of south London, located at Bermondsey. It was then"
"The main violence lasted from 2 June to 9 June, 1780. The Popery Act 1698 had imposed a number of penalties and disabilities on Roman Catholics in England; the 1778 Act eliminated some of these. An initial peaceful protest led on to widespread rioting and looting and was the most destructive in the history of London. Painted on the wall of Newgate prison was the proclamation that the inmates had been freed by the authority of ""His Majesty, King Mob"". The term ""King Mob"" afterwards denoted an unruly and fearsome proletariat. The Riots came at the height of the American"
"Sacheverell riots The Sacheverell riots were a series of outbreaks of public disorder, which spread across England during the spring, summer and autumn of 1710 in which supporters of the Tories attacked Dissenters', particularly Presbyterians', homes and meeting-houses, whose congregations tended to support the Whigs. (Further violence, again targeting Presbyterian chapels, occurred in the Coronation riots of 1714 and the Rebellion riots of 1715.) The Sacheverell and Rebellion riots are regarded as the most serious instances of public disorder of the eighteenth century, until, perhaps, the anti-Catholic protests of 1780. The riots reflected the dissatisfaction of many Anglicans to the"
"formed to secure the repeal of the Papists Act 1778, which had restored limited civil rights to Roman Catholics willing to swear certain oaths of loyalty to the Crown. On 2 June 1780 he headed a crowd of around 50,000 people that marched in procession from St George's Fields just south of London to the Houses of Parliament in order to present a huge petition against (partial) Catholic Emancipation. After the mob reached Westminster the ""Gordon Riots"" began. Initially, the mob dispersed after threatening to force their way into the House of Commons, but reassembled soon afterwards and, over several"
"was no repression until the Army finally moved in and started shooting, killing hundreds of protesters. The main violence lasted from 2 June to 9 June 1780. Public opinion, especially in middle-class and elite circles, repudiated anti-Catholicism and lower-class violence, and rallied behind Lord North's government. Demands were made for a London police force. The long bitter wars with France 1793-1815, saw anti-Catholicism emerge as the glue that held the three kingdoms together. From the upper classes to the lower classes, Protestants were brought together from England, Scotland and Ireland into a profound distrust and distaste for all things French."
"Dissenters (Protestants who did not adhere to the Church of England or follow its practices) in the Sacheverell riots during the London trial of Henry Sacheverell, and in 1751 and 1759 Quakers and Methodists were assaulted. During the anti-Catholic Gordon Riots in 1780, large crowds assembled in Birmingham. In 1766, 1782, 1795, and 1800 mobs protested about high food prices. One contemporary described Birmingham rioters as the ""bunting, beggarly, brass-making, brazen-faced, brazen-hearted, blackguard, bustling, booby Birmingham mob"". Up until the late 1780s, religious divisions did not affect Birmingham's elite. Dissenter and Anglican lived side by side harmoniously: they were on"
"the French Revolution and the Gordon Riots in London in June 1780. (The Gordon Riots were fomented by Lord George Gordon following the Papists Act 1778, which lifted some restrictions on British Catholics and angered fanatical Protestants.) In 1796 two pupils at MTS, John Grose and Richard Hayward, were expelled for hoisting a French tri-colour flag over the Tower of London and for writing anti-dynastic graffiti on the walls near Suffolk Lane. On 11 April 1811, a pitched battle took place between boys of St Paul's and Merchant Taylors' in Old Change at the western end of Cheapside, as the"
"days, destroyed several Roman Catholic chapels, pillaged the private dwellings of Catholics, set fire to Newgate Prison, broke open all the other prisons, and attacked the Bank of England and several other public buildings. The army was finally brought in to quell the unrest and killed or wounded around 450 people before they finally restored order. For his role in instigating the riots, Lord George was charged with high treason. He was comfortably imprisoned in the Tower of London and permitted to receive visitors, including the Methodist leader Rev. John Wesley on Tuesday 19 December 1780. Thanks to a strong"
"Armed Neutrality, which was formed to counter the British blockade strategy, and threatened British naval supplies from the Baltic. With severe manpower shortages, North's government passed an act abandoning previous statutes placing restrictions on Catholics serving in the military. This provoked an upsurge of anti-Catholic feelings and the formation of the Protestant Association leading to the Gordon Riots in London in June 1780. For around a week the city was in the control of the mob, until the military was called out and martial law imposed. Public opinion, especially in middle-class and elite circles, repudiated anti-Catholicism and violence, and rallied"
"1780 Black Camp Rebellion The 1780 Black Camp Rebellion was a brief loyalist uprising in Sussex County, Delaware, that occurred during the American Revolutionary War. It was a local reaction to the American War of Independence by Tories (loyalists) who opposed the independence movement and intended to secure Sussex County for the British. The insurrection lasted from July 15, 1780, until about August 10, 1780, when pro-American militia forces were sent in to round up and arrest the participants. The insurrectionists were mainly from Cedar Creek and Broadkill Hundreds, and their headquarters were in a swamp about six miles north"
"Bow Street"" depicts the Gordon Riots and the recalcitrance of Lord North to the establishment of a police force. In Bernard Cornwell's ""Sharpe"" novels, the protagonist Richard Sharpe's mother was killed during the riots while he was still a child. Miranda Hearn's 2003 historical novel ""A Life Everlasting"" depicts the main protagonists caught up in the riots as innocent Londoners. Gordon Riots The Gordon Riots of 1780 were several days of rioting based on anti-Catholic feeling. They began with a massive and orderly protest in London against the Papists Act of 1778, which was intended to reduce official discrimination against"
"Jacobite risings The Jacobite risings, also known as the Jacobite rebellions or the War of the British Succession, were a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in Great Britain and Ireland occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings had the aim of returning James II of England and VII of Scotland, the last Catholic British monarch, and later his descendants of the House of Stuart, to the throne of Great Britain after they had been deposed by Parliament during the Glorious Revolution. The series of conflicts takes its name Jacobitism, from , the Latin form of James. Jacobite rising may"
"property was attacked, resulted in the deaths of 135 Flemings in Stepney. The Gordon Riots of 1780 began with burnings of the houses of Catholics and their chapels in Poplar and Spitalfields. In the 1870 and 80s, so many Jewish émigrés were arriving that over 150 synagogues were built. Today there are only four active synagogues remaining in Tower Hamlets: the Congregation of Jacob Synagogue (1903 – Kehillas Ya'akov), the East London Central Synagogue (1922), the Fieldgate Street Great Synagogue (1899) and Sandys Row Synagogue (1766). Jewish immigration to the East End peaked in the 1890s, leading to anti-foreigner agitation"
"leading Calvinist religious figures, including Rowland Hill, Erasmus Middleton, and John Rippon. Gordon was an articulate propagandist and he inflamed the mob with fears of Papism and a return to absolute monarchical rule. The situation deteriorated rapidly, and in 1780, after a meeting of the Protestant Association, its members subsequently marched on the House of Commons to deliver a petition demanding the repeal of the Act, which the government refused to do. Soon, large riots broke out across London and embassies and Catholic owned businesses were attacked by angry mobs. Other political movements that emerged in the late 18th century"
"he saw as the dangers of the Act. George III initially humoured Gordon, but grew increasingly irritated with him and eventually refused any future audiences. The political climate deteriorated rapidly. On 29 May 1780, Gordon called a meeting of the Protestant Association, and his followers subsequently marched on the House of Commons to deliver a petition demanding the repeal of the Act. After the first march to Parliament, further riots occurred involving groups whose grievances were nationalistic, economic, or political, rather than religious. Aside from the issue of Catholic emancipation, it has also been suggested that the driving force of"
"toleration of an increasing number of Independent, Baptist, and Presbyterian chapels, which diminished the apparent authority of the Church of England; and were a reaction to perceived grievances against the Whig government, in regard to high taxation resulting from the War of the Spanish Succession, the recent sudden influx of some 10,000 Calvinist refugees from Germany, and the growth of the merchant classes, the so-called ""monied interest"". The riots were a response to the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell. Sacheverell was a high church Tory Anglican who had preached two sermons that described what he saw as threats to the Church"
"series of letters includes his eye-witness accounts of the Gordon Riots in June 1780. The angry mob passed outside his shop on Charles Street. The protest that began when Protestants protested against parliamentary extension of Catholic enfranchisement grew into a violent mob of 100, 000 looting and burning parts of London. In 1782 Frances Crewe, a correspondent with Sancho, arranged for 160 of his letters to be published in the form of two-volumes entitled, ""The Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho, an African"". The book sold very well, with more than 2000 subscribing to it. His widow received more than"
"again requested that he also be allowed to resign, but he stayed in office at George III's insistence. Opposition to the costly war was increasing, and in June 1780 contributed to disturbances in London known as the Gordon riots. As late as the Siege of Charleston in 1780, Loyalists could still believe in their eventual victory, as British troops inflicted heavy defeats on the Continental forces at the Battle of Camden and the Battle of Guilford Court House. In late 1781, the news of Lord Cornwallis's surrender at the Siege of Yorktown reached London; Lord North's parliamentary support ebbed away"
"a consensual and constitutional arrangement. The force and influence of this social movement on the streets of London compelled the authorities to concede to the movement's demands. Wilkes was returned to Parliament, general warrants were declared as unconstitutional and press freedom was extended to the coverage of Parliamentary debates. A much larger movement of anti-Catholic protest was triggered by the Papists Act 1778, which eliminated a number of the penalties and disabilities endured by Roman Catholics in England, and formed around Lord George Gordon, who became the President of the Protestant Association in 1779. The Association had the support of"
"Earthquake Synod The Earthquake Synod was an English synod that took place on May 21, 1382, in the Blackfriars area of London, England. William Courtenay, the Archbishop of Canterbury, convened the synod to address the emerging Lollard thinkers challenging the church. In particular, the synod condemned John Wycliffe's twenty-four theses, although many had already been condemned as heresy by a synod at St. Paul's Cathedral in February 1377. The synod also issued teachings on the doctrine of transubstantiation and friars. The synod got its name from the fact that the 1382 Dover Straits earthquake shook the city of London during"
"lead to a swift end to the war if it was successful: in 1779 Spain entered the war on the side of France, and the increasingly depleted state of British home forces made an invasion more appealing and Amherst organised Britain's land defences in anticipation of the invasion which never materialised. In June 1780, Amherst oversaw the British army as they suppressed the anti-Catholic Gordon Riots in London: after the outbreak of rioting Amherst deployed the small London garrison of Horse and Foot Guards as best as he could but was hindered by the reluctance of the civil magistrates to"
"re-established in Grub Street (now Milton Street), near Moorfields. The Gordon Riots of 1780 resulted in the destruction of a chapel in White Street. Following the Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1791, the White Street chapel was rebuilt. In 1817, Reverend Joseph Hunt arranged the building of a church on the east side of Finsbury Circus. The church, which opened in 1820, was designed by John Newman in the neo-classical style and given the name St Mary Moorfields, opened in 1820. In 1850 the Catholic hierarchy was re-established in the United Kingdom, and the church was chosen as London's Pro-cathedral"
"its meetings. Earthquake Synod The Earthquake Synod was an English synod that took place on May 21, 1382, in the Blackfriars area of London, England. William Courtenay, the Archbishop of Canterbury, convened the synod to address the emerging Lollard thinkers challenging the church. In particular, the synod condemned John Wycliffe's twenty-four theses, although many had already been condemned as heresy by a synod at St. Paul's Cathedral in February 1377. The synod also issued teachings on the doctrine of transubstantiation and friars. The synod got its name from the fact that the 1382 Dover Straits earthquake shook the city of"
"were attacked, with many being burnt to the ground. The Sacheverell riots and further disturbances in 1714 and 1715, led to the passing of the Riot Act. Sacheverell riots The Sacheverell riots were a series of outbreaks of public disorder, which spread across England during the spring, summer and autumn of 1710 in which supporters of the Tories attacked Dissenters', particularly Presbyterians', homes and meeting-houses, whose congregations tended to support the Whigs. (Further violence, again targeting Presbyterian chapels, occurred in the Coronation riots of 1714 and the Rebellion riots of 1715.) The Sacheverell and Rebellion riots are regarded as the"
"Protestant Church, the Catholic Church had refrained from using the ancient titles of the existing Anglican sees, and had created new titles for their bishoprics. Thus they did not name the relevant see that of Bristol, but that of Clifton; not Exeter, but Plymouth; not Canterbury, but Southwark. The selection of Westminster as the title of the principal see in London, however, was nevertheless seen by critics as presumptuous for Westminster had long been identified as a major centre of the Church of England. Incited by anti-Catholic elements and indeed the prime minister himself, serious anti-Catholic riots took place in"
"Catholic families. In addition, there was a widespread belief in England that a Papal plot to return the country to Roman Catholicism was going to be carried out imminently, and East Anglia was largely staunchly Puritan. The riots took place at the same time as royal authority was collapsing in eastern England preceding the English Civil War. The most notable targets of popular discontent were Sir John Lucas, a suspected Catholic, and the Countess Rivers, a well known recusant with major landholdings in Suffolk. The first major widely recorded incident took place in Colchester in August 1642, when a large"
"attributable to the passing of the Quebec Act six years before, a view that was ridiculed by many of his colleagues. Another suggested cause was Britain's weakened international position, which had arisen from the country's isolation in Europe and the disappointing news coming from the ongoing war. Some rioters were against the continuation of the war, and many strongly supported American independence, while others were angry that Britain's war effort was being mishandled by Lord North. In many cases a mix of issues blended together and drove people to take part in the rioting. On 2 June 1780 a huge"
"Bawdy House Riots of 1668 The 1668 Bawdy House Riots (also called the Messenger riots after rioter Peter Messenger) took place in 17th-century London over several days in March during Easter Week, 1668. They were sparked by Dissenters who resented the King's proclamation against conventicles (private lay worship) while turning a blind eye to the equally illegal brothels. Thousands of young men besieged and demolished brothels throughout the East End, assaulting the prostitutes and looting the properties. As the historian Tim Harris describes it: ""The riots broke out on Easter Monday, 23 March 1668, when a group attacked bawdy houses"
"with King Charles II returning to London. However, the power of the crown was less than before the Civil War. By the 18th century England rivaled the Netherlands as one of the freest countries in Europe. In 1665, London was swept by the plague, and in 1666 by the Great Fire for 5 days which destroyed about 15,000 buildings. In 1680, the Exclusion crisis consisted of attempts to prevent accession of James, heir to Charles II, because he was Catholic. After Charles II died in 1685 and his James II & VII was crowned, various factions pressed for his Protestant"
"efforts to procure relief for Catholics under the penal laws of the time aroused opposition, and in February 1779, the chapel and house which he had recently built in Edinburgh were burned. The outbreak of the Gordon Riots in England, in 1780, further delayed relief. In 1793, by Act of Parliament some of the most oppressive of the penal laws were lifted. He made efforts to place the college at Rome under the control of Scottish superiors. His efforts on behalf of the institute in Paris were interrupted by the French Revolution, in which it was swept away. The bishop's"
"to escape, many of whom were never recaptured. Severe destruction was inflicted on Catholic churches and homes and chapels on the grounds of several embassies, as well as on New Prison, Fleet Prison, and the house of the Lord Chief Justice, William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield. On June 7, called ""Black Wednesday"" by Horace Walpole, the riot reached its climax. An attempt on the Bank of England was narrowly averted when a combination of the London Military Association and regular troops repulsed rioters, resulting in heavy casualties. The army was called out on 7 June and given orders to"