The Blandford riots of 1831
Roger Guttridge tells a tale of political trouble and strife
Published in May ’22
Pro-reform candidate William Ponsonby
‘THE eyes of all England are at the moment on Dorsetshire.’ So said the Dorset County Chronicle in the autumn of 1831. The 1830s were a decade of unrest among the county’s farm labourers, most notably the Tolpuddle Martyrs, but it would be another two years before the six men of Tolpuddle founded the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers. The immediate trigger for the 1831 focus on the county was a by-election prompted by the suicide of John Calcraft, MP for Dorset. Calcraft received a ‘pointedly cool reception’ in the Commons because he had…
To read the rest of this article and to enjoy the whole of the May 2022 issue for only £2.49,
