The following article is taken from The Worcester News
Despite having a large military barracks on its periphery, it’s not often Worcester has called in the army to restore order on the streets, but that’s just what happened in 1831 and what a sight it must have been.
For galloping down High Street came the glory boys of the 7th Queen’s Own Hussars, veterans of the Battle of Waterloo, sabres drawn and meaning business.
Their presence had been requested by the city’s mayor Henry Clifton, (see main picture above) after things started to get a bit tasty when the House of Lords rejected the Reform Bill, legislation which proposed to widen the voting spectrum. A large mob began setting fire to buildings and the forces of law and order, such as they were, couldn’t cope.
Riots had already taken place in High Street and elsewhere in Worcester on 5th November 1831 after the failure of the reform law but had largely been contained. However, when news came in of serious disorder in Bristol, where much terror had been caused, the rioters gained a second wind.
The situation was enflamed by the fact the Recorder of Bristol, Sir Charles Wetherall, a fanatical anti-reformer, had family in Worcester. It was said his hard-line stance had provoked the trouble, during which the mob took over Bristol for several days and burnt down public buildings.
It was not a quantum leap to think the same might happen in Worcester and Mayor Clifton was worried. So preparing for a proposed “day of protest” in the city he swore in 400 special constables and sent a request for the 7th Hussars, a cavalry regiment with a long and glorious history, to be moved to Droitwich.
As it happened the day passed quietly, but then as often follows, it all kicked off in the evening. A fire was started at the back of a shop in High Street, crowds gathered and a ruckus broke out. When a fire engine arrived its hose was cut and that was the signal for a full-scale riot. Windows were smashed and damage was caused to shops and property alike as city church bells tolled to warn of the rampage.
Up against it, the mayor, at last, sent for the Hussars. But as the troopers arrived through Barbourne just after midnight they were met by a hail of stones from a waiting crowd and Clifton was himself hit by a rock as he read the Riot Act on the steps of the Guildhall.
Ordered to clear the streets, the Hussars drew their sabres and got stuck in. There was a brief battle during which several rioters received sabre cuts (none serious) before the mob dispersed and melted away into the darkness.
Thirty people were taken into custody and although most were conditionally released a few were sent to the treadmill in the city jail in Friar Street to repent their sins. And that, apart from a few drunk squaddies from Norton Barracks fighting in pubs, was the last time the military was engaged in violence in Worcester.
