‘VERY ACTIVE IN THE RIOT’: A DISTURBANCE ON ROMNEY MARSH IN 1821

Abstract

The years of agricultural depression between the end of the Napoleonic wars in I8I5 and the Swing riots in I830 were also years in which there were few agricultural disturbances. Although rural crime increased, possibly demonstrating growing social tension, actual riots have only been reported in East Anglia in I8I6 and I822. Work by Snell (2003) suggests these years also saw the peak of a ‘culture of local xenophobia’ as labouring communities looked to their own parishes both for their primary sense of belonging and as a resource for customary rights. This article reflects on exclusion as a factor in the precipitation of a riot in rural Kent in the summer of I82I. Quarter sessions records are used to reconstruct the events of that day. Although the rioters gave the impression of wanting more money for their work at harvest, the riot was fuelled by the presence of labourers from outside the immediate area and in this respect illustrates the presence of a ‘culture of local xenophobia’. However, the involvement of labourers from various neighbouring parishes in the riot simultaneously suggests that horizons may have extended further than the parish boundary.