List of riots in London
Encyclopedia
The following is a list of riot
s and protests involving violent disorder that have occurred in London
:
Riot
A riot is a form of civil disorder characterized often by what is thought of as disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against authority, property or people. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are thought to be typically chaotic and...
s and protests involving violent disorder that have occurred in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
:
- 1189: The Massacre of the Jews at the coronation of Richard I
- 1196: William with the long beard causes riots when he preaches for the poor against the rich
- 1221: Riots occur after London defeats WestminsterWestminsterWestminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
in an annual wrestlingWrestlingWrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
contest; ring-leaders hanged or mutilated in punishment.
- 1268: Rioting between goldsmithGoldsmithA goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Since ancient times the techniques of a goldsmith have evolved very little in order to produce items of jewelry of quality standards. In modern times actual goldsmiths are rare...
s and tailors
- 1391: Riots break out in Salisbury Place over a baker's loaf
- 1517: Evil May DayEvil May DayEvil May Day or Ill May Day is the name of a riot which took place in 1517 as a protest against foreigners living in London.- Causes :...
riot against foreigners takes place
- 1668: Bawdy House RiotsBawdy House Riots of 1668The 1668 Bawdy House Riots took place in London following repression of a series of attacks against brothels....
took place following repression of a series of attacks against brothels
- 1710: Sacheverell riots, following the trial of the preacher, Henry SacheverellHenry SacheverellHenry Sacheverell was an English High Church clergyman and politician.-Early life:The son of Joshua Sacheverell, rector of St Peter's, Marlborough,...
- 1719: SpitalfieldsSpitalfieldsSpitalfields is a former parish in the borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London, near to Liverpool Street station and Brick Lane. The area straddles Commercial Street and is home to many markets, including the historic Old Spitalfields Market, founded in the 17th century, Sunday...
weaversWeavingWeaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making and felting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling...
rioted, attacking women wearing Indian clothing and then attempting to rescue their arrested comrades
- 1743: Riots against Gin Taxes and other legislation to control the Gin CrazeGin CrazeThe Gin Craze was a period in the first half of the 18th century when the consumption of gin increased rapidly in Great Britain, especially in London...
, principally the Gin Act 1736; rioting was fuelled by consumption of the drink itself
- 1768: The Massacre of St George's FieldsMassacre of St George's FieldsOn 10 May 1768, the imprisonment in King's Bench Prison of the radical John Wilkes prompted a riot at St George's Fields. After the reading of the Riot Act, six or seven people were killed by troops, starting with a young man named William Allen...
after the imprisonment of John WilkesJohn WilkesJohn Wilkes was an English radical, journalist and politician.He was first elected Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlesex election dispute, he fought for the right of voters—rather than the House of Commons—to determine their representatives...
for criticising the King
- 1769: The Spitalfield RiotsSpitalfield RiotsThe Spitalfield Riots occurred in 1769, during a downturn in the silk weaving industry, centred on Spitalfields in the East End of London. The weavers organised to attempt to ensure that the rates of pay paid for their piece work was not cut beneath the level at which they could feed themselves,...
when silk weavers attempted to maintain their rate of pay
- 1780: Gordon RiotsGordon RiotsThe Gordon Riots of 1780 were an anti-Catholic protest against the Papists Act 1778.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...
against Catholics
- 1809: Old Price Riots, 1809Old Price Riots, 1809The Old Price Riots of 1809 were caused by rising prices at the new Theatre at Covent Garden, London, after the previous one had been destroyed by fire. Covent Garden was one of two “patent” theatres in London in the nineteenth century, along with Drury Lane...
following a rise in the price of theatre tickets
- 1816: Spa Fields riotsSpa Fields riotsThe Spa Fields Riots were mass meetings that took place at Spa Fields, Islington, England on 15 November, 2 and 9 December 1816 between revolutionary Spenceans against the British government. The Spenceans had planned to encourage rioting at this meeting and then seize control of the British...
, Spenceans met in support of the common ownership of land
- 1830: Attacks against the Duke of WellingtonDuke of WellingtonThe Dukedom of Wellington, derived from Wellington in Somerset, is a hereditary title in the senior rank of the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first holder of the title was Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington , the noted Irish-born career British Army officer and statesman, and...
in his carriage and on his home, for his opposition to electoral reform (which had been seen partly as a solution to riotingSwing RiotsThe Swing Riots were a widespread uprising by agricultural workers; it began with the destruction of threshing machines in the Elham Valley area of East Kent in the summer of 1830, and by early December had spread throughout the whole of southern England and East Anglia.As well as the attacks on...
by rural workers).
- 1866: a riot took place in Hyde ParkHyde Park, LondonHyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
after a meeting of the Reform LeagueReform LeagueThe Reform League was established in 1865 to press for manhood suffrage and the ballot in Great Britain. It collaborated with the more moderate and middle class Reform Union and gave strong support to the abortive Reform Bill 1866 and the successful Reform Act 1867...
was declared illegal
- 1886: The West End Riots followed a counter-demonstration by the Social Democratic FederationSocial Democratic FederationThe Social Democratic Federation was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on June 7, 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury and Eleanor Marx. However, Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx's long-term...
against a meeting of the Fair Trade League.
- 1907: The Brown Dog riots, medical students attempt to tear down an anti-vivisection statue.
- 1919: The Battle of Bow StreetBattle of Bow StreetThe Battle of Bow Street is the name given to a riot which took place in Bow Street, London during March 1919. The riot involved an estimated 2000 Australian, American and Canadian servicemen fighting against 50 Metropolitan Police officers....
, Australian, American and Canadian servicemen rioted against the Metropolitan PoliceMetropolitan Police ServiceThe Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police...
- 1932: The National Hunger MarchNational Hunger March, 1932The National Hunger March of September–October 1932 was the largest of a series of hunger marches in Britain in the 1920s and 1930s.-Background:...
ended in rioting after the police confiscated the petition of the National Unemployed Workers' MovementNational Unemployed Workers' MovementThe National Unemployed Workers' Movement was a British organisation set up in 1921 by members of the Communist Party of Great Britain. It aimed to draw attention to the plight of unemployed workers during the post World War I slump, the 1926 General Strike and later the Great Depression, and to...
- 1936: The Battle of Cable StreetBattle of Cable StreetThe Battle of Cable Street took place on Sunday 4 October 1936 in Cable Street in the East End of London. It was a clash between the Metropolitan Police, overseeing a march by the British Union of Fascists, led by Oswald Mosley, and anti-fascists, including local Jewish, socialist, anarchist,...
saw rioting against the Metropolitan Police as they attempted to facilitate a march by the British Union of FascistsBritish Union of FascistsThe British Union was a political party in the United Kingdom formed in 1932 by Sir Oswald Mosley as the British Union of Fascists, in 1936 it changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists and then in 1937 to simply the British Union...
- 1958 Notting Hill race riots between White BritishWhite BritishWhite British was an ethnicity classification used in the 2001 United Kingdom Census. As a result of the census, 50,366,497 people in the United Kingdom were classified as White British. In Scotland the classification was broken down into two different categories: White Scottish and Other White...
and West IndianBritish African-Caribbean communityThe British African Caribbean communities are residents of the United Kingdom who are of West Indian background and whose ancestors were primarily indigenous to Africa...
immigrants.
- 1974: Red Lion Square disordersRed Lion Square disordersThe Red Lion Square disorders were an event in 1974.On 15 June that year, the National Front marched through London's West End; their march was to finish with a meeting in Conway Hall, Red Lion Square. The London Area Council for Liberation conducted a counter demonstration which consisted of a...
happened following a march by counter-fascists against the National Front.
- 1977: The Battle of LewishamBattle of LewishamThe Battle of Lewisham refers to the events of 13 August 1977, when an attempt by the far-right National Front to march from New Cross to Lewisham in southeast London led to counter-demonstrations and violent clashes...
occurred when the Metropolitan Police attempted to facilitate a march by the National Front
- 1981 Brixton riot against the Metropolitan Police. Especially on 10 July, rioting extended to other parts of London and numerous other cities around the UK
- 1985 Brixton riot against the Metropolitan Police after they shot the mother of suspect Michael GroceMichael GroceMichael Groce is a poet, community worker and former criminal. His name is remembered by many in connection with the Brixton riots of 1985 when his mother, Cherry Groce, was shot by police during a dawn raid on her home...
.
- 1985: Broadwater Farm riotBroadwater Farm riotThe Broadwater Farm riot occurred around the Broadwater Farm area of Tottenham, North London, on 6 October 1985.The events of the day were dominated by two deaths. The first was that of Cynthia Jarrett, an African-Caribbean woman who died the previous day from a stroke during a police search of her...
, residents of Tottenham riot against the Metropolitan Police following a death during a police search
- 1990: Poll Tax RiotsPoll Tax RiotsThe UK Poll Tax Riots were a series of mass disturbances, or riots, in British towns and cities during protests against the Community Charge , introduced by the Conservative government led by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher...
followed the introduction of a poll taxPoll taxA poll tax is a tax of a portioned, fixed amount per individual in accordance with the census . When a corvée is commuted for cash payment, in effect it becomes a poll tax...
.
- 1993: WellingWellingWelling is a district in the London Borough of Bexley, South East London. It is a suburban development situated between Shooter's Hill and Bexleyheath north of the A2 road and 10.5 miles east south-east of Charing Cross.-History:...
riots, October 1993. A march organised by the ANLAnti-Nazi LeagueThe Anti-Nazi League was an organisation set up in 1977 on the initiative of the Socialist Workers Party with sponsorship from some trade unions and the endorsement of a list of prominent people to oppose the rise of far-right groups in the United Kingdom. It was wound down in 1981...
, the SWPSocialist Workers Party (Britain)The Socialist Workers Party is a far left party in Britain founded by Tony Cliff. The SWP's student section has groups at a number of universities...
and MilitantSocialist Party (England and Wales)The Socialist Party is a Trotskyist party active in England and Wales.It publishes the weekly newspaper The Socialist and the monthly magazine Socialism Today...
resulted in riots against the Metropolitan police.
- 1995: 1995 Brixton riotBrixton riot (1995)The Brixton riots of 1995 began on 13 December after the death of 26-year-old Wayne Douglas, in police custody. Douglas had a criminal history of robbery, assault, and theft. Just prior to his arrest he had broken into a the abode of a couple and robbed them at knifepoint just hours earlier...
against the Metropolitan Police occurred after a death in police custody.
- 1999: Carnival Against Capitalism riot
- 2000: Anti-capitalist May DayMay DayMay Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
riot
- 2001: May Day riot in central London by anti-capitalist protestors.
- 2009 G-20 London summit protests2009 G-20 London summit protestsThe 2009 G-20 London summit protests occurred in the days around the G-20 summit on 2 April 2009, which was the focus of protests from a number of groups over various long-standing and topical issues...
occurred in the days around the G-20 summit.
- 2010 UK student protests2010 UK student protestsThe 2010 UK student protests were a series of demonstrations that began in November 2010 in several areas of the United Kingdom, with the focal point of protests centred in London. The initial event was the largest student protest in the UK since the Labour government first proposed the Teaching...
against increases in student fees and public sector cuts.
- 2011 anti-cuts protest in London2011 anti-cuts protest in LondonThe 2011 anti-cuts protest in London, also known as the March for the Alternative, was a demonstration held in central London on 26 March 2011...
against government public spending cuts.
- 2011 England riots2011 England riotsBetween 6 and 10 August 2011, several London boroughs and districts of cities and towns across England suffered widespread rioting, looting and arson....
, initially in London, following the police shooting of Mark DugganDeath of Mark DugganMark Duggan, a 29-year-old black man, was shot on 4 August 2011 by police attempting to arrest him in Tottenham, London, England, following a surveillance operation, on suspicion of a planned revenge attack following the fatal stabbing of his cousin. He died from a gunshot wound to the chest...
in TottenhamTottenhamTottenham is an area of the London Borough of Haringey, England, situated north north east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:Tottenham is believed to have been named after Tota, a farmer, whose hamlet was mentioned in the Domesday Book; hence Tota's hamlet became Tottenham...
- 1995: 1995 Brixton riot