page_title: 1831 Bristol riots
section_title: 29 October
hierarchical_section_title: 1831 Bristol riots / 29 October
caption_attribution_description: English: Attack on Sir Charles Wetherell at Bristol, 29 October 1831 by William Barnes Wollen (1857–1936) from Cassell's Century Edition History of England, pub circa 1901
context_page_description: The 1831 Bristol riots took place on 29–31 October 1831 and were part of the 1831 reform riots in England. The riots arose after the second Reform Bill was voted down in the House of Lords, stalling efforts at electoral reform. The arrival of the anti-reform judge Charles Wetherell in the city on 29 October led to a protest, which degenerated into a riot. The civic and military authorities were poorly focused and uncoordinated and lost control of the city. Order was restored on the third day by a combination of a posse comitatus of the city's middle-class citizens and military forces.
  Much of the city centre was burnt, up to £300,000 of damage caused and up to 250 casualties incurred. The city's mayor Charles Pinney was tried for failing to prevent the riot and acquitted. The military commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Brereton was court-martialled on a similar charge and committed suicide before he could be sentenced. A renewed third reform bill passed in 1832, as the Great Reform Act, introducing sweeping changes to the electoral system. Local government in Bristol was likewise reformed with the passing of the Municipal Corporations Act 1835.
context_section_description: The location of Wetherell's entrance into the city had been changed for security reasons but soon became common knowledge and he was met with a mob upon his arrival on 29 October.  The carriage carrying Wetherell and Pinney was stoned and they sought refuge at the corporation's Mansion House.  Violence escalated, particularly after the special constables carried out a number of charges into the crowd, one of which led to the death of a member of the public. There were disputes between the dragoons and the constables over the perceived heavy-handedness of the latter.  Pinney twice spoke to the crowd to attempt to regain control, but felt he had no option but to read the Riot Act at dusk, by which time many of the special constables had abandoned their posts.  
  The rioting continued into the night and the Mansion House was stormed, the 14th Light Dragoons attempted to halt the riot and shot one man dead whilst doing so. Wetherell fled the Mansion House via the rooftop to an adjacent building and Pinney escaped to seek refuge at a friend's house where he spent much of the following day.
caption: A 1901 depiction of the attack on Sir Charles Wetherell
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