Rural conflict and resistance in late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Gloucestershire

Wilkinson, T

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Rural conflict and resistance in late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Gloucestershire

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Wilkinson, T (2025) Rural conflict and resistance in late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Gloucestershire. PhD thesis, University of Gloucestershire. doi:10.46289/FCUN4967

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Abstract

This thesis aims to broaden the geographical scope of the historiography of late eighteenth and early nineteenth century rural conflict and resistance. Focusing on the county of Gloucestershire, this study draws upon court records, gaol registers, and contemporary local newspapers to identify acts of resistance that are by their very nature less prominent in the historical record. The study begins by considering more established forms of rural resistance, particularly poaching and incendiarism. The prominence of poaching in the broader historiography is reflected in the county, where the general resentment towards the Game Laws represented both a catalyst and sphere of social conflict in rural communities. Poachers were identified from across the social strata, highlighting the varied motivations of their actions. While poaching was often motivated by economic necessity, it was also employed as a significant weapon of social conflict and resistance in the county. The study continues with an investigation into incendiarism, a widely understood expression of rural discontent. While evidence of incendiarism is found throughout the period of study, arson is found to increase in the late 1820s. Fire was evidently a weapon deliberately employed in the arena of social conflict and resistance in the county, best encapsulated through the targeting of high-status individuals and valuable private property. Incendiarism served as a potent weapon of intimidation in Gloucestershire, symbolising broader feelings of rural discontent across England. The impact of machine breaking is also considered, in particular the influence of Swing and its connection to earlier discontent in the county. Before the 1830s, machines were targeted on a smaller scale, often through incendiarism. While the Swing Riots were most prominent outside of Gloucestershire, their influence was still felt in the county. Although discussed to a lesser extent than other forms of resistance in this study, the impact of Swing is significant due to its connection to wider patterns of rural discontent in the county. The thesis also explores the roles of women and children, both groups underrepresented in the historiography, particularly regarding the theft and vandalism of wood and crops. These acts, often motivated by the needs of the domestic economy, were crimes committed on a significant scale by women and children in Gloucestershire. Theft and vandalism represent an arena where women and children could challenge an environment of decreasing living standards, exercising a measure of agency despite their social standing. The study of these acts broadens the understanding of rural resistance and provides a voice to otherwise marginalised groups. Finally, the idea and extent of community solidarity in Gloucestershire during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries is questioned. While it is acknowledged that rural discontent was often driven by shared grievances, such as mechanisation, declining living standards, and the erosion of customary rights, individual responses varied significantly. Labourers, for example, were found to act as informants or collaborators with authorities, while the combination of violence and fear of reprisal likely silenced opposition towards criminals within the rural communities of the county. These factors complicate the concept of communal solidarity and question the extent of collective resistance at the time.

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Thesis (PhD)

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