Tag: rioting

Categories
Crime and Punishment Rural Life

The Aignish Riot

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In 1888, landless crofters at Aignish demanded a tenant farmer vacate so they could divide his land up for crofts. The Riot Act was partially translated into Gaelic and 11 men were arrested. The marines, police, and the Royal Scots were sent to quell the riot.

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It really was fixed-bayonets vs. cas chroms. The arrested men all got sentences of about a year. Aignish Farm wasn’t broken up into crofts until 1905. A memorial statue now stands at the site of the riot.

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Aignish Memorial. Photo from Am Baile. https://www.ambaile.org.uk/detail/en/21987/1/EN21987-aignish-memorial-isle-of-lewis.htm

It would seem that many of the London papers were on the side of the crofters, judging from the positive language used to discuss the riot. For context, the Illustrated London News published these sketches of Lewis:

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References

Aignish Memorial. Am Baile https://www.ambaile.org.uk/detail/en/21987/1/EN21987-aignish-memorial-isle-of-lewis.htm

Illustrated London News. 21st January 1888, pg. 1.
Illustrated London News, 28th January 1888, pg. 13
Penny Illustrated Paper. 4th February 1888, pg. 1.

Categories
Crime and Punishment Rural Life

Beauly Snowball Riot of 1847

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In 1847 during the Highland Famine, a farmer tried to ship grain out of Beauly and was stopped by a group of starving men. The Sheriff tried to read the Riot Act and got a snowball to the face. 600 folk were at the Beauly Snowball Riot, which took 70 soldiers to break up.

Many in the English press had little sympathy for the starving folk of Beauly:

Whatever want of food may be felt at Beauly, there seemed to be no lack of whiskey [sic]. In the evening, the heroes who had volunteered their services in aid of the villages, were seen reeling home intoxicated. They had money to put themselves into this state, but they had none to buy bread!

Leamington Spa Courier, Saturday 27th February 1847

Sources
“The Beauly Rioters”. John O’ Groat Journal, Friday 16th April 1847, pg 3.

Categories
Crime and Punishment People

Tyberius Winchester, serial guiser

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Tyberius Winchester was a “serial gyser” in Elgin.

His rapsheet:
May 1593- playing the pipes and drums with “rascalls”
Jan 1594- bagpiping after dark, being riotous
Dec 1596- dancing in kirkyard
Jan 1604- riding through town with pillowcase on his head

He was also done in 1604 for “uttering uncomlie speaches the nycht the minister catecheized”.

Also his name was TYBERIUS WINCHESTER and he couldn’t be stopped. Another top-shelf name, like HERCULES ROLLOCK.

Categories
Crime and Punishment

BARRING-OUT

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BARRING-OUT. n. Tradition where schoolboys staged sit-ins to extend Autumn break. In 1595 the principal of the Royal High School Edinburgh, Hercules Rollock let boys go too far and had to get in the police. A battering ram was used and a student shot a baillie through the forehead.

And we can all agree that Hercules Rollock is an excellent name.

Walter Scott was apparently an expert on this page of the school’s history.