Gloucestershire

Arlington Row, Bibury

In 1830, at the time of the Swing Riots, my 2x great grandmother Mary Collett was four years old and living in Arlington Row with her parents and brothers and sisters.

On Monday 29^th November 1830 John Bradshaw, was working in a barn for the vicar of Bibury, the Reverend Sackville Cresswell, when he heard a large number of people approaching. He heard someone shout, “Come on, my lads, let us break the machine,” and through a slit in the door he was able to see one of the men using a sledge-hammer to break the horse part of the thrashing machine. Bradshaw estimated that there were around one hundred people outside the barn, many of them armed with hammers, hatchets and sticks.

As they were in the process of breaking the machinery outside the barn Lord Sherborne, Mr Waller, and the Honourable Mr Trevor, magistrates for the county, rode up. Lord Sherborne got off his horse and walked among the crowd, speaking to them and begging them to leave the machine, but to no avail. He was told that they were determined to break all the machinery in the parish, and would not stop until they had done so.

One of the men asked John Bradshaw for the keys to the barn and when he refused to hand them over they lifted the door of the rick yard off the hooks very carefully, saying they would break nothing but the machinery.

Lord Sherborne got on to the steps and begged the man to return to their employment, but this request was ignored, and they broke the two locks on the door, went into the barn and broke the machinery inside.

The same men went on to break two other thrashing machines in the parish, one belonging to William Hillier and the other to Mr Harris.

Although no members of my family were involved in the machine breaking they could not have failed to know what was happening as a number of their neighbours were arrested for the part they had played in the affair.

Twelve men from Bibury were tried for their offence at the Gloucester Quarter Sessions on Thursday 6^th January 1831. Four of the twelve were sentenced to seven years transportation and sailed for Van Diemen’s Land on board the Eliza. They were James Edgeworth, age 28, William Jefferies age 20, Edward Musto age 29, and William Spencer age 21.

Gloucestershire Machine Breakers

The following people were all tried at the Epiphany Quarter Sessions held at Gloucester between 5^th and 7^th January 1831.

Further information about these men can be found in Gloucestershire Machine Breakers (see Publications) or a printout of the information on any of those listed below can be ordered from www.genfair.co.uk .

NAME	AGE	OFFENCE	SENTENCE
ADAMS Henry	23	Destroying machinery at Eastleach Turville	12m imprisonment in Penitentiary
ADAMS John	30	Destroying machinery at Eastleach Martin & Eastleach Turville	12m imprisonment in Penitentiary
ADAMS Richard	21	Destroying machinery at Fairford	Discharged on Recognizance
ALLAN Joseph	21	Destroying machinery at Southrop	6m imprisonment in Northleach House of Correction

BALL Robert	22	Destroying machinery at Horsley	7 years Transportation
BAYLISS Benjamin	31	Destroying machinery at Southrop	6m imprisonment in Northleach House of Correction
BAYLISS Robert	27	Destroying machinery at Southrop	6m imprisonment in Northleach House of Correction
BIGLAND William	21	Destroying machinery at Beverstone	12m imprisonment in Penitentiary
BISHOP Thomas	28	Destroying machinery at Beverstone	14 years Transportation
BOULTON Isaac	40	Destroying machinery at Fairford	7 years Transportation. Free Pardon 12 July 1831

CARVER James	20	Destroying machinery at Fairford	Discharged on Recognizance
CLAPPEN James	24	Destroying machinery at Fairford	Discharged by Proclamation
COLE Richard	37	Machine breaking at Coln Rogers & cutting a horse	7 years Transportation
COMPTON Henry	25	Destroying machinery at Beverstone	14 years Transportation
COWLEY Robert	24	Destroying machinery at Fairford	7 years Transportation
COX Thomas	17	Destroying machinery at Eastleach Martin & Eastleach Turville	12m imprisonment in Penitentiary
COX William	23	Destroying machinery at Beverstone	Discharged on Recognizance
CROOK Robert	22	Destroying machinery at Southrop	6m imprisonment in Northleach House of Correction
CYPHER John	39	Destroying machinery at Beverstone	Discharged on Recognizance

DEBANK William	22	Destroying machinery at Coln St Aldwyn	Not Guilty
DRAPER John	22	Destroying machinery at Fairford	Discharged on Recognizance

EBSWORTH Robert	26	Destroying machinery at Eastleach Martin & Eastleach Turville	12m imprisonment in Penitentiary
EDGEWORTH James	28	Destroying machinery at Bibury	7 years Transportation
EDGEWORTH John	31	Destroying machinery at Bibury	Discharged on Recognizance
EDGEWORTH Thomas	58	Destroying machinery at Bibury	Not Guilty
EDGINGTON Joseph	42	Destroying machinery at Quenington	14 years Transportation
ELDRIDGE Henry	22	Destroying machinery at Eastleach Martin & Eastleach Turville	7 years Transportation
ELDRIDGE John	27	Destroying machinery at Southrop	6m imprisonment in Northleach House of Correction
ELLIOTTS John	27	Destroying machinery at Beverstone	12m imprisonment in Penitentiary

FERRABEE Richard	27	Destroying machinery at Beverstone	Discharged on Recognizance
FERRIS Charles	31	Destroying machinery at Fairford	2 years imprisonment in Penitentiary
FORD Daniel (John)	22	Destroying machinery at Beverstone	Discharged on Recognizance
FOX James	17	Destroying machinery at Bibury	6m imprisonment in Northleach House of Correction
FRY Jeremiah	16	Destroying machinery at Beverstone	Discharged on Recognizance

GILLETT Charles	25	Destroying machinery at Fairford	Discharged on Recognizance
GOLDING William	18	Destroying machinery at Tetbury & Beverstone	Discharged on Recognizance

HALL James	21	Destroying machinery at Southrop	6m imprisonment in Northleach House of Correction
HARVEY Charles	31	Destroying machinery at Fairford	9m imprisonment in Penitentiary
HICKS Richard	24	Destroying machinery at Southrop	6m imprisonment in Northleach House of Correction
HIGNELL George	24	Destroying machinery at Fairford	Discharged on Recognizance
HUNT Benjamin	54	Destroying machinery at Southrop	6m imprisonment in Northleach House of Correction
HUNT John	20	Destroying machinery at Eastleach Turville	7 years Transportation

JEFFERIES William	20	Destroying machinery at Bibury	7 years Transportation
JONES William	30	Destroying machinery at Fairford	9m imprisonment in Penitentiary

KENT John	28	Destroying machinery at Coln St Aldwyn	Not Guilty
KEYLOCK Edward	20	Destroying machinery at Fairford	Discharged on Recognizance
KING William	19	Destroying machinery at Beverstone	Discharged on Recognizance

LEWIS John	46	Destroying machinery at Fairford	6m imprisonment in Penitentiary
LOOKER Harman	16	Destroying machinery at Bibury	Discharged on Recognizance
LOOKER Henry	20	Destroying machinery at Bibury	Discharged on Recognizance

MANN Worthy	22	Destroying machinery at Beverstone	7 years Transportation
MAY William	26	Destroying machinery at Fairford	Discharged on Recognizance
MERRETT James	19	Destroying machinery at Bibury	Discharged on Recognizance
MILES Robert	18	Destroying machinery at Eastleach Martin	2 years imprisonment in Horsley House of Correction
MITCHELL John	25	Destroying machinery at Fairford	7 years Transportation
MITCHELL Thomas	30	Destroying machinery at Fairford	Discharged on Recognizance
MUSTO Edward	29	Destroying machinery at Bibury	7 years Transportation

PALMER Edmund	18	Destroying machinery at Southrop	6m imprisonment in Northleach House of Correction
PARKER ELIZABETH	23	Destroying machinery at Beverstone	7 years Transportation. Free Pardon 8 July 1831. Transported for Robbery in 1832
PARKER Robert	36	Destroying machinery at Southrop	18m imprisonment in Northleach House of Correction
PONTING Christopher	43	Destroying machinery at Fairford	7 years Transportation
POOLE John	28	Destroying machinery at Beverstone	7 years Transportation

RADFORD John	19	Destroying machinery at Beverstone	Discharged on Recognizance

SCOTFORD Edward	29	Destroying machinery at Eastleach Turville	18m imprisonment in Penitentiary
SEALE Samuel	32	Destroying machinery at Beverstone	14 years Transportation
SILK James	30	Destroying machinery at Quenington	14 years Transportation. Free Pardon 4 September 1837.
SMITH Thomas	28	Destroying machinery at Eastleach Martin & Eastleach Turville	7 years Transportation
SPARROW William	16	Destroying machinery at Fairford	Discharged on Recognizance
SPENCER William	21	Destroying machinery at Bibury	7 years Transportation
STANCOMBE John	22	Destroying machinery at Beverstone	Discharged on Recognizance
STEVENS Joshua	45	Destroying machinery at Coln St Rogers	14 years Transportation
STEVENS Robert	50	Destroying machinery at Coln St Rogers	14 years Transportation

TIMBRILL Benjamin	25	Destroying machinery at Eastleach Martin	7 years Transportation
TRINDER Thomas	18	Destroying machinery at Bibury	Discharged on Recognizance
TURNER Thomas	25	Destroying machinery at Bibury	12m imprisonment in Northleach House of Correction

VENWELL or VENFIELD Richard	21	Destroying machinery at Eastleach Martin & Eastleach Turville	7 years Transportation

WEAVING Thomas	30	Destroying machinery at Quenington	7 years Transportation
WELLS Thomas	46	Destroying machinery at Eastleach Martin & Eastleach Turville	3 years imprisonment in Penitentiary
WHITE James	22	Destroying machinery at Beverstone	Discharged on Recognizance
WHITE John	30	Destroying machinery at Beverstone	Discharged on Recognizance
WHITE Joseph	25	Destroying machinery at Beverstone	Discharged on Recognizance
WHITEHEAD Edward	27	Destroying machinery at Coln St Aldwyn	Not Guilty
WILLIAMS John	19	Destroying machinery at Beverstone	Discharged on Recognizance
WITCHELL William	40	Destroying machinery at Eastleach Turville	7 years Transportation
WOOD George	27	Destroying machinery at Beverstone	Discharged on Recognizance
WOODMAN John	27	Destroying machinery at Beverstone	Discharged on Recognizance

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