On Friday 15 November 2024, Blandford Town Museum are publishing ‘I fear there will be blood spilt this evening’: The Blandford Forum riots of 1831 a new book by Steve Poole and Roger Ball, based on the research for the 1831 refom riots project.
In October 1831, the refusal of the House of Lords to pass new legislation for the reform of parliament plunged the whole country into a deep political crisis. Rioting broke out in a number of towns, leaving local authorities hard pressed to restore order. One such town was Blandford Forum in Dorset. Here, protesting crowds attacked the property of anti-reformers, defied the orders of local magistrates to disperse, and fought with an armed cavalry regiment sent out to tackle them. In the retribution that followed, two young Blandford men were sentenced to death by hanging. This book tells the full story of these momentous events for the first time and explores the motivation of the men and women who took part in them.