Bristol case study: The delivery of Bristol's New Gaol, 30 October 1831

Poole, Steve; Ball, Roger; Drury, John

Abstract

This case study considers an important escalation in the activities of the crowd on the second day of the riots in Bristol on Sunday, 30 October 1831. It begins by framing the events in Bristol in the context of the ‘great excarceration’ of Newgate prison during the Gordon riots of 1780 in London. In the second section the design and operation of the New Gaol in Bristol is examined along with the daily routines of prisoners and the perceptions of outsiders. The third and fourth sections consider in detail the prelude, the attack on the Bridewell gaol, and the assault on the New Gaol respectively. The last sections consider who the liberated prisoners were and, in conclusion, whether hostility to anti-Reformers in Parliament had become inextricably entangled with hostility towards criminal justice and its institutions.

Citation

Poole, S., Ball, R., & Drury, J. (2023). Bristol case study: The delivery of Bristol's New Gaol, 30 October 1831. [Webpage content]

• Digital Artefact Type: Website Content
• Online Publication Date: May 28, 2023
• Publication Date: May 28, 2023
• Deposit Date: Jul 10, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 11, 2023
• Keywords: 1831, reform, gaol, Bristol, Bridewell, Queen Square, riot
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10926450
• Publisher URL: https://riot1831.com/2023/05/the-delivery-of-bristols-new-gaol-30-october-1831/