On this day in history : 22nd July 1946 – Due to continuous rainfall Britain’s wheat crop is ruined and as a result the government introduces bread rationing….
The measure had been announced by the Food Minister in the House of Commons the previous day…. It came as a blow to the morale of the British people; all throughout World War Two bread was the one staple food item that had avoided being rationed…. Winston Churchill commented on the announcement as “One of the gravest I have ever heard of in time of peace”…. He demanded that figures of stocks and movements of cereals should be produced by Clement Attlee’s Labour Government, to justify these “extreme measures”….
The average daily allowance for an adult was just 9oz and this was to include bread, flour, cakes, scones and biscuits…. To compensate the meat ration was increased by 2ds worth per week…. This highly unpopular measure was to last for two years before finally coming to an end on the 24th of July 1948…. Historians now generally agree that the practice was unnecessary and ineffective….
On this day in history : 21st July 1897 – The grand opening of the Tate Gallery, in the City of Westminster, London – by the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII)….
The gallery was built on the former site of Millbank Prison, which had been the departure point of convicts being transported to Australia…. It had been demolished in 1890….
The architect for the new gallery was Sidney R.J. Smith and construction began in 1893…. The building we see today is still very much like it was when it was first built….with its grand entrance, central dome and statue of Britannia with a lion and a unicorn….
Image credit : Tony Hisgett CC BY 2.0
The gallery was officially opened as the National Gallery of British Art – but from the onset people referred to it as the Tate Gallery, after its founder and benefactor, Sir Henry Tate…. The sugar magnate had also donated 65 paintings and 2 sculptures, forming the founding collection of the gallery…. In 1932 it became officially known as the Tate Gallery….
On this day in history : 20th July 1685 – Lady Alice Lisle shelters two supporters of Monmouth’s defeated army, following the Battle of Sedgemoor…. They are caught and all three are executed….
The Monmouth Rebellion, or otherwise known as the ‘Pitchfork Rebellion’, was an attempt to overthrow James II…. The Battle of Sedgemoor was the last confrontation between the rebels and the King’s men…. It took place near to Bridgewater, Somerset….the rebels were no match for the superior, trained army…. Monmouth himself escaped but was captured near to Ringwood in Hampshire; he was taken to the Tower of London and beheaded…. Around 500 rebels were captured and imprisoned in St. Mary’s Parish Church in Westonzoyland, whilst others were hunted down and shot…. Many more were hanged by the roadside….
The Duke of Monmouth leads the Rebels – Jan Wyck – Public domain
Two weeks after the Battle of Sedgemoor Lady Alice agreed to help two of the rebels who had avoided capture, by giving them refuge at her home, ‘Moyles Court’, near Ringwood…. John Hickes was a well-known non-conformist minister and his companion was a Richard Nelthorpe…. Lady Alice was the widow of lawyer and politician John Lisle – who had fled England to Switzerland after the Restoration – only to be assassinated in 1664….
Hickes and Nelthorpe spent the night at Moyles Court – but the following morning they were arrested…. Lady Alice initially denied that they had been in her home but she was charged with harbouring fugitives…. At her trial, which was held at the Bloody Assizes in Winchester, the jury questioned whether her actions should be considered as treasonable as she had not been directly involved with the rebellion…. She claimed she had no sympathy with the rebellion and had believed Hickes had done nothing more than a bit of illegal preaching….
The trial was presided over by Judge Jeffreys – who was also known as the ‘Hanging Judge’…. He denied Lady Alice permission to speak and defend herself and placed pressure on the jury – who, if not somewhat reluctantly, found her guilty after just 15 minutes of deliberation…. She was sentenced to burn at the stake….
Judge Jeffreys – Public domain
Lady Alice’s execution was delayed for a week…. However, James II refused to show mercy – but did allow her sentence to be changed to beheading, seeing it more fitting to a woman of her standing….
On the 2nd of September 1685 she was publicly beheaded by axe in the market square of Winchester…. She was the last woman to be executed by beheading in England…. She spent her last night in the Eclipse Inn, Winchester – close to the Cathedral…. She accessed the scaffold directly from one of the upstairs windows…. She died with dignity….
The Eclipse Inn, Winchester – Image credit : Ptelea – own work CC BY-SA 4.0
Lady Alice Lisle is buried at St. Mary and All Saints Church in Ellingham, Hampshire….
On this day in history : 19th July 1919 – The Luton Peace Day Riots begin – when ex-servicemen, unhappy about the unemployment situation following the end of World War One, burn down the town hall….
The Town Hall in 1897 – Image : Gazman7 CC BY-SA 3.0
Many servicemen, who had fought in the Great War, were angry about the vast amount of money that had been spent on the London Peace Parade to commemorate the anniversary of the end of the War…. They felt the money would have been better spent on helping servicemen find jobs and settle back into normal life….
Across Britain Peace Day had been declared a pubic holiday, in order to allow people to participate in the celebrations – but there were certainly plenty who did not feel like celebrating….
The riot in Luton began after council members read out the King’s proclamation of peace – many in the crowd voiced their disapproval…. To add to the unrest veterans had been refused permission to hold a service…. On the 7th of July 1919 the Discharged Sailors and Soldiers Association had asked to hold a drumhead mass in Wardown Park – but this had been rejected by the Tolls and Municipal Buildings Committee….
The unrest erupted into violence…. Protesters broke through the police line and stormed into the town hall…. Clashes followed and many more of the crowd surged into the hall…. Rioting was now in full force and in the furore the town hall was set a blaze….
Firemen were unable to put out the fire and by the next day the town hall was so severely damaged that the remains had to be demolished….
The Luton Peace Riots – bedsarchives.bedford.gov.uk – Public domain
As for the rioting…. By midnight things had calmed down but this was only to be a temporary reprieve, as the next day violence flared up again…. The protests were to last for three days…. Many were arrested and those convicted faced tough sentences, such as hard labour….
On this day in history : 18th July 1872 – The Ballot Act is passed by Parliament – meaning that parliamentary and local government elections are no longer to be public but will be held by secret ballot….
‘The Polling’ from The Humours of an Election series, 1755 by William Hogarth – Public domain
The first secret ballot was held three weeks later, on the 15th of August 1872, in the by-election of Pontefract, West Yorkshire – where newly elected MP for Pontefract, Hugh Childers, needed to win in order to be able to serve….
The Pontefract by-election was a very different affair to what people were used to…. Up until that point voters – men only of course – declared openly to which candidate they were backing, either by a show of hands, calling out their choice or marking their paper for all to see…. Onlookers would jeer or cheer…. With it being public knowledge who voted for who the proceedings were open to bribery, coercion and intimidation….men could lose their jobs and homes if they did not vote the way their employers and landlords wanted them to…. Voters would often be bullied, with mobs brought in to persuade peoples’ opinions – sometimes full-blown fights would break out….
Other times it could be like a drunken party…. Candidates were known to ply voters with large quantities of alcohol, or even lay on lavish feasts, suppers and parties, to sway the vote their way….
‘An Election Entertainment’ from The Humours of an Election series, 1755 by William Hogarth – Public domain
With corruption so rife politicians realised a change was needed…. The Ballot Act of 1872 gave a right to privacy…. “The Act which establishes the Ballot will assist to secure alike the independence of the voter and the tranquility and purity of elections for members to serve in Parliament”….
The first voting boxes were made specially for the occasion – with a seal of wax to make sure it could not be tampered with…. The seal, which depicted a castle and an owl, was made with a liquorice stamp from the local Pontefract Cake factory…. The first box can be seen in the Pontefract Museum, complete with its wax seal….
The Ballot Box at Pontefract Museum – Image credit : ReptOn1x – CC BY-SA 3.0
The first new secret ballot was a very sober affair…. People complained the life and soul and all the fun had gone out of voting…. The Ballot Act – which also gained the name ‘The Australian Ballot’, as the system had first been used in Australia in 1856 – failed to completely erase bribery and corruption – candidates still spent liberally to attract votes…. Gladstone’s government tackled this by setting up a royal commission to look into the system which led to the ‘Corrupt and Illegal Practices Act, 1883’ – which clarified what candidates could legitimately spend election expenses on…. It criminalised attempts to bribe voters, including with food and drink….
‘Canvassing For Votes’ from The Humours of an Election series 1755, by William Hogarth – Public domain
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