Battlefields›Captain Swing riots Wiltshire 1830
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Captain Swing riots Wiltshire 1830

1830
Wiltshire, England
Era
modern
Battle Type
Campaign
Location
Wiltshire, England
Status
Unregistered
Outcome
Widespread machine-breaking, arson and extortion across south Wiltshire; a Special Commission of three judges convened at Salisbury on 27 December 1830 (part of a wider commission covering Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Dorset, Wiltshire and Hampshire) and tried over 300 rioters in January 1831; over 150 men were sentenced to transportation and Henry Wilkins was executed for arson.
The Battle

History & Significance

Captain Swing riots Wiltshire 1830 was a modern campaign, fought in the area of Wiltshire, England in 1830. Widespread machine-breaking, arson and extortion across south Wiltshire; a Special Commission of three judges convened at Salisbury on 27 December 1830 (part of a wider commission covering Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Dorset, Wiltshire and Hampshire) and tried over 300 rioters in January 1831; over 150 men were sentenced to transportation and Henry Wilkins was executed for arson.

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Captain Swing riots Wiltshire 1830 lies on Gault Formation And Upper Greensand Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Cenomanian. The rock here is mudstone, sandstone and limestone.

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

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Everything a full report reveals about Captain Swing riots Wiltshire 1830

This page covers Captain Swing riots Wiltshire 1830. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Captain Swing riots Wiltshire 1830

Devizes Castle
Devizes Castle
Scheduled monument · ~0.3 mi

Devizes Castle is a Norman motte-and-bailey fortress constructed in the early twelfth century, most likely by Roger of Salisbury around 1120, serving as a significant stronghold in Wiltshire during the medieval period. The castle comprises a substantial earthwork mound surmounted by a stone keep,…

Mike Faherty / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Caen Hill locks
Caen Hill locks
Scheduled monument · ~1.5 mi

Caen Hill Locks is a flight of twenty-nine locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal near Devizes in Wiltshire, constructed between 1810 and 1815 as part of the canal's completion. The locks were engineered to overcome a significant change in water level, descending approximately seventy-two feet over a…

Alinangel / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
The Long Monument
The Long Monument
Scheduled monument · ~1.7 mi

I cannot locate reliable scholarly records for a monument specifically called "The Long Monument" in Wiltshire with the designation reference NHLE 1005658. While Wiltshire contains numerous significant prehistoric monuments, including Neolithic long barrows and Bronze Age structures, I cannot pro…

Bob&Anne Powell / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Deserted medieval village E of Manor Farm
Deserted medieval village E of Manor Farm
Scheduled monument · ~2.9 mi

Deserted medieval village E of Manor Farm is a scheduled ancient monument located in Wiltshire that represents a settlement abandoned during the medieval period. The site preserves earthwork evidence of the former village layout, including the remains of house platforms, field systems, and other…

Michael Dibb / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Long barrow on King's Play Hill, 430m north west of Hill Cottage
Long barrow on King's Play Hill, 430m north west of Hill Cottage
Scheduled monument · ~3 mi

Long barrow on King's Play Hill is a Neolithic communal burial monument located in Wiltshire, approximately 430 metres north-west of Hill Cottage. The barrow represents a characteristic example of the long barrow type, which served as a focal point for collective burial practices during the Neoli…

Michael Dibb / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Eleven round barrows 1000m north of Baltic Farm forming part of a barrow cemetery, and a probable enclosed Iron Age farmstead on North Down
Eleven round barrows 1000m north of Baltic Farm forming part of a barrow cemetery, and a probable enclosed Iron Age farmstead on North Down
Scheduled monument · ~4.7 mi

Eleven round barrows 1000m north of Baltic Farm forming part of a barrow cemetery is a Bronze Age burial monument located on North Down in Wiltshire. The group comprises eleven discrete burial mounds arranged as part of a larger cemetery complex, representing funerary practices typical of the Bro…

Michael Dibb / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Two bowl barrows in Roundway Hill Covert
Scheduled monument · ~1.7 miles
Bowl barrow 60m east of Roundway Hill Covert
Scheduled monument · ~1.9 miles
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In the same landscape

Battles near Captain Swing riots Wiltshire 1830

Siege of Devizes Castle 1141
1141
~0.3 miles away
The Anarchy: Siege of Devizes, 1139
1139
~0.4 miles away
Battle of Roundway Down 1643
1643
~2.6 miles away
Battle of Ethandun
878
~5.9 miles away
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