503:(1983), pp. 139-141: "The 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act was designed specifically to cope with the severe problems of rural England and to prevent... a repetition of the 1830s incidents in the epicentres of Kent... There, complex soil patterns, small-scale farming and low investment rates combined with a rapid population surge to produce... dependence on permanent relief of 25% of population... groups of labourers (1835) ...besieged local magistrates in the workhouse... 37 labourers were imprisoned for... up to two years."
36:; 1799 – 31 May 1838) was a Cornish merchant and maltster who re-invented himself as Sir William Courtenay, stood for parliament in Canterbury, was convicted of perjury in a smuggling case, spent three years in the Kent County Lunatic Asylum, and, following his release, gathered a small band of followers and paraded in the Kent countryside. He, along with several of his followers, was killed in a confrontation with government soldiers in Bossenden Wood, in what has sometimes been called the
214:, on the condition he was returned into the care of his family in Cornwall. Tom was still refusing to acknowledge any association to the Cornish family and, instead of returning to Cornwall, he went to live with a local farmer and supporter, Mr Francis of Fairbrook, Boughton-under-Blean, who had offered to be his guardian. This was permitted, due to some ambiguous wording on the pardon, and in October 1837, four years after his admission to the asylum, Tom was released.
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with the exception of Tom and one other who had pistols, were armed only with sticks. As the soldiers advanced, Lieutenant Bennet was shot dead by Tom. In the ensuing confrontation, which lasted only a few minutes, Tom and eight of his followers were killed or mortally wounded by the soldiers, and a young special constable who was helping the soldiers was caught in their fire and killed. One soldier was slightly injured by a stick.
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275:"This was an insignificant casualty list as battles go; but it was a terrible price to pay for the capture, dead, of one man. When the disastrous results of the affray became known, public opinion was deeply shocked at what seemed an unnecessary loss of life. The repercussions of the Battle of Bossenden wood were soon, in fact, to reach Westminster itself."
391:: "Application by John Nicholls Tom of Truro, maltster, who stated that on 17 June last his malthouse in Truro contained 2,358 "Winchester bushels" of malt, the duty on which he had paid £304.11s.6d. His warehouse had been destroyed by fire together with the contents: Collector of Excise to allow John Nicholls Tom full amount of duty paid."
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under Major
Armstrong, with three junior officers and about one hundred men, met up with the magistrates and tracked Tom and his followers down to a clearing in Bossenden Wood. Tom's followers numbered between thirty and forty (a few having managed to escape after the killing of the constable), and,
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By
January 1838, Tom had fallen out with Mr Francis, and he spent the next few months riding through East Kent, relying on the hospitality of supporters. With promises of a better future, fairer distribution of wealth and greater equality, he attracted a following of agricultural labourers, artisans
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if they could not find work. Until the end of May, the activities of Tom and his small band of followers were entirely peaceful as they marched around the local countryside trying to drum up support amongst the workers. Some wealthier landowners were however becoming alarmed and, on 31 May 1838, a
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destroyed in the fire at his malthouse on 17 June 1828. In 1831 Tom received treatment from a surgeon for an "attack of insanity" but recovered sufficiently and the following spring sailed from Truro to
Liverpool with a cargo of malt. He wrote to his wife from Liverpool to tell her he had sold the
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Few of Tom's followers had been arrested at the scene of the battle, but some were picked up over the next few days. Thirty men and two women were arrested, and of these ten were tried for murder - two for the murder of the constable's brother and nine for the murder of
Bennett (with Thomas Mears
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Early on the morning of 31 May, the parish constable of
Boughton-under-Blean enlisted the help of his assistant and also of his brother, Nicholas Mears, and set off to find Tom. When they arrived at Bossenden Farm, where Tom and his followers were staying, Tom shot and killed Nicholas Mears. The
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Tom's family in Truro had heard about the trial and
Catherine Tom arrived in Maidstone in August to see if Courtenay was indeed her missing husband. He was produced by the governor of Maidstone Gaol and she made a positive identification. Although Tom always denied any connection with the Truro
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Although many people realized he was an imposter he nevertheless became a colourful and popular figure in the town, partly because he frequently made comical and insulting speeches directed at the unpopular mayor and magistrates of the city and the
Archbishop of Canterbury. In the December 1832
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When Tom was in his late twenties a series of personal disasters struck. His mother
Charity was removed to Cornwall Lunatic Asylum in 1827, and she died there. Then, in 1828, his business premises in Pydar Street burnt down. Tom claimed the insurance and was able to rebuild the premises. At the
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Local magistrates and politicians, especially Lord John
Russell, were attacked for their role in the affair. There were accusations that Sir Hussey Vivian had requested Tom's release in return for his father's vote. A parliamentary select committee was appointed and sat for three days in June.
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being charged with both). Thomas Mears and
William Price were convicted of the murder of the constable's brother, then the rest pleaded guilty. Thomas Mears and William Wills were transported for life, William Price for ten years, and the others received one year's imprisonment.
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malt, and wrote to her again from Birmingham to tell her he was going to France. Nothing more was heard from him until over a year later, when his family heard that a man who fitted his description and went by the name of Sir William Courtenay was being held in Maidstone prison.
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as showing "amazing common sense... far in advance of those generally held in his time", for example, regarding rents, taxation, the Irish problem, and corporal punishment, although he concedes that these "occasional shafts of light" were surrounded by "turgid nonsense".
149:. Eight issues of the paper were produced. Full of biblical quotations, it argued for the rights of the poor, expressed loyalty to the Crown, and was critical of the clergy, aristocracy, town corporations and Parliament. Tom's biographer described the views expressed in
80:. In 1821 he married Catherine Fisher Fulpitt, the daughter of a market gardener in Truro. Tom was a tall, strongly built and handsome man, who became well known in Truro for his considerable sporting skill as a cricketer. During a visit to London he joined the
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general election Liberal support in the town was so overwhelmingly strong that the Conservatives decided against fielding any candidates. Stung by jeers about being afraid to stand, some local Conservatives asked Tom to stand as an independent candidate for
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Tom was a model patient in the asylum, and in early 1837 the superintendent suggested to Catherine Tom that she should petition the Home Secretary for her husband's release. Tom's father in Truro brought his son's case to the attention of
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An inquest was held at the White Horse, Boughton, the Saturday after the battle, with the jury returning a verdict of "justifiable homicide" on the deaths of Tom and his followers. On the following Tuesday Tom was buried in
271:. The inn was besieged by souvenir and relic hunters, and the simply curious. The landlord of Red Lion claimed 20,000 people had visited the neighbourhood over the next few days. Tom's biographer describes public feeling:
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Tom stayed at school until he was eighteen and was then articled to solicitor Mr Paynter of St Columb. He decided, however, against a career in the law and left after three years. After a short spell as an innkeeper in
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family, Catherine Tom was believed. She told the authorities about her husband's previous attack of insanity; he was then examined by two surgeons who declared him of unsound mind. Tom was subsequently transferred to
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Barrister Frederick Liardet was sent to survey the area for the Central Society of Education, and a school and a church were built in Dunkirk. Journalists talked of the ignorance and moral degradation of the area.
117:, dressed in exotic costumes and wearing long hair and a beard. He put up at the Rose Inn at the junction of Rose Lane and the main street and went first by the name of Count
182:. In spite of the testimony of a number of character witnesses, the jury returned a verdict of guilty and Tom was sentenced to three months imprisonment and seven years
52:, Cornwall. He was baptised in the parish church on 10 November 1799. His parents were William and Charity Tom who kept the Joiners' Arms. Tom went to school in
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constable and his assistant fled. News of the murder reached the magistrates and soldiers were called out from the barracks at Canterbury. A detachment of the
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election but polled only a derisory three votes, including his own, and thereafter turned his attention to publishing a weekly paper,
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smugglers, acting as a witness for the defence. The smugglers were nevertheless convicted, and Tom himself was prosecuted for
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local magistrate, Dr Poore, issued a warrant for Tom's arrest for inciting workmen to leave their work.
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Tom's body, together with those of his followers who had been killed, was taken to the Red Lion Inn at
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and small-holders. In particular, he addressed their concerns about low wages, lack of work, and the
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in the August 1837 election. Vivian, after his election, took the matter up with the Home Secretary,
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The last rising of the agricultural labourers: rural life and protest in nineteenth-century England
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387:, Sessions held at Bodmin QS/1/11/370-397 15 July 1828, abstract at National Archives online,
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that Tom had actually been at church at the time he claimed to have witnessed events off the
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in 1926, 264p. illust. See "Ch.IX: John Nichols Tom, The Zealot", pp. 184–207.
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before Mr Justice Parke and a crowded court. Evidence was heard from the Vicar of
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he settled down as a clerk in the firm of Lubbock and Co, wine merchants of
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suggested a monument should be erected in memory of Courtenay's followers.
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on 15 July 1828, Tom applied successfully for the return of £304 paid in
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John Nichols Tom (or Thom) was born the son of innkeepers in 1799 at
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Battle in Bossenden Wood: the strange story of Sir William Courtenay
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At the beginning of March 1833, Thom intervened in the case of some
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170:. His trial took place on 25 July at the Kent Summer Assizes at
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The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Sir William Courtenay
141:, the Liberal candidates). He then decided to stand in the
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by His Honour Judge Edward Abbott Parry, published by
501:An Atlas of Rural protests in Britain, 1548-1900
125:and the Kentish estates of Sir Edward Hales.
64:, pastor of the local Congregational Church.
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322:List of people who have claimed to be Jesus
38:last battle to be fought on English soil
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245:, which ordered all able-bodied men to
210:, and Tom was granted a free pardon by
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757:19th-century English businesspeople
113:In September 1832 Thom arrived in
16:Cornish wine-merchant and maltster
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663:. London: Oxford University Press
732:English social justice activists
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499:J. Lowerson, ed. Charlesworth,
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722:Deaths by firearm in England
202:, the Liberal candidate for
742:People from St Columb Major
654:Breviary Stuff Publications
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697:History of Dunkirk in Kent
636:. Oxford: Clarendon Press
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747:Politicians from Cornwall
224:Battle of Bossenden Wood
678:Charles Scribner's Sons
400:Rogers: 7-8; Reay: 111.
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208:Lord John Russell
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