Part of the
Acorn Archive
Hearts of Oak
The Newlyn
Riots 1896
The Navy is
sent to Mount’s Bay
Back to Newlyn Riots main page
From The History of The Cornwall Constabulary
by P J Hutchings.
On the 18 May 1896 matters came to a head
when the local men prevented the Lowestoft fishermen from landing the fish
caught over the week-end. The affair was carefully planned. Early that morning
the village of Newlyn was astir. About a thousand men and women gathered at the
end of the south pier and made their way to the head of the pier where a dozen
or so East boats lay moored. Twenty or thirty men boarded the first of the
boats, sent the crew ashore and without much ado threw the whole catch of fish
from the hold into the harbour. This wasteful procedure was continued through
the whole range of boats with the crowd getting more and more excited. Some
coastguards, who had tried to interfere, were told to mind their own business.
To have used any force in an attempt to stop the rioters would have meant a dip
in the harbour with the fish. Not content with the damage already committed,
some men turned their attention to three larger boats which were anchored just
outside the harbour. Some gigs were manned and rowed out to the trawlers. The
crews were overwhelmed and the boats brought inside the harbour where the
cargoes of fish were also thrown overboard. Altogether it was estimated that
one hundred thousand mackerel had been deliberately thrown into the sea.
Although some fifteen or sixteen boats had been seized, there were still thirty
to forty vessels which had not reached Newlyn. Messages were sent by the
rioters to Porthleven, Mousehole and St. Ives asking for support, Mousehole and
Newlyn harbours were closed for the day. Needless to say, so were the fish
markets.
Soon after the row commenced a message was
sent to Inspector Matthews at Chyandour Police Station and he thought it
advisable to inform Superintendent Coombe, Camborne, of the circumstance.
Within a few hours, a strong contingent of police from all parts of West
Cornwall gathered at Newlyn. A magistrate and his clerk were also present. The
question of reading the Riot Act was discussed but, as tension had somewhat
eased and a large number of East Coast men were still at sea, it was not read.
As about a hundred Lowestoft boats were still at sea, the magistrate thought it
advisable to dispatch the harbour master in a small steamer to warn the
skippers not to attempt to land their catches at Newlyn. This came to the
notice of the Newlyn men, who gave chase in a trawler, but were outdistanced.
Tension continued throughout the day and during the afternoon the Porthleven
fleet of fishing boats arrived at Newlyn with their crews pledging support.
The following day, some skirmishes occurred
between the fishermen and the police. In the first fracas, Inspector Matthews
received a nasty cut on the side of his head by a fish box thrown by one of the
fishermen. The police were hopelessly outnumbered but, on drawing their truncheons,
they were not molested.
Later that day, the scene shifted to
Penzance when some six or seven "Yorkies", who had eluded the Newlyn
men in Mount's Bay, were seen heading for Penzance harbour. This was the signal
for about two or three hundred of the rioters to hurry to Penzance to prevent
the landing of the fish there. They were met by a detachment of the Penzance
Borough Police under the command of Superintendent Nicholas and a few special
constables. The police drew their staves and hit out right and left. The crowd,
finding they were up against it, retreated. Strangely enough, the police were
supported by a crowd of Penzance youths who assisted in clearing the rioters out
of the town back into the County Police area. Their defeat at Penzance did not
improve the tempers of the fishermen. With the arrival of the entire St. Ives
fishing fleet, with several hundred more men to support them, the situation was
very serious.
Meanwhile, owing to the serious trend of
affairs, the assistance of the military had been invoked. Shortly after six
o'clock, between three and four hundred men of the 2nd Berkshire Regiment
arrived by special train at Penzance. The soldiers were met by die Justices and
Colonel Gilbert. They marched to their temporary barracks at Wherrytown,
accompanied by a tremendous crowd. The arrival of the military had little
influence on the Newlyn men. A large number strolled along the road between
Newlyn and Wherrytown and this was the cause of a very serious disturbance. The
Penzance crowd, containing a large number of Lowestoft fishermen, met them near
Lareggan river and a very determined fight took place. On one side were the
Newlyn, Porthleven and St. Ives men, on the other the Lowestoft and Penzance
men. Sticks, stones and fists were used—nothing barred. Several men were
injured, one or two seriously. There was a strong force of police there, almost
a hundred men under Superintendents Coombe and Bassett, but they could not gain
control and were the targets for stones and other missiles. By eight o'clock
the situation was so serious that Inspector Matthews was sent to enlist the aid
of the military. The soldiers were immediately turned out and marched to Newlyn
accompanied by several hundred Penzance people. On crossing Newlyn Bridge, they
were jeered by the fishermen, who made way for them. A few stones were thrown
but there were no serious incidents. The soldiers marched on to the south pier
and occupied it.
Whilst the Military were thus engaged, a
torpedo destroyer from Plymouth arrived and her commander came ashore to see
what assistance he could render. Shortly after, three more destroyers anchored
in Mount's Bay.
The authorities persuaded the Lowestoft men
to man their boats and leave the port. The Newlyn men hung around until a late
hour but the presence of the soldiers and the warships had a very salutary
effect, and no further disturbances occurred.
Raymond
Forward