The Crieff Riot of 1780
The decade between 1771 and 1781 saw
considerable civil disruption throughout the towns and villages of Perthshire and Fife The reason was primarily a succession
of crop failures and an acute
shortage of meal – the staff
of life – for the vast majority of the populous . Traditionally grain
was exported abroad ( mainly to Europe ) from the Fair City and a one particular incident seemed to act as a catalyst to civic
unrest . A sloop was loading at the harbour with vast quantities of this
precious cargo . In a short time the whispers began to circulate around the loom shops
of the starving weavers .
On the night of December
30th 1772 , men began to
collect in numerous small groups and
then began to saunter casually past the Speygate, along beside the South Inch
and then towards the port. By ten o’clock a large crowd had arrived at the
sloop and proceeded to board it. The crew made no resistance and the mob set to
work removing the grain from the hold. The magistrates were informed of the
affair and with a number of citizens made their way to the New Shore but were ignored by the mob. They
quickly dispatched a message to the small force of military stationed in the
town but by the time that they arrived the men had disappeared. About 2½ ton of
bear ( barley ) had been looted. The magistrates left a small guard over the
sloop and retired to bed. All was quiet until about three in the morning when
the rioters reappeared and attacked the shop of a baker, John Smith. His stock
of meal, flour and bread were ransacked but before the business could be
completed, the military appeared and two of the rioters were captured and
placed in the town jail.
The next day, New Year’s
day, there were still angry groups of men discussing the imprisonment of their
friends. As evening came they massed in the High Street and started to advance
towards the Old Tolbooth at the bottom of the street. This time the council and
magistrates were ready. A detachment of infantry were stationed in front of the
Tollbooth with a couple of cannon in their midst. For all this display of power
the mob advanced pelting the soldiers and the Provost with stones. It was at
this stage that the Provost read the Riot Act.
The soldiers loaded their
muskets with ball cartridges and the cannon with grape- shot but no command to
fire was given. Either through fear or common humanity, the Provost at the last
moment decided to agree to the rioter’s demands; the two prisoners were
released from the jail and delivered to their friends. There were shouts of
triumph from the rioters and the crowds started to disperse. For a short
time things quietened down but else where there
arose strong rumblings of
discontent . In Perth a meeting of
the “Justices and Heritors “ was hastily convened . Remember
that this was some 60 years
before the Reform Acts were passed
bringing the right of electoral
representation to the British middle
classes . In the 1770s the law was passed and indeed administered
by the chosen few . It was the lairds and the aristocracy , both minor and major , who
controlled what was to happen in
the unhappy event of civil disruption .
The heavy hand of justice came thundering down ! On the
19th of January 1773 , the “ Justices and Heritors “ made their move , The statement issued was proclaimed with the intention of diffusing any
discontent that may have been in the air .
“That this ( the quelling of mobs ) may be done in an orderly and effectual
manner , a signal shall be made at Perth
– in case the mob proceeds from thence – by firing a cannon once every five minutes for an hour at least ; and in case it proceeds from any other place , by ringing of the Parish bell , as
well as by sending
notice from one place to another
. That as soon as such signals are heard
or notice given , the same shall
be further communicated by ringing the
Parish bells of the other Parishes who
perceive the same , and the Minister and precentor of such
Parish shall take care the bells be so
wrung upon such signals and notices ,
and all noblemen , gentlemen , and other heritors , with their tenants , servants and dependants
, shall thereupon assemble at the respective Parish churches , mounted on horseback , so
far as they have horses , and armed ( at
least with clubs or stout sticks ) ;
after which they are to repair to the
place where such mobs are , or if they have information thereof ,
they are to repair to the North Inch of Perth, where they will
be joined by the Sheriff , with His Majesty’s forces ,
and to receive directions where to proceed “ .
“ The meeting recommended the resolutions to be read to the different congregations
on the two subsequent Sundays .
These things show in what a
dangerous state society existed , and the use that can be made of a Minister and precentor “
Crieff is but
seventeen miles from Perth and in the
1780s was certainly not the douce Victorian spa that
was reflected in the holiday guides of 20th century Perthshire . On the
16th December 1780 , five of its citizens had
decided enough was enough . James
Maxtone , stocking maker , James Fisher and David Campbell his apprentices , another James Fisher , an
apprentice weaver and William Ross , day
labourer of Pittenzie all gathered with a
large crowd of others to break into the house
of William McLellan , meal seller
, whom they believed to be
hoarding meal . They grabbed the unfortunate McLellan and dragged him
out of his house and shoved
him onto a cart before carrying
him through the streets of Crieff . The
procession wended its way down what is
now North Bridge Street
to the banks of the Earn . At the
edge of the water the cart with the poor
Mclellan was propelled into the murky deep . The meal hoarder found himself in danger of drowning and only the prompt action of young Campbell saved what
could have been a fatality .
Things settled
adown and the mob dispersed . A
few days later the authorities arrested
Maxtone , both Fishers , Campbell and Ross . On the 12th of February
they appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh indicted
by the King’s advocate . On the
account of the non appearance of a
material witness , the case was adjourned till the 19th and
eventually the jury returned with their
findings . Maxtone and the younger
Fisher were discharged as a result
of that Scottish speciality “ Not Proven” ! All the others were found
guilty . Campbell and the older Fisher
were recommended for mercy
and released with a suitable caution . Ross was the
unfortunate . After being kept in prison in Auld Reekie he was sent to Perth
and lodged in the prison there . On the first market day he was publically whipped through the streets and set at liberty , after which, with in twenty
days , he was bound to leave
Scotland , “never to return on pain of
being whipped and banished as often as he shall found to be in Scotland “
And they say things get wild on Games Night !
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