In April 1819, a notice was posted up in one of Blandford’s main shops. It stated that a fifty Guineas bet had been wagered that a newly invented and fashionable hobby horse would make the journey from London to the Crown Hotel, Blandford quicker than the mail coach. The hobby horse was the forerunner of the bicycle. It was invented in France in 1817 and introduced into England the following year. It had no pedals or brakes and was propelled along by the rider pushing on the ground with his feet and dragging the feet to slow the machine down. From about an hour before the mail coach was due to arrive in Blandford, a large crowd began to gather outside the Crown Hotel to witness the event. However, upon the arrival of the mail coach, it was discovered the whole thing was a hoax. A small boy appeared carrying a placard on a pole which read, ‘This is the first of April!’ That year fashionable society had become gripped by the new craze of hobby horse riding.
Bridport’s bread riots were unusual for their times because they featured three female rioters. They were Elizabeth Phillips (25), Susan Saunders (22) and Hannah Powell (21) and all three were twine spinners. Twine spinning was part of the rope making process. The riots took place on 23rd April 1816 when hundreds of Bridport people came onto the streets to protest against the high price of bread. In the previous twelve months wheat prices had doubled with the consequential effects on bread prices. This was caused by an extremely poor harvest. Wages were particularly low in Dorset and many men returning from the Napoleonic Wars could not find employment. The weather that year was bad such that the year became known as ‘eighteen hundred and freeze to death!’ Bakers were a particular target because they had a reputation for corruption. As it was usually the women who bought bread they probably knew which bakers overcharged and provided short measure. Some of the Bridport bakers had t...