The Birmingham Priestley Riots of 1791
RHHS Meeting February 2014
The Society's first speaker for 2014 was Dr. Chris Upton. Dr. Upton is Reader in Public History at Newman University, Birmingham, specialising in the history of the West Midlands region. St. Kenelm's Church Hall was full to hear his talk on The Birmingham Priestley Riots of 1791. In recent years Birmingham has been no stranger to riots but the circumstances of the riots at the end of the 18th century were rather unusual.
In 1789 the French Revolution had taken place and the citizens of this country were very worried for the well being of the Church of England and the Monarchy. There had been many changes in religion and politics at that time and Birmingham, a growing industrial town with its fair share of wealthy elite intellectuals with their new ideas, was as vulnerable as most.
Joseph Priestley, a Dissenter, scientist and philosopher came to Birmingham as a minister of the New Meeting House. He was a member of the Lunar Society along with Matthew Boulton and James Watt. Among other things Priestley was credited with discovering oxygen, however, it was his books and pamphlets advocating toleration and equal rights for religious dissenters that made him very unpopular with the down to earth Birmingham folk.
On 14th July 1791, the second anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, several supporters of the French Revolution decided to hold a dinner at a hotel in the centre of Birmingham. Word of this event soon spread and an angry mob attacked the hotel thinking that Joseph Priestley was inside. Priestley was elsewhere, so the rioters moved on to burn down the New Meeting House and then they attacked his house in Sparkbrook but not before they had consumed the contents of his cellar. During the next four days they then went on to burn down the homes of other Dissenters and very little was done to stop them.
Joseph Priestley, wisely, decided to leave Birmingham and take his new ideas to America where he died in 1804. Birmingham recovered and in later years even erected a statue to him as founder of Unitarianism.
Chris Upton's talk was informative and entertaining, illustrated with many photographs which gave us an unusual glimpse of Birmingham's past.
Pat Evans