Battle of Bossenden Wood

Scene at Bossenden Wood drawn by an eyewitness, expressly for the Penny Satirist

Courtenay

The Battle of Bossenden Wood, also known as the Battle of Bosenden Wood, took place on 31 May 1838 near Hernhill in Kent; it has been called the last battle on English soil.

The battle was between a small army of labourers from the Hernhill, Dunkirk, and Boughton area and a detachment of soldiers sent from Canterbury to arrest the marchers' leader, the self-styled Sir William Courtenay, who was actually John Nichols Thom, a Truro maltster with a history of mental illness. Eleven men died in this battle, nine rioters and two of those sent to apprehend them.

Background

In early 1838, Courtenay began to preach to the labourers of the nearby area, claiming that he was the Messiah and, if they would join him, he would lead them to a land of paradise. The local peasantry responded well to these claims; as one farm labourer later explained:

...he giv' 'em all the sacrament, and after that he anoints himself and all of 'em with oil, and tells 'em that then no bullet nor nothing could harm 'em; - and Sir William, he sat upon the ground with his back against a tree like, and there was all the women crying and praying to him, and they says to him, "Now do tell us if you be our blessed Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ". And says he, "I am he"; – and then he shows 'em the mark of the nails in his hands which was made when he was put on the cross.

Such behaviour upset the local authorities; fearing reprisals, Courtenay organised his followers into an armed band on 29 May and began to travel through Kent, seeking to raise popular support for his attempted uprising. Although the local people responded favourably, Courtenay was unable to attract more than forty men, mostly armed with cudgels.

This attracted a response from the authorities, who decided that Courtenay must be apprehended. An attempt on 30 May failed when one of the party coming to arrest Courtenay was shot and stabbed to death. The magistrates of Kent responded by summoning military support.

Battle

The end of Courtenay's campaign came at Bossenden Wood, on the afternoon of 31 May. The 45th Foot surrounded Courtenay's position and the leader of the force, Lieutenant Henry Boswell Bennett approached Courtenay to ask him to surrender; Courtenay's response was to shoot him. This caused the soldiers to open fire on Courtenay's forces and, in a matter of minutes, the uprising had been crushed, with nine dead, including Courtenay and Bennett, and a number of serious injuries, which were to prove fatal for a further three combatants.

Rioters

A list of rioters killed in the Battle of Bosenden, found in Hernhill churchyard. John Nichols Thom is listed as John Tom. An Edward Wraight is listed as killed, but the name Edward Wraight was also used as an alias of one of the survivors.

The survivors of the riots (known as 'the Canterbury Rioters') were taken prisoner and committed for trial.

• Thomas Mears alias Tyler (the cousin of the murdered constable),
• Alexander Foad
• William Nutting
• William Price.
• James Goodwin
• William Wills
• William Spratt
• John Spratt
• John Silk
• Edward Curling
• Samnuel Edwards
• Sarah Culver
• Thomas Myers alias Edward Wraight
• Charles Hills
• Thomas Ovenden
• William Coachworth (During the battle, Coachworth was hit in the neck by a ricocheting bullet, which ended up in his mouth. He and three others were charged with complicity in the murder of Lt. Bennett. Of the fifteen accused, Coachman was one of seven discharged.)
• Thomas Griggs
• William Foad
• Richard Foreman.

Further reading

• Barry Reay The Last Rising of the Agricultural Labourers: Rural Life and Protest in Nineteenth-century England (London: Breviary Stuff Publications, 2010) ISBN 978-0-9564827-2-3.

References

• Parry, [His Honor Judge] Edward Abbott Vagabonds All (New York: Charles Scribners' Sons, 1926), 264p., illus. See "Chapter IX: John Nichols Tom, the Zealot", p. 184-207.
• Rogers, P.G. Battle in Bossenden Wood: The Strange Story of Sir William Courtenay" (London: Oxford University Press, Readers Union, 1962), 241p., illus.

External links

• John-Thom.com - For Courtenay History, Detailed Information and Articles
• http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/daveforeman/foreman/index.html (Bossenden wood riot)