Series of outbreaks of public disorder, which spread across England during the spring, summer and autumn of 1710
The Sacheverell riots were among the most serious episodes of public disorder in eighteenth-century England, targeting Dissenter meeting-houses amid Anglican and Tory grievances.
Key Facts
- Duration
- Spring, summer and autumn of 1710
- Primary targets
- Dissenter homes and meeting-houses, esp. Presbyterian
- Political alignment of rioters
- Tory supporters attacking Whig-aligned Dissenters
- Refugee influx cited as grievance
- Approximately 10,000 Calvinist refugees from Germany
- Subsequent related riots
- Coronation riots (1714) and Rebellion riots (1715)
- Historical severity ranking
- Among most serious disorders until anti-Catholic protests of 1780
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Anglican dissatisfaction with the growing toleration of Independent, Baptist, and Presbyterian chapels fuelled resentment toward the Whig government. Grievances included high taxation from the War of the Spanish Succession, the sudden arrival of around 10,000 Calvinist German refugees, and the rise of the merchant 'monied interest', all seen as threatening the established church and social order.
During spring, summer, and autumn of 1710, Tory supporters carried out a series of attacks across England on the homes and meeting-houses of Dissenters, especially Presbyterians, whose congregations were associated with the Whig cause. The riots spread widely and are considered among the most serious outbreaks of public disorder in eighteenth-century England.
The riots demonstrated the depth of popular Anglican and Tory opposition to religious toleration and Whig governance. Related violence targeting Presbyterian chapels recurred in the Coronation riots of 1714 and the Rebellion riots of 1715, with the Sacheverell and Rebellion riots collectively regarded as the gravest disorder of the century until the anti-Catholic protests of 1780.
Political Outcome
Widespread destruction of Dissenter meeting-houses and property across England; deepened Tory-Whig sectarian tensions without a formal political resolution.
Whig government with policy of Dissenter toleration
Increased political pressure on Whig administration amid popular Tory and Anglican unrest