The Spa Fields riots prompted high treason prosecutions of radical Spenceans, exposing government use of spies and ending in acquittals that weakened official credibility.
Key Facts
- Date of second meeting
- 2 December 1816
- Date of first meeting
- 15 November 1816
- Defendants charged
- 4 (Hooper, Preston, Thistlewood, Watson)
- Key prosecution witness
- John Castle, a government spy
- Trial outcome
- All four defendants acquitted or released
- Target locations raided/attempted
- Tower of London, Bank of England, Royal Exchange
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Economic hardship and demands for electoral reform drove mass popular discontent in post-Napoleonic England. A small group of revolutionary Spenceans exploited this mood by organizing mass meetings at Spa Fields, Islington, hoping to use crowd unrest as cover for seizing key government institutions including the Tower of London and the Bank of England.
At the second Spa Fields meeting on 2 December 1816, Spencean agitators harangued the crowd before the scheduled speaker Henry Hunt arrived, then led a faction away. The rioters broke into a gunsmith's shop, exchanged fire with troops near the Royal Exchange, and caused further disorder at Snow Hill and Minories. Their attempt to seize the Tower of London failed when soldiers refused entry and the rioters dispersed.
Four Spencean leaders were arrested and charged with high treason. At trial, the key prosecution witness John Castle was exposed as an unreliable government spy; his evidence was discredited, Watson was acquitted, and the charges against the remaining three defendants were dropped. The outcome damaged the government's credibility and highlighted the controversial use of informers to suppress political dissent.
Political Outcome
All four defendants (Hooper, Preston, Thistlewood, Watson) acquitted or released after prosecution witness John Castle was discredited at trial.