The Historical Market Town of Ormskirk was rocked to the core on Wednesday 20th October 1824 when a riot broke out in the town and shots were fired.
The trigger which led to no less that 2000 of the townsfolk taking part in the riot was the appointment to Deputy Constable at the Court Leet by the Jury Foreman, Harvey Wright, Attorney at Law, of Mr Thomas Howard, instead of the re-elected Deputy-Constable, Mr Derbyshire. The 12th Earl of Derby, as Lord of the Manor, was the Steward over the Court Leet and seemingly the remainder of the 12 -man jury took the dismissal of their elected Deputy very badly. The 12th Earl of Derby, Edward Smith-Stanley, was the Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire at this time. Famed for creating the Derby race meeting and marrying celebrated actress Elizabeth Farron in 1797, the Earl looked to the High Constable to maintain order. (The High Constable of Ormskirk in 1824 was Robert Barton).
The Jury was dismissed but as is the custom, the name of the new Deputy Constable was announced at the door of the Town Hall, Church Street, and all those who heard the announcement immediately responded with hisses and groans.
Jury Foreman Harvey Wright ordered the outgoing Deputy Constable. Mr Derbyshire, to give up his Staff of Office to Mr Howard. Derbyshire refused to obey the order at which point Wright ordered the newly appointed Deputy Constable, Mr Howard, to take the staff by force.
The court was dismissed and Harvey Wright left for his home on Aughton Street, but he was followed by a huge mob shouting and hissing after him. Wright was being bombarded with rocks and stones and had to take refuge in the store of Mr William Garside on the western side of Aughton Street. The only person who was there to help Wright escape the mob was town Surgeon Mr Henry William Ellis, (later to marry Wright’s second Daughter Mary) who himself was hit and injured by a rock and managed to drag Wright into the Garside shop.
The mob remained outside the shop and continued to yell and hurl missiles into the store and at one point a shot was fired which narrowly missed hitting Mr Wright in the chest.
The noise and shattering of plate glass must have woken Mr William Garside who was sleeping above his shop along with his wife Mary and young family, he came down and bravely confronted the mob begging them to consider his home and 7 young children who were all alarmed by the commotion. The mob moved away but only to set fire to a barrel of tar and roll it further down the street to Wright’s house where they placed it against the front door.
The barrel burnt quickly however and caused little damage, but the mob continued to march through the streets with blazing torches with the deposed Deputy Constable Mr Derbyshire raised on the shoulders of a few of crowd.
The rioting carried on for a good length of time, with local shopkeepers supplying the rioters with shot, crackers and squibs to keep the uproar going. None of the Jury, nor the town officials nor the newly elected Deputy Constable Howard made any attempt to calm the offenders. (Crackers and squibs were small sticks of explosive or firecrackers, the term ‘damp squib’ meaning one which didn’t work properly due to moisture.)
It was Saturday, 3 days later, when the town Constable and new Deputy finally made between 20 and 30 arrests, including Mr Derbyshire, the ex- Deputy Constable. All were bound over to the Quarter Sessions to answer to the charge of rioting. It seems strange that after such a huge number of people were reported to have taken part in several hours of rioting and causing mayhem in the town, only 20 or 30 arrests were made.
The case was heard at the Kirkdale Sessions, Epiphany, 31st January 1825. Harvey Wright was the Plaintiff, and the defendants were Robert Derbyshire; Thomas Moorcroft; Thomas Moor; James Lyon; James Crompton; Robert Worthington; William Heaton; William Clark; William Fyles; Joseph Bury and David Leatherbarrow. It was a Traverse Jury Trial, and all the men were found guilty and Riot and Assault.
Thomas Mort and Charles Pickavance were tried and found guilty of Assault.
James Stopforth and John Johnson were tried and found guilty of Riot. William Thompson; Thomas Thompson and Thomas Thomas along with John Dutton were tried and found guilty of Assault. Cuthbert Wright; James Fairhurst; Richard Fairhurst and Thomas Fairhurst; William Dixon Thomas Cropper and John Green were tried and found guilty of Riot. Samuel Sansom was tried and found guilty of Assault. All received gaol sentences.
Unfortunately for all the above men convicted, the Chairman of the Justices at the Epiphany Quarter Sessions held at Kirkdale on January 31st, 1825, was The Honourable Edward Bootle-Wilbraham of Lathom House, in 1824 the MP for Dover, it was 4 years before he was raised to the Peerage as Baron Skelmersdale.
Copyright Doat Broady Hawkes, this article appeared in the Ormskirk Advertiser, 31st July 2025