1-192-782 - © London Museum/Heritage-Images

Riot in Broad Street, London, 1780, (1790). A mob looting a house, cheered on from the windows of nearby buildings, is confronted by a disciplined formation of soldiers. This riot on 7th June, 1780, formed part of the Gordon Riots. Lord George Gordon, a retired navy lieutenant, was strongly opposed to proposals for Catholic Emancipation. On 2nd June, 1780, Gordon led a crowd of 50,000 people to the House of Commons to present a petition for the repeal of the 1778 Roman Catholic Relief Act, that had removed certain disabilities. This demonstration turned into a riot and for the next five days many Catholic chapels and private houses were destroyed. Other buildings attacked and damaged included the Bank of England, King's Bench Prison, Newgate Prison and Fleet Prison.