31/5/26 walk report
A nice walk with a great group.
Walk through the orchards and quiet lanes of Kent today, and it is hard to imagine the county as a landscape of rebellion. However, in the early nineteenth century, rural Kent witnessed two dramatic uprisings led not by political figures but by ordinary farm labourers. The Swing Riots of 1830 and the Battle of Bossenden Wood in 1838 were moments when the poorest workers stood up against the forces reshaping their lives.
By the 1820s, pressures on rural families were mounting. Enclosure had fenced off common land that once provided firewood, grazing and a degree of independence. Wages were falling, rents were rising, and the arrival of the threshing machine threatened the winter work labourers relied on to survive. For many, mechanisation was not progress but a direct threat to their livelihoods.
Special welcome to those who were on their first walk and hope to see you again soon.
The weather was sunny and warm - as we passed the battle of Bossenden wood the last peasants revolt where 6 labourers were killed by troops sent from Canterbury to quell the riot on this day 31 May 1838.
Also saw radar emplacements from the the more recent conflict of WW2.
A memorial to the dead was seen in the Church at Herne Hill our lunch stop.
Then passed through Mount Ephraim gardens where a memorial festival for the bossenden wood event was being held. (our leader attended later in the day )
Regarding Battle of Bossenden wood the theme of the walk. Here is a link if want further information.
The background context of the battle was the impact of new Poor Law and it has been linked with the Swing riots.[1]
