One of the things I am interested in is times in Radstock when the Riot Act was read. It happened in 1817 and other times too. What happened was a specially worded document would be read out in full by a Magistrate or official and if the crowd didn't disperse within an hour they would be guilty of a felony punishable by death. They read it in the movie Peterloo we watched the other day. In 1817 it was enforced in Radstock by the 23rd Lancers and the North Somerset Yeomanry from Frome. The Riot Act was brought in in 1714 and was repealed in 1967. Wiki on the Riot Act.
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| Waterloo movie |
