In 1840, the British newspaper The Times described how west London ‘appears as one besieged, the shops being shut and the windows of the houses barricaded with hurdles to prevent them being destroyed. Numerous accidents happen, no person while walking the streets being free from danger.’ What was the newspaper referring to?
Answer: The Times was referring to the annual shrove Tuesday football match which took place in Kingston-upon-Thames. While a much loved tradition for its participants, it seemed to everyone else little more than an excuse for rowdy, violent behavior in which heads and windows, and anything else that got in the way, were broken or otherwise roughly handled.
Source: Hard Men – Violence in England since 1750 by Clive Emsley
