Catalogue description Folio(s) 392-398. Letter from the Earl of Hardwicke [Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire]...

Folio(s) 392-398. Letter from the Earl of Hardwicke [Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire] enclosing threatening letters passed to him by the Bishop of Ely who had in turn received them from the Reverend William Metcalf, the magistrate to whom they had been addressed.

Enclosed is an anonymous note or fragment questioning the legality of the behaviour of flour-sellers and bakers.

Also enclosed is an anonymous note or fragment stating that the effigy of a baker in Downham [Downham Market], Norfolk, had been burnt last Saturday as a warning of the fate facing 'the rest of his fraternity'.

Also enclosed is a letter [of 8 March 1800] to Metcalf and the other magistrates of Ely asking how poor people are to live in the face of increased food prices, forecasting fire, cries in the night, and assassinations. Parsons and villainous framers will suffer great damage.

Also enclosed is a letter of 20 September 1800 to Metcalf taking issue with the magistrates' opinion in their handbill that the actions of the poor people were self-defeating, stating that, for those who are starving, corn might as well be burnt as be locked away by farmers. The writer urges the magistrates to petition Government, letting them know the extent of discontent, so that trade in England can once again flourish. Verso an account showing a week's earnings in the winter season as 6s 9d, contrasted with expenses of 14s 0½d (2 stone of flour 9s 8d, 1 lb butter 1s 1d, sundries 3s 3½d).

Also enclosed is a printed handbill dated 16 September 1800 for publication in the Hundred of Ely and the South Part of the Hundred of Witchford, signed by magistrates Peploe Ward, Thomas Waddington, John Swaine, William Metcalfe, John Vachell and Thomas Page, condemning riot but lamenting the distress of the poor and urging landlords and farmers to send corn to market and to sell it to millers and bakers at reasonable prices.