The Tower in a state of siege. (BM 1868,0808.9287)

Above the design: 'The Dreadful Riots of November 1830'. A mob, chiefly of women and children, assails the Tower, the outer battlements of which are defended by soldiers; the embrasures bristle with cannon, and the commander declares 'We will never Surrender'. Clouds of smoke or dust divide these (small) figures and the White Tower from the mob in the foreground, who are unarmed except for the pea-shooters and wooden swords of little boys, and the chamber-pots of one or two women. A fat fellow with eggs shouts 'Nothing like Rotten Eggs'. A woman with two buckets says: 'Get your Squirts ready here . . . Stuff.' A man prepares to hurl the contents of a bucket, saying, 'here's some that will stick by you'. A child says: 'Here I come with plenty of Peas'. Others shout 'Peas' and 'More Peas'. A ragged man spits, saying, 'here is some of Wisharts best Shagg'. Other shouts are: 'Let the Women have plenty of Gin we shall do them'; 'We will make you Reform'; 'heres plenty of rotten Oranges for nothing'. November 1830
Lithograph