The Nottingham Cheese Riot - 2nd October 1766

The Nottingham Cheese Riot, also known as the Great Cheese Riot, started on 2nd October 1766 at the city’s Goose Fair.

Coming at a time of great food shortage and rising prices in England, violent scenes took place to stop Lincolnshire merchants taking away Nottinghamshire cheeses bought at the fair. 

That summer was not a particularly good one for agriculture in the British Isles. Ireland had undergone a famine and production was well down in England, causing a major hike in food prices. Usually the Goose Fair was a time of celebration and revelry amongst the local people, but things were very different that year with food shortages and price rises. 

Indeed the price of cheese had pretty much doubled overnight and there were rumours that traders were on their way from Lincolnshire to buy the entire stock of cheese to take back with them. This infuriated the locals who considered that it should only be sold to Nottinghamshire people or at least they should get first refusal.

When the visiting merchants arrived they were accosted by a group called the “rude-lads” who demanded that the cheese remain locally which led to all-out chaos. They began attacking and ransacking the stalls and distributed the cheeses to the crowd. 

Being barrel-shaped the cheese could easily be rolled, and soon they were being propelled down the street. Generic looting took place with windows being broken and general damage to property. 

So the cheese owners set up a posse who arrested many of the “rude-lads” putting them in prison. This angered the mob even more who stormed the jail insisting upon their release and they did not disperse until they were all let go.

The next day the army were brought in to try and quell the riot, but the unrest continued for several days. Eventually wagon loads of cheese were removed from Nottingham under armed escort to keep the rioting crowds at bay.

In 2016 the city of Nottingham proudly celebrated the 250th anniversary of the Great Cheese Riot.