In 1647 the celebration of Christmas was declared by Parliament to be a punishable offence. In Canterbury, attempts to enforce this led to discord, rebellion, and violence that erupted in a series of riots.
On Wednesday 22nd December 1647 the Canterbury Town Crier declared that Christmas Day would be a normal market day. The mayor ordered the shops to open as usual.
However, on Christmas Day one church in the High Street held a service in defiance of Parliament’s decree. The mayor moved in and broke up the service. It was alleged that he beat some of those present, including women and children. The incident was described in an anonymous tract published at the time entitled: The Declaration of Many Thousands of the City of Canterbury, or County of Kent. Concerning the late tumult in the City of Canterbury, provoked by the mayor’s violent proceedings against those who desired to continue the celebration of Christ’s Nativity, 1500 years and upwards maintained in the Church.
The mayor’s determined efforts to suppress the Christmas celebrations, and his insistence that the shops open for trade as usual, stirred the citizens to rebellion. A mob attacked the open shops, scattering and breaking their goods.
The mayor and his officials attempted to restore peace, but he was jeered and his men jostled, and the mob set about breaking the shop windows of known Puritans. When night came the mob disbursed. The following day was a Sunday and so peace held.
On Monday morning the mayor placed a guard on the city gates. Later that day there was an altercation between a man entering the city and the captain of the guard. The captain drew his pistol and shot and wounded the man. Word soon spread through the city that someone had been murdered. People from the city and the local countryside came out, armed with clubs. The mob took control of the town hall and released the prisoners held in the jail. Several citizens attempted to take control of the city and set a guard on the gates.
These events were described in an anonymous account from 1648 entitled: Canterbury Christmas: or a true relation of the insurrection in Canterbury on Christmas Day last, with the great hurt that befell divers persons thereby.
The rebellions was reported to Parliament by the local County Committee, who were then ordered to make an investigation. Members of the Committee approached the City with an armed force, breaking down the gates and part of the city wall to gain entry. They arrested the supposed ring leaders and imprisoned them in Leeds Castle, Kent.
On the orders of Parliament, a trial was held at Canterbury Castle on 11th May 1648 to try those believed to be responsible. The proposed punishment was death. However, the jury refused to bring in a verdict and the trial was adjourned. The jury than quickly put together a petition demanding the restoration of the monarchy. This led to a wider Kentish rebellion, which was part of the beginning of the second English Civil War.
By Christopher Skingley, a U3A Shared Learning Project researcher for the Citizens Project
