Stour Valley riots

The Stour Valley riots, also known as the Anti-Popery riots, occurred across southern East Anglia in 1642, particularly around the River Stour near the Essex-Suffolk border. These disturbances were driven by multiple factors, including high unemployment due to the decline of the cloth industry and wool trade, with former clothworkers playing a central role. Economic anxieties about wealthy Catholic families and fears of a Papal plot to restore Catholicism in England further fueled tensions. The region was predominantly Puritan, and the riots coincided with the collapse of royal authority preceding the English Civil War.

Prominent targets included Sir John Lucas, a suspected Catholic, and Countess Rivers, a known recusant. The first major incident happened in Colchester in August 1642, where Lucas's house was attacked. Rioting spread within a 20-mile radius, targeting Catholics, their sympathizers, and Royalists. Churches with Laudian clergy or High Church features were also vandalized.

Crowds of several thousand participated, with Parliamentary authorities publicly condemning the violence while leveraging it to assert control through loyal gentry. Sir Nicholas Barnardiston led efforts to pacify crowds and raised troops for Parliament in the Civil War. Arms were confiscated from Royalists, notably during a search of Hengrave Hall. Melford Hall was attacked by a crowd from Long Melford, and Dr. Robert Warren's home was destroyed.

Few records of the riots exist from the Privy Council, reflecting weak royal authority at the time. The unrest subsided in late 1642 as the civil war expanded across England.