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Kidd Wake, 1796
D2454/1/9
Seen here in the uniform of the Gloucester Penitentiary, Kidd Wake was a married Gosport bookbinder and printer who shouted “No King, No War” at George III whilst the latter was driving to open Parliament on 29 October 1795. Wake was one of many demonstrators protesting against increased taxation and widespread food shortages that had been brought about by the start of the French Revolutionary War. The crowd were demanding bread and peace and some hurled stones at the Royal Carriage. The government responded to the incident by suspending the ’habeas corpus’ (allowing suspected agitators to be imprisoned without trial) and enacting two new laws; the Treasonable Practices Bill (which declared the act of merely speaking or writing against the King or Government to be treason) and the Seditious Meetings Bill (which forbade most political meetings). Wake was one of 5 people arrested as a result and was detained at Bow Street in London until being tried on 20 February 1796. He was sentenced to 5 years hard labour in solitary confinement, including standing in the pillory for 1 hour on market day for the first 3 months of sentence, plus a fine of £1,000 to ensure good conduct for 10 years after discharge (approximately £56,000 today). Gloucester was used on several occasions to house political prisoners during the late 1700s and early 1800s because it was a new building and had a number of separate cells allowing prisoners to be isolated. He remained in the city until his release on 7 May 1801.
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