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List of massacres in Great Britain

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Inclusion criteria

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This is a list of massacres that have occurred in the purely geographical definition of the island of Great Britain and minor outlying islands and excludes Northern Ireland and massacres in Ireland before independence.[1]

List

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Date Name Location Deaths Injuries Notes
60 or 61 AD Boudica's attacks on Roman cities Camulodunum (modern-day Colchester), Londinium (modern-day London), Verulamium (modern-day St Albans) 70,000–80,000 (Mostly Britons) Forces led by Boudica, Queen of the Iceni tribe, massacred both Romans and Britons in Camulodunum, Londinium and Verulamium. Her forces were later defeated by the Romans at the Battle of Watling Street.[2]
633–634 Cadwallon ap Cadfan's occupation of Northumbria Northumbria Unknown King Cadwallon ap Cadfan of Gwynedd, defeated and occupied the Kingdom of Northumbria after allying with King Penda of Mercia.

Bede describes Cadwallon's actions during the occupation, stating "though he bore the name and professed himself a Christian, was so barbarous in his disposition and behaviour, that he neither spared the female sex, nor the innocent age of children, but with savage cruelty put them to tormenting deaths, ravaging all their country for a long time, and resolving to cut off all the race of the English within the borders of Britain".[3]

Cadwallon's occupation ended when he was killed at the Battle of Heavenfield.

13 November 1002 St. Brice's Day massacre Territory of England under Anglo-Saxon control Unknown The St. Brice's Day massacre was the extermination of immigrant Danes, their families and descendants, including those of mixed Danish and Anglo-Saxon descent on orders of the Anglo-Saxon King Æthelred the Unready[4] and took place in remaining territory in his control in what is now England, at a time England was subject to Danelaw. Gunhilde sister of Sweyn Forkbeard, the King of Denmark was a victim along with her husband Pallig Tokesen[5]
1066 Harald Hardrada's attack on Scarborough Scarborough No survivors Attack by Vikings led by Harald Hardrada and Tostig Godwinson. A prelude to the Battle of Stamford Bridge and ultimately the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Scarborough was subsequently absent from the Domesday Book.
1069–1070 Harrying of the North The North of England between the Humber and the Tees 100,000 William the Conqueror's men burnt whole villages and slaughtered the inhabitants. Foodstores and livestock were destroyed so that anyone surviving the initial massacre would starve over the winter.[6][7]
October 1136 Massacre of Norman, English, and Flemish Settlers Cardigan and surrounding areas 10,000[8] Following the victory of Gwynedd and Deheubarth over the Norman forces at the Battle of Crug Mawr, the Welsh targeted the foreign settler population. Many fled to the fortified town of Cardigan for safety, which was subsequently taken and burned by the Welsh.[9]
16 March 1190 Massacre of the Jews at York[10] York, England 150 "A wave of anti-Semitic riots culminated in the massacre of an estimated 150 Jews – the entire Jewish community of York – who had taken refuge in the royal castle where Clifford's Tower now stands. The chronicler William of Newburgh described the rioters in York as acting 'without any scruple of Christian conscientiousness' in wiping out the Jewish community."[11][12]
30 March 1296 Massacre of Berwick Berwick-upon-Tweed, Scotland (at the time) 7,500–16,000 unknown After besieging the Scottish town, English troops massacred the civilian and military population.[13]
10–12 February 1355 St Scholastica Day riot Oxford, England 93 Unknown A riot culminating from tensions between the people of the city of Oxford and the academic community of the University.
21 October 1490 Massacre of Monzievaird Monzievaird, Scotland possibly 120 Clan warfare
1521 Amersham Martyrdoms Amersham, Buckinghamshire 6 Massacre of Lollards for the heresy of reading the Bible in English[14]
1549 Clyst Heath Massacre Clyst Heath, Devon 900 Massacre of bound and gagged rebels from Cornwall and Devon taken prisoner during the Prayer Book Rebellion.
1577 Eigg massacre Isle of Eigg, Scotland 395 Clan warfare: according to the Clanranald legend, all but one of the Isle of Eigg's MacDonald clan were asphyxiated by their rival MacLeod clan in the massacre cave on the south coast of the island.[15]
28 May 1644 Storming of Bolton Bolton, England 1,600 During the English Civil War, Royalist forces under Prince Rupert of the Rhine slaughtered a large population of the strongly Parliamentarian town of Bolton.
1646 Dunoon massacre Dunoon, Scotland 200 Clan warfare
May 1647 Battle of Dunaverty Kintyre, Scotland 300 More than 300 of MacDougalls and MacDonald's followers, men, women and children, were slaughtered at Dunaverty after being promised quarter (mercy) by the Covenanters.
13 February 1692 Massacre of Glencoe Glen Coe, Scotland 78 Committed by the Clan Campbell under Captain Robert Campbell of Glenlyon, ostensibly due to irregularities concerning the swearing of an oath of allegiance to William II of Scotland.
9 March 1761 Hexham Riot Hexham 45 - 51? 300 est. Massacre of demonstrators at Hexham Market Place by North Yorkshire militia.
10 May 1768 Massacre of St George's Fields London, England 6–7 Committed by the Horse Grenadier Guards and the Third Regiment of Foot Guards during a riot against the imprisonment of John Wilkes in St. George's Fields.
29 October 1797 Massacre of Tranent Tranent, East Lothian, Scotland 12 Townsfolk, including women and children, were killed by members of the Cinque Ports Dragoons, a fencible cavalry regiment, during a protest against the Act of Parliament to raise a Scots militia by a form of conscription.
16 August 1819 Peterloo Massacre Manchester, Lancashire, England 15 400–700 Committed by the 15th Hussars and the Manchester and Salford Yeomanry during a large outdoor political demonstration for male universal suffrage in St. Peter's Field. Led to the enacting of the Six Acts.
May – 7 June 1831 Merthyr Rising Merthyr Tydfil, Wales 24-26 70+ Described by historian John Davies as "the most ferocious and bloody event in the history of industrialised Britain", the rebellion in Merthyr Tydfil and surrounding areas broke out following protests against falling wages, the price of bread, and forced redundancy. During the bloodiest incident, Argyll and Sutherland Highlander troops sent to retake Merthyr fired on protesters during a fight against a large crowd.
4 November 1839 Newport Rising Newport, Wales 22 50+ Led by John Frost, between 1,000 and 5,000 Chartist sympathisers armed with home-made weapons marched on Newport, intent on liberating fellow Chartists who had reportedly been taken prisoner. About 22 demonstrators were killed when troops opened fire on them. The leaders of the rebellion were convicted of high treason, and sentenced to transportation for life.
12/13 August 1842 Preston Strike of 1842 Preston, Lancashire, England 4 3+ The Mayor Samuel Horrocks read the Riot Act. This gave local authorities the right to use force if necessary to disperse unlawful assemblies and stop riots. When violence escalated and the crowd did not disperse, the 72nd Highlanders fired into the crowd, shooting at least eight men.
13 December 1867 Clerkenwell explosion London, England 12 120 The Irish Republican Brotherhood attempted to free a member named Ricard O'Sullivan Burke from Clerkenwell Prison by blowing up a wall with gunpowder. The explosion damaged several nearby buildings and killed twelve people. No prisoners escaped.


25 August 1939 Coventry bombing Coventry, England 5 70 A bicycle bomb planted by the Irish Republican Army exploded without warning on Broadgate in Coventry city centre. Five bystanders were killed and there were over 70 injuries, 12 of them serious. Two of the perpetrators, Peter Barnes and James McCormick were convicted and executed for the crime.
22 February 1972 Aldershot bombing Aldershot, England 7 18 A car bomb outside the headquarters of the British Army's 16th Parachute Regiment by Official IRA member Noel Jenkinson.
4 February 1974 M62 coach bombing West Yorkshire, England 12 38 A bombing on a coach carrying servicemen and their families by the Provisional Irish Republican Army.
5 October 1974 Guildford pub bombings Guildford, England 5 65 Two bombs detonated in two Guildford pubs by the PIRA who targeted them because they were popular with British servicemen.
21 November 1974 Birmingham pub bombings Birmingham, England 21 182 Two bombs detonated in two Birmingham pubs by the PIRA.
16 August 1980 Denmark Place fire London, England 37 An arson attack against a nightclub on Denmark Street by patron who was angry at being barred from the club for arguing with a barman. Described - prior to the Lockerbie bombing - as the deadliest mass murder in modern British history.
19 August 1987 Hungerford massacre Hungerford, England 16 15 A spree shooting/murder–suicide. Led to the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988.
21 December 1988 Lockerbie bombing Lockerbie, Scotland 270 A bombing on the Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie by Libyan terrorist Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the damaged plane fell onto the town of Lockerbie. All passengers and crew members on the flight were killed, and eleven people on the ground.
26 February 1994 Clerkenwell cinema fire London, England 11 13 An arson attack against a cinema in Clerkenwell by patron who was angry at having to pay entry fee again after leaving.
13 March 1996 Dunblane massacre Dunblane, Scotland 17 15 A school shooting/murder–suicide. Deadliest mass shooting in UK history.
7 July 2005 7 July 2005 London bombings London, England 52 700+ Al-Qaeda attack.

Four coordinated terrorist Suicide bombings in central London between 08:50 and 09:47. It was the United Kingdom's worst terrorist incident since the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.

2 June 2010 Cumbria shootings Cumbria, England 12 11 A killing spree/murder–suicide.
1 January 2012 Horden shooting Horden, England 4 1 A mass shooting/murder–suicide.
22 March 2017 2017 Westminster attack London, England 6 49 A vehicle and knife Islamist terrorist attack outside the Palace of Westminster.
22 May 2017 Manchester Arena bombing Manchester, England 23 1017 Islamist terrorist suicide attack at Manchester Arena after an Ariana Grande concert.[16] In May 2018, the number of injured was revised to 800.[17]
3 June 2017 2017 London Bridge attack London, England 8 48 Islamic State of Iraq and Syria attack/vehicle and knife attack.[18]
12 August 2021 2021 Plymouth shooting Plymouth, England 6 2 6 people killed including the gunman after a mass shooting in Keyham, Plymouth. The gunman was Jake William Davison.

References

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  1. ^ "Who, What, Why: Why is it Team GB, not Team UK?". BBC News. 14 August 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  2. ^ Davies, Norman (1999). The Isles: A History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 93. ISBN 0-19-820171-0.
  3. ^ Bede, H. E., Book II, chapter 20.
  4. ^ Wates, Michele. "Massacre at St Frideswide's". Oxford Today (Michaelmas 2002 ed.). Archived from the original on 7 October 2009.
  5. ^ Williams, Ann (2003). Aethelred the Unready: The Ill-Counselled King. Hambledon: Hambledon Continuum. pp. 52–53. ISBN 1-85285-382-4.
  6. ^ Rex, Peter (2004). The English Resistance: The Underground War Against the Normans. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Tempus. p. 28. ISBN 0-7524-2827-6.
  7. ^ Vitalis, Ordericus (1854). Thomas Forester Tr. (ed.). The Ecclesiastical history of England and Normandy. Volume ii. London: Henry G. Bohn. p. 28.
  8. ^ Keynes, Simon (2001). "Florence". In Michael Lapidge; et al. (eds.). The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England. Oxford: Blackwell. p. 188.
  9. ^ "Coflein: Crug Mawr, site of battle, near Cardigan". Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  10. ^ David Dickerson (2 July 1997). "Clifford's Tower: Massacre at York (1190)". ddickerson.igc.org. Archived from the original on 19 September 2008.
  11. ^ "The 1190 Massacre". History of York. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  12. ^ Margolis, Max L.; Marx, Alexander (1927). A History of the Jewish People. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society of America. pp. 387–388.
  13. ^ John Parker Lawson (1849), "Siege of Berwick, 1296", Historical Tales of the Wars of Scotland, and of the Border Raids, Forays, and Conflicts, pp. 113–116
  14. ^ "Amersham Martyrs Memorial". Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  15. ^ "Isle of Eigg – Small Isles". www.scotlandinfo.eu. 27 February 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  16. ^ "The 22 lost lives of Manchester attack as all victims named by police". Daily Record. 25 May 2017.
  17. ^ "Arena bomb 'injured more than 800'". BBC News. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  18. ^ Evans, Sophie (4 June 2017). "First victim of London Bridge massacre identified as 'beautiful' bride-to-be". www.mirror.co.uk.
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