Celebrating Hampshire Historians

Cobbett, William

9th March 1763 - 18th June 1835

A farmer, soldier, journalist and publisher, as well as economic commentator and politician, Cobbett led an event-laden life that took him to North America and France, and many corners of Britain, interspersed with spells in gaol. He therefore has links to many counties, though Hampshire has a particular claim since, between 1805 and 1817, he farmed at Botley. At first, he lived in Botley House (opposite Botley Mills, demolished in the mid-1800s) and owned the nearby farm, Fairthorn (now Fairthorne Manor). In 1812, after two years in Newgate Prison for debt, following a trial for ‘seditious libel’, he moved for the rest of his time in Hampshire to Botley Hill, on the north side of the road to Wickham (now named Sherecroft).

Modern scholars struggle to attach a meaningful political label to his work, variously highlighting his Conservative personality and his Radical opinions: he is probably best regarded as a Populist, reaching out especially to the agricultural worker and always expressing his ideas in headline-chasing copy. He was a passionate advocate of press freedom and amongst his many achievements published records (not verbatim) of parliamentary debates, which in 1812, when his finances were at an ebb, were taken on by his printer, Thomas Curson Hansard, who also suffered a three-month term.

Many towns and villages appear in various ways in Cobbett’s Rural Rides, first published as articles in his Political Register and in book form in 1830, with the subtitle ‘economical and political observations’. It has never been out of print and in 1853 an extended version was published by his son. Cobbett was not strictly an historian, but is frequently quoted by those studying late Georgian and Regency England and by many local historians whose patch he visited. His Cottage Economy (1882), which was aimed at helping working families, incidentally reveals much about their way of life.

He worked as a young man in the fields around Farnham, where his father farmed. After a military career that took him to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, rising to the rank of Regimental Sergeant Major, he became a prolific self-taught writer who had opinions – almost always extreme – on almost any subject that came his way. In particular, he supported those engaged in producing ‘real wealth’ and detested what he called ‘paper money’, handled by ‘loan-jobbers, stock jobbers, Jews and the whole tribe of tax-eaters’. His hatred of what would now be called ‘the City’ fuelled his antisemitism and extended to Quakers, who had founded banks, such as Barclays and Lloyds. He was, in turn, admired and reviled by authority: he warned of disturbances such as the Swing Riots of 1830 and the millions of words he wrote for his Political Register helped to bring about the 1832 Reform Act. He, together with John Fielden, a cotton spinner and fellow radical, were elected to represent Oldham, one of the new parliamentary constituencies. The industrial north was not his forte, though it gave him something to write about. Ultimately, his endless jibes at those in power had little effect on the ‘paper economy’ and it was a very long time before the working man had anything like a fair deal.  Aware of this, he even suggested that the British agricultural labourer was treated worse than slaves on Caribbean plantations.

His rides often took him to ‘Uphusband’, or Hurstbourne Tarrant in the Bourne valley, where he stayed at Rookery Farm with Joseph Blount. Many Hampshire places could be singled out to demonstrate his style, such as those he passed through on 17 November 1822 on his way from Uphusband to Alresford for the night. These included St Mary Bourne (then called plain Bourne) and Whitchurch, where he passed Bere Mill. He dubbed it ‘the curse of England’, as it was here that the fine paper for banknotes had been made for the Bank of England since the early 1720s. He went on: ‘It has been the spot from which have sprung more and greater mischiefs than ever plagued mankind before.’

He continued past Stratton House, home of the banker and politician, Sir Thomas Baring. He largely praised him and wrote extensively, apparently from memory, on the history of his estate, some correct, some not. He also met a well-dressed little girl who told him that ‘Lady Baring gave her the clothes, and had her taught to read and to sing hymns and spiritual songs.’ This led him to comment: ‘It is impossible not to believe that this is done with a good motive, but…It must create hypocrites…Society is in a queer state when the rich think, that they must educate the poor in order to ensure their own safety…’.   These words, confused in tone, demonstrate that people like the Barings were acutely aware of the disparity between their lives and others, which came to a head eight years later here and elsewhere in the Swing Riots. There are many other passages in Rural Rides on dozens of Hampshire places with the potential to inform local historians on issues of the day.

He was born on 9 March 1763 at Farnham, the son of a farmer and publican, and died on 18 June 1835 at Normandy Farm, near Guildford, which he rented.  The William Cobbett Society, founded in 1976, is devoted to his life and works

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Cobbett

Smith E 1885-1900. ‘Cobbett, William’ Dictionary of National Biography.

https://research.hgt.org.uk/item/sherecroft-botley-hill/

Coppin M 2023 ‘The eccentric farmer who stood out in 19th century Hampshire’ Hampshire Chronicle 20 May.

Portrait

William Heath, 1810, ‘the Hampshire Hog in the pound’, depicting Cobbett’s time in Newgate prison (Library of Congress, Public Domain) [see below]

Contribution to county’s history

He provided on-the-ground commentary on farming and country life in many places in Hampshire, and its significance in matters of national importance.  

Relevant published works

• 1822 Cottage Economy C Clement: London.

• 1830 Rural Rides Cobbett: London.

• 1833 Cobbett's Tour in Scotland and in the four Northern Counties in England London

Critical Comments

As his entry in the 1900 edition of the DNB put it, ‘his boundless pugnacity, self-esteem, and virulence of language injured his reputation’.

Other Comments

`The Captain Swing Riots 1830 Bicentenary Commemoration, an initiative of The English Project of the University of Winchester, had initially thought of giving prominence to the life and work of Cobbett, but drew back when the extent of his antisemitism was assessed.

William Cobbett's grave stone in Farnham church yard.

Contributor

Barry Shurlock 1 January 2026

Keywords

Rural Rides, radical, farmer, journalist

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