Custom

Chapter 4 looks at ‘custom’ from the point of view of the Poor who by and large saw it as a vital part of who they were and where they lived. Between 1833 and 1840 the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ sought to ban the annual bull-running in the Lincolnshire market town of Stamford. The rougher end of Stamford, including the magistrates’ bench, resisted. The nicer end stayed neutral, at least in public. Metropolitan liberals, meanwhile, pressed for a ban with the powerful backing of the Home Office, the NSPCA, and a young Queen. The issue was finally resolved by a court judgment backed by Dragoons and detachments of the Metropolitan Police who finally stopped the running in 1840. On the face of it, this was a simple matter of whether to torture or not to torture a bull. But the chapter takes Stamfordians at their word in their claim that the sport was an ancient custom, that custom was part of the constitution, and that the constitution was a vital part of their identity as free men and women (women featured prominently). Custom and practice was ingrained in the everyday lives of the people. ‘Being the People’ at festivals and fairs was a political as well as a sporting performance with a strong physical presence and plenty of showing off.