William Standford 1806 - 

The Standford name appears when Anna Maria Standford married William Dugay in 1819. The Standford name has various different spellings over the years, some of which sound like a different name. Variations I've seen are Standford, Stanford, Stanforder, Stanmore, Stendmore. 

William Standford and the Swing Riots

William Standford is the brother of Anna Maria and hence our 4x Great Uncle born in 1806 in the village of Goodworth Clatford near Andover, Hampshire. His family were agricultural labourers. When he was old enough to start working William also became an agricultural worker, and he specialised in looking after horses, an ostler by trade.

In November 1830 when he was aged 23, William became involved in a widespread unrest in southern England, which later became known as the Swing Riots. The riots were caused by a number of factors, the main ones being poor living conditions, low wages, and high tithes (taxes), and the introduction of agricultural machines. It was the threshing machine that was to become the main target for destruction during the disturbances. On 20th November 1830 William was part of a mob that destroyed machinery in Taskers Foundry in Upper Clatford, near Andover.

The authorities were so alarmed by the widespread riots that they set up a number of special assizes to deal with the perpetrators. By the end of December 1830, 19 men had been hanged and about 500 were sentenced to transportation.

William was sent for trial at a special assizes in Winchester on 22 December 1830. He was found guilty along with many others and sentenced to Transportation for Life. He was sent to Southampton gaol, and thence to a prison hulk in Portsmouth harbour, HMS York.

The Ship Eleanor

In February 1831 William and 133 other machine breakers were transferred to the Eleanor which was lying at anchor at Spithead.

All of the prisoners embarked on the Eleanor had been convicted of machine breaking in the counties of Berkshire, Dorset, Hampshire, and Wiltshire. Most of them were in their 20s and 30s with a few who were older. Many were married. They left behind friends and families and communities devastated by their absence.

On 19th February 1831 the Eleanor set sail, bound for Sydney, New South Wales. On board was a surgeon named John Stephenson who was responsible for the welfare of all the prisoners and crew. Here is an extract from his journal:

The weather from England to the Cape of Good Hope was in general very favourable, the heat at no time excessive, the thermometer never rising above 84. After leaving the Cape we were not quite so fortunate, as we got to the Southward the weather varied greatly, gales of wind, succeeded by light airs with dense fogs and rain frequently took place, but in general we had strong breezes with clear cold weather; this last was a fortunate circumstance as the vessel was very laboursome and shipped such quantities of water that it was frequently necessary even in a fresh breeze to have the hatches battened down for two or three days together, leaving only sufficient space for one person to pass up or down. The means adopted for the preservation of health were the strictest attention to cleanliness, dryness and ventilation and as far as could be done the constant occupation of the prisoners, but what appears to me to have been more efficacious than all this was the delay of a week at the Cape during which the people had a liberal allowance of fresh beef and vegetables, and every mess was enabled to take to it a small stock of soft bread, potatoes, onions etc., to this together with a greater proportion of fine weather, I think we are mainly indebted for the excellent condition in which the prisoners were disembarked.

The Eleanor arrived in Sydney Cove on 26th June 1831 after a voyage of 126 days.

A muster was held on board by the Colonial Secretary on 1st July 1831. After their details had been recorded the prisoners were assigned either to government service or to individual settlers. William Standford was assigned to a Mr Hayward. Little is known about Mr Hayward, but there are some records of him buying land in the area of Pitt Street, Sydney.

Within a few years all of the machine breakers received a pardon meaning that they were free men, and could return to England if they wished and could afford to do so. Most stayed on in Australia and made new lives for themselves, working as labourers, tradesmen, farmers, and innkeepers. Some made their way to Victoria during the Gold Rush.

William Standford received his pardon on 1st January 1837, but he didn't return to England. We have found no further record of what happened to him. He stands alone as my only relative to have been transported as a punishment.