The King dissolved Parliament (S534, note 2); a new one was elected,
and the Reform Bill was passed by the House of Commons; but the upper
House rejected it. Then a period of wild excitement ensued. The
people in many of the towns collected in the public squares, tolled
the church bells, built bonfires in which they burned the bishops in
effigy, with other leading opponents of the bill, and cried out for
the abolition of the House of Lords.
In London the rabble smashed the windows of Apsley House, the
residence of the Duke of Wellington. At Nottingham the mob fired and
destroyed the castle of the Duke of Newcastle because he was opposed
to reform. In Derby a serious riot broke out. In Bristol matters
were still worse. A mob got possession of the city, and burned the
Bishop's Palace and a number of public buildings. The mayor was
obliged to call for troops to restore order. Many persons were
killed, and four of the ringleaders of the insurrection were hanged.
All over the country shouts were heard, "The Bill, the whole Bill, and
nothing but the Bill!"