For upwards of 12 months the poor lands of Burwell have been the subject of considerable agitation and dissension among the inhabitants of the town, in consequence of the refusal of the poor to allow the authorities to carry out an order made by the Court of Chancery for the better regulation and cultivation of the said lands.  It appears that about the reign of Charles II. a piece of land in the Fen was allotted to the poor of the parish; another piece was left as common, and certain trustees were vested with the regulation and management of the whole.  This state of things continued until 1819, when the Eau Brink Drainage Commissioners seized the lands for arrears of taxes.  After public notice had been given the land was sold at the Swan Inn, Bottisham, on the 8th of October 1819, for the payment of such taxes, and the Rev. J.J. Baines, the incumbent, became the purchaser at the sum of £90.  It consisted of 188 acres, and is now valued at something near £5000.  In order that the poor should not lose the benefit of the land the Rev. gentleman generously offered it to the parish at the price he had paid for it.  This offer was accepted, and the land was conveyed by deed of 19th of November 1819, to ---

"The said J.J. Baines, John Johnson, William Shelverton, William Casburn, William Shelverton the younger, and William Poole, all of Burwell, being the then Minister, Churchwardens, and overseers of the parish; and Salisbury Dunn the younger, of Whittlesford, Farmer and John Gittoo of Burwell, Victualler, in trust, for the poor of the parish, subject to such orders, regulations, management and restrictions as the Vicar or other resident minister, and the churchwardens and overseers of the poor of the said parish for the time being, or the major part thereof, should from time to time direct, they being restricted to distribute such relief among all persons who should not be assessed to the relief of the poor."

It therefore appears that if even the poor had the sole property of the land before the sale in 1819, the ownership after that time was clearly vested as above mention.  The trustees, however, for some years past, whether from not having paid sufficient attention to the powers vested in them for the regulation of the land, or from some other cause, have had their authority set at defiance, and the poor have claimed the sole ownership, and being a very strong body have pertinaciously kept possession in consequence of the inability of the trustees to exercise their trust.  About two years ago, at the suggestion of some of the inhabitants, proceedings in Chancery were commenced, and shortly afterwards and order was made for the better cultivation of the poor lands, and Mr. C.M. Bidwell, surveyor of Ely, was appointed by the Court as manager to carry out its order; about six months since, when he attempted to commence the work, several hundreds of the poor assembled on the land, and apposed any interference with their imagined rights, and in the course of such obstructions Mr. Bidwell was attacked, much mal-treated, and thrown into a ditch, the mob declaring they would serve anybody else the same that came there to interfere with their land.
Things remained in this state until about six weeks since, when 12 of the metropolitan police were sent for; but this force was not found sufficient for the purpose, and after several attempts, the last of which was made on Friday week, application was made to the Secretary of State for the military, and Wednesday last was the day appointed for their entrance into Burwell, but from some cause or other they did not make their appearance on that day.
The whole village - which is nearly two miles long, was upon the qui vive from one end to the other.  It being a wet day, in every place along the village which could afford shelter were to be seen groups of labourers, numbering from 30 to 40, discussing the subject and anxiously awaiting the arrival of the " Red Coats " but evidently, from their manner, and the absence of bludgeons or other implements, not intending to offer any obstruction to them.  About 2 o'clock the superintendent of police was sent for to attend a meeting of the magistrates of Newmarket; and about two hours afterwards he came back to Burwell in an omnibus, and returned to Newmarket with the whole force, and at this time it became known that the military would not arrive until the next day.

Thursday, March 6th.
As soon as it was light this morning hundreds of the labourers were to be seen on the land, as they said, ready to resist anybody who might come, except the " Red Coats " but they had made up their minds to give them quite possession.  Towards 8 o'clock upwards of 500 had assembled, including a great many woman, all of whom were on the look-out, as various rumours were afloat as to what part of the fen the soldiers would first make their appearance upon, it being known that some were coming from Newmarket and some from Soham.  About half-past 8 part of the military were in sight on the Wicken side of the fen, and all eyes were anxiously turned in that direction, and " Here they come " " Here they come " was the cry.  Having arrived at the spot, it was ascertained that it was a company of the 48th regiment of foot, commanded by Colonel Wetherall.  They defiled before the mob and went through their evolutions, when an alarm was given that the cavalry were coming, which seemed to fill the assembled multitude with consternation, as no doubt there were among them a great many who had never seen the " Horse Soldiers " before.  About 49 of the 11th Hussars, with two magistrates, the Rev. J.T. Bennett and Mr A. Cotton, now approached, and formal possession was taken of the ground by Mr. Bidwell and his men, who commenced filling up a large ditch which had been dug by the rioters, and the infantry assisted them in their labours, not the slightest attempt being made to molest them.  The superintendent of the police now set his men to work in small parties to capture the ringleaders, and in a very short time they succeeded in apprehending 17 of them, and they were immediately conveyed to the Fox public house, under an escort of the infantry.  Thus finding they had been thwarted, a large number of the labourers made application to Mr. Bidwell to put them to work to level the very land they had but a few minutes before claimed the ownership of.  That gentleman promised to employ as many as he could,  and the probability is that, for some months to come, nearly 100 of those very labourers will be engaged in the work of levelling and claying these very lands preparatory to their being parcelled out to the really deserving poor of the parish at a nominal rent.
The ringleaders having arrived at the Fox various depositions were taken.  Two of them were committed for contempt of the Court of Chancery, and five of them were remanded until Monday for an assault upon one of the magistrates ( Mr. A. Cotton ) on the previous Friday.  The remainder were bailed out.
About 2 o'clock in the afternoon the delinquents were conveyed in and omnibus to Cambridge and given into the custody of the governor of the County Goal.  On their way to Cambridge one of them said " They would never have resisted if they had not been led astray by Mr. Bell."
It being found that the infantry was amply sufficient to quell any disturbance that would be likely to arise, the Hussars returned to their quarters at Newmarket. Thus ended the Burwell riots.  They will be remembered many a day, and handed down for many generations as an important epoch in the History of Burwell.