AN event to commemorate the bicentenary Captain Swing Riots is taking place in Winchester this weekend.

The Heritage Open Days events will be held on Saturday from 10am in the Grand Jury Room, The Castle.

The Captain Swing Riots in the autumn of 1830 are a forgotten landmark in Hampshire history.

Following agitation in more than 60 villages, a Grand Assize was convened in Winchester Great Hall by the Lord Lieutenant, the Duke of Wellington, at which 300 men were tried. Many were then sentenced to transportation or, in some cases, execution with a devastating effect on local communities.

Sutton Scotney and Micheldever were at the heart of the agitation/

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The goal of the bicentenary commemoration is to raise awareness of the riots and the complex issues behind them and then, in 2030, to stage a series of community-based activities in the locations where the original events took place – including a re-enactment of the Grand Assize itself.

Cllr Jane Rutter said: “History often seems ‘other’ - about distant times and distant monarchs.  The SWING project really brings history to life with a bang - relevant to today’s issues, very real in its impact on local communities and gruesome and inhuman outcome.  A great opportunity for local villages to research how their own communities were affected by the riots and their repercussions - I will certainly be encouraging the Worthys History Group to see what the impact was on our villages.”