” A Correct Representation of the Trial of Watson in Westminster Hall, with an exact likeness of him and his Counsel Mr. Wetherall” The Spa Fields riots were incidents of public disorder arising out of the second of two mass meetings at Spa Fields, Islington, England on 15 November and 2 December 1816. The meetings had been planned by a small group of revolutionary Spenceans, who invited the popular radical speaker Henry Hunt to address the crowd. In the aftermath of the riots, four leading Spenceans, John Hooper, Thomas Preston, Arthur Thistlewood and James Watson, were arrested and charged with high treason. Watson was tried first and the chief prosecution witness was John Castle, a government spy who had infiltrated the Spenceans. Castle’s evidence was discredited by defence counsel and Watson was acquitted, at which point the prosecution presented no evidence against the other defendants and all four were released.
Original stained softwood frame, overall dimensions: 15 ⅝” by 11 ¾”
In good condition