The Rebecca Riots remain one of the most striking protest movements in modern Welsh history. While the tollgates were the principal target of Rebecca and her daughters, the protests were also a reaction to the socio-economic climate, which saw agricultural depression, failing harvests, rising levels of rent, and the additional burden of various taxes. The landed interest played a prominent role as trustees of the Turnpike Trusts (responsible for regulating the tollgates), as magistrates, and landlords, therefore it’s no wonder that they soon became targets for Rebecca and her daughters.
In 2011 Dr Lowri Ann Rees published an article in theÌýAgricultural History Review,Ìýshedding more light on the impact of the Rebecca Riots on the landed interest. ‘Paternalism and rural protest: the Rebecca riots and the landed interest of south-west Wales’ examined the way the gentry responded to challenges to their authority.
Continuing this work, Dr Rees has published case studies of those drawn into the riots. One was the landowner Jane Walters, who wrote a series of letters to the Home Office following Rebecca attacks on her estate, Glanmedeni. Dr Rees has also published a biographical study in theÌýDictionary of Labour BiographyÌýof John Hughes (also known as Jac TÅ·Isha), who was transported to Tasmania for his involvement in the riots.
In 2024 Dr Rees published anÌýÌýof the letters of the Middleton Hall estate land agent, Thomas Herbert Cooke. His time in south-west Wales coincided with the height of the riots, vividly captured in his letters. Cooke writes of the sense of fear within the local community, of receiving threatening letters, instances of Rebecca attacks on tollgates and private property, and includes chilling descriptions of encounters with Rebeccaites.Ìý