This is a lithograph showing the first night of the 1831 Reform Riots. When he arrived for his annual visit to Bristol in October, the city's Recorder Sir Charles Wetherell was greeted by a demonstration of local people. They were angry that he had voted against the Reform Bill in Parliament. Rough handling by volunteer special constables had angered the crowds and they attacked. While Wetherell escaped in disguise, the protesting crowds stayed and in the early hours of Sunday morning they looted the wine cellar of the Mansion House, becoming drunk and reckless. '...an individual mounted the statue of King William, and fixing a tri-coloured cap on a long pole, pronounced aloud "The Cap of Liberty"'. J. Bonner, A True and Impartial Account of the Riotous Proceedings.