Mad Tom’s Rising

Join Ian Breckon as he explores the life of the self-styled Sir William Courtenay and how his uprising led to the last battle fought on English soil.

At the dawn of the Victorian era, a strange figure stalked the heartland of rural Kent. Bizarrely costumed, heavily bearded, crying out apocalyptic prophecies, he claimed to be Sir William Courtenay, Knight of Malta and King of Jerusalem.

To the local magistrates and gentry, the newcomer was either a madman, a charlatan or a dangerous revolutionary. But for the local labouring people, he was the New Messiah, come to lead them in a bloody revolt against the forces of oppression, and to herald the end of the world.

Even when the stranger was revealed to be John Nicholls Tom, a former Cornish wine merchant only recently released from a lunatic asylum, his strange crusade continued to gather support. On 31 May 1838, it ignited into violence, and ‘Mad Tom’ and his ragtag band of followers found themselves facing a detachment of the 45th Regiment of Foot near Canterbury.

The armed confrontation between Courtenay and the 45th Foot, which resulted in his death and the deaths of eight of his followers, became known as the Battle of Bossenden Wood, often described as the last battle fought on English soil.

About the speaker

Ian Breckon has worked as a novelist, teacher, university lecturer and historical researcher. 'Mad Tom's Rising' is his first non-fiction history book.