Bootleg spirit dealer Mary Ann Scott sparked a riot in Arbroath in 1865 that almost cost her life.
Rioters used a burning tar barrel and a ship’s keel to try to tear down her house.
Mary had become a hate figure after being taken to court for selling alcohol without a licence. However, it was the salacious nature of the evidence at the trial that outraged the town, not her bootlegging.
The evidence was so unedifying that The Courier refused to report it or even hint at its nature.
We do know that young men in Arbroath were particularly aggrieved by the disclosures, so it is possible that Mary had more than one revenue stream.
The young men contained their grievance for a few weeks but their anger erupted into violence on Victoria Day in May. They first planned to burn an effigy of Mary outside her house in Marketgate but the actions of the crowd soon spiralled out of control.
Mary’s windows were put in with stones but she managed to reach the safety of the police station and a detachment of officers was dispatched.
Police could not contain the mob and were ambushed by a second contingent of rioters, who rolled a blazing tar barrel down Commerce Street towards them.
As police were dealing with this, a second tar barrel was rolled up against the walls of Mary’s house.
Meanwhile, some of the mob had got their hands on a ship’s keel, complete with stern post.
They used it as a battering ram to break Mary’s shutters and threw in the blazing barrel.
The occupants of the house acted quickly and lobbed it back out but the mob was soon in the house.
Our report stated that every piece of furniture was smashed.
Police then used a water hose on the rioters but this was captured, cut to pieces and thrown in the Brothock Burn.
After two hours, police regained control of the streets. The rioters were chiefly young lads but were encouraged by an older generation.