Porteous Mob - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition porteous-mob

Definition :

Porteous mob, an extraordinary riot and conspiracy which occurred in Edinburgh in 1736. On the occasion of the execution of a man named Wilson Porteous, the Captain of the City Guard, fearing a riot, had given orders to fire on the crowd who had assembled to witness the spectacle, and several persons were killed. For this he was tried and sentenced to death, but on the eve of his execution he was respited by orders from London. This enraged the mob, with whom Porteous was very unpopular, with the result that they rose, stormed the Tolbooth in which Porteous was confined, and themselves hanged him in the Grassmarket. For an account of the inquiries made into the affair by the Crown Counsel, see Scott's Heart of Midlothian, Centen. ed., note D.