A Pleasant Bonfire… And Riot (1734)
The Calves Head Club was a dining and drinking society of aristocrats opposed to King Charles 1. Their mascot, a disembodied head of a calf, supposedly symbolized the beheaded king. The group was anti-monarchist, a dangerous position in England at the time. One party got out of hand in 1734. The club started a bonfire just outside their door.
But they didn’t stop with a nice street-fire and wine. There’s always that guy who escalates the party. Someone dragged out the calf-head and put a napkin cap on its head. The head was tossed into the bonfire, much to the horror of people passing by. A crowd had formed by then, and when the calf-head/ Charles effigy burned, they forced themselves into the club’s meeting house and trashed it. The club, in the ruins of their meeting space and realizing the danger they faced, disbanded after the riot.
