1985 Handsworth riots 1500 police officers drafted into the area, about 45 shops looted and burnt, and a trail of damage running into hundreds of thousands of pounds. As well as racial tension, unemployment was seen as a major factor in the riots; by the time of the riots, fewer than 5% of the black population to have left school that summer had found employment. The riots were the first of a series of similar riots across the country during the autumn of 1985, notably the Broadwater Farm riot in London which also resulted in a fatality (the murder of policeman Keith Blakelock).
London Purchase Farm Since then the house has been sold twice. The current owners built or are building an addition onto the house. The property includes the main house, a barn, a carriage house, and a pond. The O'Brien family owned the estate from August 1969 to October 1973. During this time the estate was situated on of land plus an additional of surrounding property on which local farms planted soy bean and corn crops. It was during this period that the estate was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. London Purchase Farm The London Purchase Farm, also known as the