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Not all Protestant refugees received the same welcome as the majority of Huguenots and Walloons. When 13,000 Palatine Germans arrived in the Thames estuary in 1709, £20,000 was raised by church congregations to support them because they were seen as fellow Protestants. However, their initial welcome did not last.

They arrived at a time of rising poverty in England with high food prices and rising taxes. Local authorities in London feared that Palatines would be classed as ‘vagrants’ that by law they would have to support under the Poor Laws. When it was discovered that a third of the immigrants were in fact Catholics and arriving because of poverty and not persecution, sympathy for them drained away.

In the short-term, the Government set up refugee camps in Blackheath and Clerkenwell. The long-term plan was to ship the Palatine Germans to America but, when that proved too expensive, they decided to send them to Ireland instead. A few refused and managed to find their way to America. Most returned to their homeland, leaving a very few to try to survive in England. For those 3000 that did go to Ireland, it was a disaster. They were hated by local Catholics who were suffering under English rule, could not apply their farming skills in a different environment, and were as poor as they had been in Germany.

Although many welcomed Huguenot refugees, there were also some who reacted negatively to their arrival. Weavers, clockmakers and other craftspeople feared that their jobs were threatened, while others resented the special favours given to the newcomers. During this period, there were occasional anti-foreigner riots, when poorer Huguenots were attacked.