Cambridgeshire

Police

History

Notes

A Policing Experiment in Haddenham, Isle of Ely, 1838-1842

| Policing Haddenham | Haddenham Lock-up | Duties and Powers of Constables | Constable Anable's Cases | Biography Capt F B Hampton | Lighting and Watching Act 1833 |

Captain Frederic Blagg Hampton (1813-1859)

(The following information is drawn from a number of sources, the most detailed being from the Thompson / Corporal Family History
https://rmkthompson.com.au/141.html )

Frederic Blagg Hampton was born in Pimlico in 1813.

"Captain" was his army rank. The earliest trace found of Frederic's military career is Nov 1st 1835, when he volunteered as 2nd Lieutenant Artillery, in the British Auxiliary Legion, B.A.L. https://goo.gl/6dhW4a. Military experience was required to join the Legion, but where Frederic served to gain artillery experience is not known. (London Courier and Evening Gazette, 4 July 1836 p4.) In Britain in the 1830s an Artillery Lt. would have trained at the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. In order to fund this training, Frederick's family fortunes must have improved somewhat during his late teens or early 20s. His mother was left penniless with five children after his father, a merchant, died in the Debtors' prison at a White Cross Street London aged 52 in 1828. (Morning Herald (London) 22 September 1828)

The B.A.L. was a volunteer legion which fought in Spain against the Carlist's in the war for the Spanish Throne 1835-40. The B.A.L. fought to keep Queen Isabella II of Spain on her throne, against the usurper, her uncle, Don Carlos.

Fighting in the B.A.L. was tough and the Legion was poorly supplied and equipped as the war dragged on. During the conflict in Spain, Frederic was promoted to Artillery Captain. It is believed, as a result of service in this war that Frederic was made a K.I.C., Knight of the Order of Isabella the Catholic. This was, and is, a very selective Royal Order of Merit awarded by the Spanish State. Not the sort of honour which would routinely be given to a British volunteer officer for simply taking part in the conflict. Only rarely did Frederic use the designation "Sir" or post nominal K.I.C. However, all may not have ended so positively for Frederic in Spain. The Evening Chronicle, 20 April 1838 p2, under the heading "Foreign Correspondence from St. Sebastian April 12 1838" reported: "The Services of Captain Hampton, who succeeded Major How in command of the Legion Artillery, has been dispensed with."

Shortly after his return to the UK, on 20 June 1838, Captain Hampton was presented to Her Majesty Queen Victoria at a levee at St. James Palace (Morning Post 21 June 1838 p3, Globe 21 June p1, Morning Chronicle 21 June 1838 p3)

Frederic's occupation immediately after his return from Spain is not currently known but some time in, or shortly after, October 1839 he was appointed Inspector in the newly formed Birmingham City Police by its Commissioner, former barrister Francis Burgess.

The next step in Frederic's police career followed rapidly. Captain Edward Moore Boultbee RN, Chief Constable of the new Bedfordshire Constabulary, recommended the appointment of F.B.Hampton and three others as the Superintendents of the Force, telling the Magistrates at an adjourned Quarter Sessions in March 1840 that he was keen to appoint Hampton as soon as possible as he expected "much assistance from him in bringing the force into operation". The press report of the Beds Quarter Session recorded that Frederick was an Inspector in the Birmingham Police Force, highly recommended by the Commissioners of that force and Boultbee reported that he had the promise of as many constables from the Commissioners of the Birmingham Police Force as he might require. The Chief Constable also persuaded the Magistrates to increase the salary of Superintendents from the Magistrates' proposed £75, to £100 per annum, plus clothing, as none of the candidates would accept the post at a salary below £100. The other Superintendents, all highly recommended. were: W.Ashman, also from the Birmingham Police, late of the London Police and formerly a Sergeant Major in the Army. J.Jebbard, late a Sgt in the City of London Police, and J Bates, late in a similar office. All four Superintendents recommended by Boultbee were appointed by the Court and it was decided that the force would come into operation on 25 March 1840. (Bedfordshire Mercury 14 March 1840 p3 - interestingly this press article refers to support from the Commissioners (plural) of the Birmingham Force - whereas there was in fact a single Commissioner, Francis Burgess, in charge of that Force. Burgess had an army background before qualifying as a Barrister).

By May 1840, Frederic was in post as the Divisional Superintendent at Leighton Buzzard in the newly formed Bedfordshire Constabulary. (Cambridge Independent Press 24/10/1840 col4). On 19th May 1840 Frederic broke up a fight in front of a rowdy crowd at the Leighton Buzzard Market. In the course of so doing he was assaulted and beaten, his staff was broken and taken from him and his clothing was ripped. He managed, with the help of a couple of members of the public and a constable, to arrest two brothers, Samuel and James Tompkins, one of whom was one of the original protagonists in the fight. He effected the arrest by holding a loaded pistol to a prisoner's head and threatening to shoot him unless he desisted. The assisting constable used a life preserver while assisting the Superintendent. Magistrates did not apparently comment on the force used by the officers. The brothers were convicted of common assault and were each fined £10 and bound over to keep the peace.

Supt. Hampton was a witness in a sheep stealing case before the Bedfordshire Midsummer Sessions (Cambridge Independent Press, 11 July 1840 p4. By early January 1841, Frederic had resigned from the Bedfordshire Constabulary. The Chief Constable, in his quarterly report, stated that he had placed Superintendent Ashton in the place of Superintendent Hampton who had resigned his appointment for the Woburn Division. (Cambridge Chronicle 9 January 1841 p3).

On 6 June 1841, in the 1841 census, Frederic was recorded as age 25, living at the Market Place in Ely, occupation "commercial gent". The following month Frederic was appointed Chief Constable of the newly formed Isle of Ely Constabulary (Cambridge Independent Press, 17 July 1841 p3)

On 25 October 1841, at Woburn, Bedfordshire, Frederic married 18 year old Matilda Stratfold (b.1823 at Woburn Beds).

The 1851 census records Frederic living at Hurst Lane March, with his wife and 4 children; occupation "Chief Constable".

According to the Cambridge Independent Press, 25 October 1851, p3, Capt. Hampton had applied for the post of Chief Constable of the West Suffolk Constabulary and he was supported in this by the magistrates from the Isle of Ely. However it was soon reported that he had withdrawn his application unless the magistrates would engage his services at £400 per year, and his withdrawal was soon confirmed. (Cambridge Chronicle 8 November 1851, Cambridge Independent Press 22 November 1851 p3)

In May 1853 "in consequence of domestic and other difficulties", Frederic resigned as Chief Constable of the Isle of Ely Constabulary. (Cambridge Chronicle 9 April 1853 p6)

Unusually, when Frederic resigned from the Isle of Ely Constabulary, a committee of Magistrates was appointed to review his accounts. Nothing untoward emerged, but his successor, Captain Foster, was required on appointment to enter into a £100 bond and surety of £100.

In 1853, in the Colony of New South Wales, Australia, policing was being carried out by ex military personnel and other untrained staff. The government of the day determined it would be better to have trained, experienced police officers and decided to recruit from the U.K.. Mr. Edward Barnard, Colonial Agent General for the New South Wales Colony in London, was authorised to organise the recruitment. Mr. Barnard engaged, among others, Frederic B. Hampton to carry out this task on behalf of the Colony. Hampton was offered free relocation for himself and his family to Sydney with the position of Inspector, Sydney Police Force.

Frederick is listed in July 1855 in the New South Wales assisted immigrant Passenger Lists as "Inspector of Police" with his wife and four children. His parents were shown as Robert and Elizabeth - father dead, mother at Chelsea, his wife's parents Robert and Mary Stratfold living at Woburn. The children in 1855 on ship were:
[Frederic] Osborne 12 b.1843 March, Ely
Isabel 9 b.1846 March Ely
Catherine 3 b. 1852 March Ely
[Alma]Sophia b. 1855 Marylebone

The Hamptons had 11 children in total, at least four of whom died during childhood. Two of their children were born after the family had emigrated to Australia.

In November 1855 the Cambridge Independent Press picked up a story from the Melbourne Argus that Capt. Hampton, late Chief Constable of the Isle of Ely Constabulary, arrived on 1st August at Melbourne having in custody Garratt, a notorious bank robber, who had been apprehended in London. "Captain Hampton was the chief of a force of 100 English police who have been despatched to Australia for police duty in Sidney". (Cambridge Independent Press, 3 November 1855 p7). This was followed by a report that Garratt the bank robber, who was brought back from London to Melbourne by Captain Hampton, had been tried and sentenced to death. (Cambridge Independent Press, 10 November 1855 p2)

Frederick was for a short time a Freemason and a member of the Sydney New South Wales lodge no 260 from 31.10.1856, resigning in 1857ed 1857.

Frederic served as an Inspector in Sydney. In May 1857 Frederic was transferred as an Inspector to the New South Wales Native Police, Northern Division, based in Brisbane.

Frederic died on 24 or 26 Feb 1859 at Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

This page was last modified: 02 November 2025, 12:45

contact us

This site is powered by Web Wiz Green Hosting. We have been using their services for many years and are more than happy to recommend them to you.