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Policing Peterborough
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Paving Commissioners and Peterborough Improvement Commissioners
Introduction
Material on the The Peterborough Paving and Improvement Commissioners is included here because they had an important part to play in policing Peterborough between 1790 and the establishment of the new police in 1857. The powers and duties of the Commissioners were derived from two Acts: The Peterborough Improvement Act 1790, (13 Geo III c.66) and The Peterborough Improvement and Cemetery Act 1850 (13 and 14 Vict c.93).
The 1790 Act allowed Paving Commissioners to employ officers to carry out their functions (Section 6). Section 20 required them to appoint "so many watchmen, to be employed in the said City and Township of Peterborough for so long time in every night under such regulations and for such wages as they shall think proper, and to provide proper boxes or places of reception for such watchmen. The Act declared:
"it shall be lawful for the said watchman or any of them and they are hereby authorised and required to apprehend and secure all such malefactors, disturbers of the public peace, and other suspected persons who shall be found wandering or misbehaving themselves during the hours of keeping watch and to carry such persons, as soon as conveniently may be, before some Justice of the Peace for the said Liberty to be examined and dealt with according to law".
The 1850 Act covered a larger area of the town and allowed Improvement Commissioners to maintain and regulate the police of the City of Peterborough. It incorporated into the Act the Town Police Clauses Act of 1847, which included provisions for appointing constables to "keep Watch and Ward," preventing nuisances and obstructions, and allowing Commissioners to provide the necessary buildings and infrastructure for policing.
We have included here some notes on the work of the Paving and Improvement Commissioners made by Archivist and Librarian Richard Hillier in the 1980s. (Many thanks to Richard for allowing us to use these notes). It is hoped that these will show that there is a rich vein of material relating the Improvement Commissioners to the policing of Peterborough.
Also included are notes on the period of transition in the 1850s from the Improvement Commissioners to the new police from the local press by former Chief Inspector Ron Forth.
Peterborough Archives have the following records:
Commissioners minute books PAS/PCC/1/1 1790-1812 and PAS/PCC/1/2 1812-1844 (are there other volumes between 1844 and 1857 yet to be found?)
Sanitary and Sewerage minute book (covers watch items) 1850-1870 PCC/6/3/22/1
N.B. searching their catalogue on "police" brings up no fewer that 348 records.
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Brief Description of the Paving Commissioners
(pers comm Richard Hillier 1981)
Local administration in Peterborough has a very complex history until the 19th century. The courts and officers of the Dean & Chapter, the Feoffees, and the Overseers - in descending order of importance - all played some roll in local government. Their roll though, often conflicted because of the vagueness of their respective jurisdictions.
A new body appeared on the scene in 1790, the Peterborough Paving Commissioners who were created by Act of Parliament. And it is their first two minute books, covering 1790 to 1844, which I have recently been privileged to see. The Paving Commissioners were re-constituted by another Act in 1850 and the resulting body, known as the Improvement Commissioners, existed for twenty-four years until the agitation for a Municipal Corporation at last succeeded, and one was granted by charter in 1874.
The preamble to the Act of 1790 briefly sets out the problems that the Commissioners were appointed to deal with:
"the several streets, roads, lanes, ..... are not properly paved, repaired, cleansed, lighted or watched and are subject to various nuisances, annoyances and encroachments, and are in many places narrow and incommodious ... "
To help solve these problems they were empowered to have all the pavements and roads paved - or re-paved, repaired, raised, etc; to have drains and watercourses constructed; to erect lamp irons or lamp posts for lighting; to have removed all projecting signboards, spouts, steps, fences, porches etc; to prevent annoyances to pedestrians and vehicles from obstructions; to appoint night watchmen; to purchase and dismantle buildings in order to widen narrow roads (especially those on either side of the Cathedral Gate); to assess and levy rates on buildings over £2 annual value; to build turnpike gates and levy tolls. And they did indeed involve themselves in all of these things.
Nevertheless, the area of their jurisdiction extended only to the built up part of the town, and not to the whole parish. In fact there were even parts of the town which were specifically excluded from the Commissioners jurisdiction: the Minster Precincts, the majority of Boongate, and the western end of Westgate. (the latter two areas being the poorest in the town).
The 1790 Act lists thirty-three commissioners who included the town's two M.P.s, the Hon Lionel Damar and Richard Benyon (neither of whom attended any meetings), local gentry, six clergy including the Bishop, Spencer Madan, three doctors/surgeons, two solicitors, four drapers, and several other shopkeepers. Six or seven of theme were also Feoffees, from whom the Paving Commissioners took over certain responsibilities on the payment (by the Feoffees) of £500.
The Commissioners - or more fairly, eleven of them - met for the first time on 29 June 1790 at the Town Hall (i.e., the Guildhall Chamber), and Wright Thomas Squire was appointed chairman. Local banker Henry Cole was appointed treasurer, and William Bowker - a solicitor - became clerk. Throughout the following 18 months meetings were held regularly - two or three times a month - and the work was done energetically. Francis Carter of Moorfields, London, was appointed surveyor, and local mason Edward Bingham became Superintendent of the Works (as well as Surveyor of the Highways for the year !) Contracts for the supply of materials were entered into, including one with Messrs Squire for Yorkshire flagstones (to be shipped to Wisbech). Broad and Narrow Bridge Streets were the first to be repaved (involving a temporary diversion of the road behind the shops), and the surveyor reported on the projections and encroachments: his survey listed nearly sixty buildings and involved such 'obstructions' as "penthouses", rails and posts, balconies, window shutters, front steps, bow windows, - all, as the survey laconically added, "to be taken away". The Commissioners' own houses were far from exempt, indeed few could have escaped the surveyor's eye as he went from street to street and the 17th century architecture, so typical of a town like Stamford today, was pulled down.
The two halves of Bridge Street had the most buildings to fall foul of the surveyor, but in Priestgate and Cross Street fourteen buildings caught his eye, in Cumbergate twelve, and Long Causeway twenty-six. How quickly these 'encroachments' were actually taken away and properties re-fronted is not clear; in a very few cases the Commissioners ordered the removal or dismantling of part of an offending building, but an ominous and embarrassing situation arose early on. In August 1790 Thomas Mann, the owner of a property in Narrow Bridge Street which was tenanted by a Commissioner (Joseph Sutton), refused to allow his tenant to have the timber-framed overhang of the building removed. Mann took court action against John Hamlin, whom the Commissioners had ordered to begin dismantling the overhang, and the Commissioners supported Hamlin in court. In January 1792 they had to pay compensation to Mann of £280 for the damage done to his property. By this action the Commissioners lost their "teeth" and a great deal of credibility.
As a result of the meetings, especially in the first two years of the Commissioners existence, various drains and sewers were constructed, four of the five turnpike gates were erected (in two cases these were put up outside the houses of whoever would agree to be toll collector, and twenty-four 'oil' lamps were bought and ordered to be put up. They contracted to have the lamps lighted regularly, to have the streets swept, and appointed night watchmen.
The local bookseller, John Horden, no doubt looking for additional income, was appointed Rate Assessor and Collector, but the Commissioners income was at first very small (rates were 1/- in the pound and the tolls, when farmed out, brought in less than f300 until the 1830's), so they were forced to borrow. In October 1791 they borrowed £3,000 from nine individuals, including £800 from the Bishop of Peterborough. The loans were fortuitous: they were followed by Messrs Squires bill for paving materials - £1,901.
The purchase of the properties on either side of the Cathedral Gateway was mooted in February 1792. James Cole sold them his property on the north side for 450 guineas; the Earl Fitzwilliam owned the two on the south side and he presumably rebuilt them himself (he also acquired the remainder of the north site when the property was demolished and the road widened)
From 1793 onwards the main business recorded in the minutes of the Paving Commissioners is the paying of bills, accepting compositions for tolls, making the annual appointments (surveyors, watchmen, road sweepers, lamp lighters, etc), with only the occasional mention of the making of a drain, repairing a road, or warning of encroachments. Even the appointment of six new commissioners in February 1800 (the first significant appointments since 1790) and of five more in November 1801 brought no return to, or determination for, the energetic action of the early 1790's (if indeed any were needed?). By 1810 meetings had lessened to two or three a year and the clerk, by then William Morley, was anticipating the proceedings - so standardised had they become - to the extent of writing out the terms of/agreements, for example, before the meeting and leaving room for the names to be added afterwards.
Another major appointment of commissioners came in July 1824, with ten new members; this infusion of 'new blood' clearly wanted action and three of them were appointed to a sub-committee of five in order to "examine what nuisances now exist, and according to the Act ought to be removed". They reported only seven days later at a meeting which transacted no other recorded business than to say that the report should "be taken into consideration at a future meeting". It is never specifically referred to again.
During 1828 the name of Thomas Mann again occurs in the minute books of the commissioners. It is noted that the property which he is building in Broad Bridge Street is encroaching on the street, but nothing more than the issue of a notice to him was attempted: clearly a case of once bitten, twice shy !
In June 1824 the commissioners received a letter from the British Gas Light Company who offered to light the town with gas at £120 p.a. The commissioners proposed a public meeting to discuss the matter, and the result proved favourable. Not much appears to have happened, and in June 1826 John Malam, a Civil Engineer from Hull, also wrote offering to do the same. Another public meeting was eventually held, and the commissioners were willing to pay &200 p.a. for the lighting of 60 lamps. A contract with Malam was signed on 9 June 1829: by March 1830 the streets were lighted by gas. The gas lighting was not always satisfactory and in 1838 they decided to seek Counsel's opinion on certain aspects of the contract, particularly as regards repairs and any rights of inspection. By the early 1840's the gas works had been taken over by a local ironmonger, James Sawyer, and Malam went bankrupt.
In contrast to earlier years the 1830's and 1840's seem to be a period of greater activity: certainly more diverse items appear in the minutes. Several building alterations are mentioned, and also the construction of new roads; in fact the commissioners had one short alley and a small road "stopped up" and replaced by another, more convenient, road. The timber bridge over the river was repaired in 1832 and a temporary one erected next to it; the Commissioners responsibility was to repair and raise the road and footpaths once the work on the bridge was completed.
The digging for road materials is increasingly mentioned and the transport (by inland waterway) of granite from Mountsorrell, Leicestershire, becomes frequent. More people must have been passing through Peterborough - or were being mis-directed - since it was resolved to have a road sign erected at the north end of Long Causeway showing the ways to Lincoln and Boston, Thorney and Wisbech. The street markets became greater cause for concern as their gradual expansion brought obstruction to roads and footpaths; in 1836 the butchers were asked to move their stalls and other dealers asked to 'park' their carts in a different location. In 1842 the commissioners went out and measured the corn market and defined its limits.
The watchmen had by 1837 become known as 'policemen', receiving new coats and hats annually; they were frequently dismissed for various offences including drunkenness. In 1841 they were told to be on the look out for vagrants which "the rural police of the Isle of Ely have driven into the City". Three years later an extra 'policeman' was appointed "in consequence of the influx of bad characters occasioned by the works in connection with the railway" (this was the first line to Peterborough, from Blisworth near Northampton). Vagrants and navvies clearly were neither wanted nor trusted! The commissioners may have had some fire-fighting equipment as the "Engine House" House' is mentioned on one occasion.
During this period of renewed activity, appointments to the commissioners were more frequent than before, and the problem of getting sufficient of them to attend meetings was voiced on one point. A new clerk was appointed in 1836, Nelson Wilkinson, who remained in that capacity right through the change of designation to Improvement Commissioners until 1873.
Financial problems became prominent in the 1840's and matters came to a head in 1844. The income from tolls and the limited rate level was already inadequate to meet current expenditure (in fact £700 was owed to John Malam's creditors, and money was also owed to the Commissioners' bankers). The Commissioners foresaw that with the increase in business and population which the railway would bring there would be correspondingly greater expenditure, particularly on gas supply and the provision of 'policemen'. They therefore took the opinion that an amended Act should be sought, to include those areas expressly exempt from the existing Act (plus New Town which did not exist in 1790), to gain a new rate level, and to discontinue at least three of the toll gates.
The Commissioners were energetically pursuing the idea of an amended act and its potential provisions when a public meeting was called in August 1844. The meeting resolved that no new act was necessary but that, in tones familiar in present days, "steps of economy and entrenchment" should be adopted by the Commissioners and if they felt incapable of doing this then they should stand down and allow others to be appointed in their place. The immediate result was that the Commissioners filled seven vacancies, resolved to borrow £1000 or more, discontinued policing during the day (they soon halved the number of 'policemen'), and discontinued the use of lamps on the town bridge.
A list of Names of the Improvement Commissioners' chief police officers (1850-74) and the Liberty Chief Officers (1858-1931) and references to police and watchmen in the minute books of the Peterborough Paving Commissioners 1790-1844
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References to Watchmen and the Police in the Minute Books of the Peterborough Paving Commissioners, 1790-1844
25 Jan 1793 First appointment of watchmen.
3 Jan 1794 Enquiry proposed into behaviour of the watchmen (but no-one appeared to lodge a complaint! ! )
28 Sept 1796 Ordered that the Watchmen's box be repaired.
12 Dec 1806 Ordered that proper watchmen's boxes and rattles be provided.
19 Dec. 1806 Subscriptions having been raised by the inhabitants for an additional watchman, a third was appointed.
17 Dec. 1813 Night watchmen increased from 2.to 4.
14 Sept. 1830 (a) Ordered that an additional watchman be appointed during the fair.
(b) Ordered that the night watchmen have new coats.
1 Jan. 1831 At the regular annual appointment, 5 night watchmen inc1uding evening watchman were appointed.
19 Feb. 1831 The "Peterborough Volunteer Patrol" were to fill in the hours between the nightwatchmen's periods of duty.
7 Sept. 1832 High Constable (Wiggin) to find 8 men for the Fair Week in September.
2 Feb. 1835 An additional evening watchman was appointed.
1836 (Watchmen back to total of 4 - from 6).
19 May 1837 That the watchmen who were sworn as constables at the Court Leet should each have a staff, a pair of handcuffs
and their clothes be numbered.
Feb. 1838 The Policemen applied for an increase in wages in view of the increase in prices - granted!
12 March - 1 April 1841 Reports of drunken policemen and assaults on policemen
20 Sept. 1841 (Isle of Ely police and vagrants).
28 Sept. 1841 Ordered that the 4 policemen have new great coats and hats.
20 June 1843 Ordered that the policemen set out an area of ground for the woodmen to occupy during the July Fair.
6 Oct. 1843 One policeman dismissed; one suspended.
23 Feb. 1844 (Influx of bad characters re railway) also :- 5 new lanterns and 6 new rattles be ordered for the policemen.
Told to pay more attention to Vagrants and not to walk about in pairs.
16 Aug. 1844 Ordered that the police be discontinued after 23 August next. (This was part of a vast economy measure to
reduce expenditure).
30 Aug. 1844 Watchmen's hours :
10 p.m. - 5 a.m. during May to Sept
10 p.m. - 7 a.m. Nov. to Jan
10 p.m. - 6 a.m. remainder.
27 Nov. 1844 Two watchmen discontinued; the wages of the remaining two reduced.
The volume covering 1844-50, and the minutes of the Improvement Commissioners 1850-74, appear to be missing.
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The Improvement Commissioners - Watch and Sewerage Committee Minutes.
These contain regular fortnightly committee reports from the police from 1850-September 1853. The reports contain brief information about the police 'beats', lock-up, handcuffs and clothes, not to mention the misdemeanours of the inhabitants (prostitution, obstruction by vehicles, rowdiness, drunkenness, mischievous ringing of door bells, etc.) and other matters.
The transition from Improvement Commissioners to new police
The following notes contain extracts from various Peterborough newspapers relating to policing Peterborough. This information was collected and transcribed in 1992 by the late Eric Ronald Forth, retired Peterborough Chief Inspector, with the assistance of Archivist and Librarian Richard Hillier.
Stamford Mercury 11 Oct 1850.
A report on the meeting of the Peterborough Improvement Commissioners on 26 Sept 1850. An advertisement was agreed to for eight men to act as a night watch viz two Superintendents at 14s per week in winter and 12s in summer and six constables at 12s per week in winter and 10s in summer. On Monday 7th October the Commissioners appointed Wm Wakelin and Peter Vanderoa Superintendents and Geo Cann of Ramsey, Rd Gordon, T. Blunsum , W. G. Fisher, Hy Redhead and Jos Emblow ordinary night watch to go on duty as two divisions of 6 hours each. ....The clerk was directed to procure tenders for supplying the Watch with great coats and hats....
Peterborough Advertiser 2 June 1855 p3
Meeting of Improvement Commissioners, Tuesday 29.5.1855. Mr. Bristow proposed that the Superintendent of Police should have a coat as a kind of uniform to distinguish him. .... Mr. Miller said it was out of the question after having given so much more to this man than to Vanderaa that they should dress him in bauble clothes and that it was quite a waste of public money. The motion was however carried and a coat and hat were ordered to be provided by the Watch Committee.
Peterborough Advertiser 1 Dec 1855 p111
Improvement Commissioners. Day Police. Mr. Household said he wished to make a few remarks about some observations which had been made in the town respecting the number of robberies which have lately taken place. An attempt had been made to lay the blame on the night watchmen, but Mr. Household said it had been proved that all these robberies had been committed before the night watchmen came on duty. The complaints had been very loud in certain quarters and some of the rate payers had said they would like to have a day watch. He (Mr. Household) had told them they had one a short time ago and then they objected to the expense. Two day watchmen would cost about £75 a year and if the ratepayers would not object to that expense, he thought the Commissioners would have no objection to meet their wishes. He considered that the town must, by and by, have a day watch. The Chairman (Rev W Strong) said he thought that if anything of this kind were done, the town should take the initiative. If the ratepayers wished to have a day police, they should present a requisition in writing to the Commissioners to that effect. (Hear, Hear).
Peterborough Advertiser 1 December 1855 P111
Comment. Shall we have a Day Police
This is a question which demands the serious consideration of every ratepayer in this city. At the present time we are entirely destitute during the whole of the day of police or watchmen and consequently the property of the city is, during that period, totally unprotected save by its owners or occupiers. It is a well known fact that it is the practice of thieves and burglars during the day to make their reconnaissances and plan their attacks for the evening. Having no day police in this city these characters are, therefore, free to make what surveys they please without fear of interruption or supervision. By reference to the latter part of our report of the Commissioners meeting, which will be found in another column, it will be seen that Mr Household said it had been proved that all the late robberies in the town had been committed before the night watchmen came on duty. Thus it seems the thieves, who are generally well acquainted with watchmen's hours, took advantage of the darkness previous to the watch going on duty, to execute their plans which they had peacefully made in the day. These are facts which the ratepayers will do well to consider and we think they all ask for one and the same thing - a day police. The growing importance of this city, its increasing trade and expanding magnitude, require that a vigilant and constant watch should be kept or, the movements of these characters whose sole object is to plunder and destroy and we should by glad to see some steps taken to ascertain the feelings
of the public in this matter. Most assuredly "prevention is better than cure" and it would be far better and cheaper that a few policemen should be paid to prevent crime than that the public could lose their property and, in the event of the discovery of the thief, be taxed to maintain him during his confinement in gaol.
The Peterborough Weekly News and General Advertiser 29th March 1856 page 179, col-2
New Guardians and Overseers etc.
Messrs Bristow, Jauncy, Templeman, J. Lovell, Rayner, Joyce and J.H. Barnes appointed Constables of the Parish of Peterborough.
The Peterborough Weekly News and General Advertiser 5th April 1856 page 183
Town Improvement Commissioners - Watch Committee
Mr. Household said the time had now come for a reduction in the wages of the night watch from 14/-s to 13/-s during the summer months.
The Peterborough Weekly News and General Advertiser May 1856
Town Improvement Commissioners Meeting.
Present Rev. W. Strong, Messrs. Beckett, Bristow, Buckle, Burton, Caster, Cattel, Elgar, P.H. Ellis, Life, Miller, Simpson and Wyman. It was agreed to engage P.c. John Smith, 149, F Division of the London Police Force for the Peterborough Superintendent at a salary of 25/-s per week.
Peterborough Advertiser, 17th May 1856 Page 207, Column 2
Peterborough Liberty: In Committee on the Police Bill in the House of Commons on Friday night last, Mr Hankey procured the addition to Sec 15 of a very important clause affecting the Liberty of Peterborough, making the Liberty for the purposes of the Act a county of itself. The Liberty is a magisterial jurisdiction having a separate commission of the Peace and is totally distinct for magisterial proceedings from the County of Northamptonshire, the magistrates of which have no jurisdiction within it. As the bill was originally drawn, the appointment and regulation of the police force to be raised in the Liberty rested with the County Magistrates. The alteration in question remedies the anomaly and vests the power in the magistrates of the Liberty, who will thereby have in their hands effectual control over their own officers.
Peterborough Advertiser 17 May 1856
Improvement Commissioners Meeting.
Watch Committee Report
Mr. Simpson asked if it was correct that the Superintendent had been absent one whole night for the purpose of conveying a lunatic to London. Mr Household replied that such was the case though he only knew of it a day or two ago. Smith was then called in and said that Mr. Buckle had sent him and that he had only left at two o'clock in the afternoon, and the train having been delayed, he found it impossible to return that night. The Chairman said that it was both irregular and a breach of duty towards the Commissioners to absent himself without permission and hoped that it would not occur again. Mr. Simpson said that, having been twelve months in office, it was high time that he should know his duty, as he was only employed by Mr. Buckle in his capacity of Clerk to the Board of Guardians, not as one of the Commissioners.
Peterborough Advertiser 20 Sept 1856 p71
Improvement Commissioners. New Board.
Committees mentioned: Gas, Pavement, Finance, Sewerage, Watch, Nuisances Removal. Also mentioned Inspector of Common Lodging Houses, Cemetery Commissioners
The other night Constable Thurlow apprehended an abandoned woman known as 'Norfolk Blackey' for being drunk and disorderly. She was locked up for the night.
Peterborough Advertiser 4 October 1856 p79
Police ! Police ! (Letter to the editor)
As the readiest method of obtaining attention to any particular nuisance seems to be a letter to the Editor, I beg, through the medium of your columns, to call the attention of the police authorities to the state of our streets on Sunday evening and to ask them if they do not think some half-dozen real policemen needed to clear them, or at least keep something a little like order, in place of the two or three antiquated individuals who apparently have quite enough to do to take care of themselves. Surely, we shall not have to put up again this winter, with such collection of boys and girls of the lowest sort, as we had last winter, rendering it unpleasant for men and highly disgusting to respectable females to pass through the town, for the language is low enough for Billingsgate, the tone of voice employed is generally the very highest. If I succeed in calling the attention of the powers that be to this matter, I do not think you will think your space badly occupied. I am, Sir, Yours respectfully, E.C.A.
Peterborough Advertiser 22 November 1856 p 107
Improvement Commissioners. The Watch Committee stated that they had appointed James Alexander a night watchman. His character was, upon the whole, good and his conduct had been very satisfactory since his appointment.
Peterborough Advertiser, 13th September 1856
More House breaking. About three o'clock on Sunday morning Mrs Newcombe of Wellington Lane overheard a noise as of someone moving in the kitchen and awakening her husband, communicated her belief that some person had got into the house. Mrs Newcombe opened the chamber window and asked who was there. No reply was made and Mrs Newcombe then descended the stairs. On reaching the bottom she saw a man lying on the floor beneath the kitchen window and shouted to her husband "there is somebody here" Mr Newcombe raised the neighbourhood by his shouts, and several men came quickly to his assistance. One of the neighbours was armed with a gun, and an effectual guard was kept on the fellow in the house pending the arrival of the police, for whom messengers had been despatched. The housebreaker in appearance was more pitiable than alarming, being poorly clothed and shirtless, and dirty in the extreme. When interrogated as to his object in entering the house, the fellow, who either was drunk, or pretended to be, mumbled something about "coming out of the rain". The messengers in search of the police found Superintendent Smith and Constable's Thurlow and Gordon at their respective posts and the two latter accompanied them to Newcombe's, took the intruder into custody, and conveyed him to the lock-up. He gave his name as George Cook, an Irish labourer, who had recently been employed harvesting in the Fens. A small testament, the property of Mr Newcombe, was found in his possession. On Tuesday he was taken before the Rev. W. Strong, T. life, and J.M. Vipan Esquires, and in answer to the charge stated that he "was very drunk and did not know how he came in the house" He was committed for three months as a rogue and Vagabond.
Peterborough Weekly News and General Advertiser 1 Nov 1856 p95
Report of the meeting of the Improvement Commissioners 28th October 1856
Watch Committee Report. The Superintendent had been instructed to keep a record of the time that was lighted and put out. He was also recommended to arrange matters that no two watchmen should be on duty at the same place at the same time. In answer to the advertisement which had appeared in the Peterborough Advertiser for a Supernumerary and a Night Watchman, a number of applications had been sent in, which were then read as follows: James Alexander aged 38; Edward Hides aged 20; William Roughton; John Maddox Jackson Junior age 20; Who hoped and trusted in Providence that he might obtain the situation; and William Fevre. Mr Thompson proposed that Maddox should be employed as supernumerary. The whole of the applicants were then called in and after several questions put to them by the chairman were required to retire, when it was decided that provided his character was satisfactory James Alexander, a fine looking man who had the appearance of having been in the army but who stated he was a ?unreadable? and formerly a farmer's servant, should be engaged. The report was then resumed. It stated the watchman required new coats and hats. Mr Whitwell wished to know if on their having new clothes it was understood that they should give up the old ones, and if not he proposed that they should be considered the property of the Commissioners and given up to them. Mr Household having seconded this Mr Simpson proposed that the wearers should retain them when they were replaced by others, which was seconded by Mr Thompson. Mr Carter suggested that the disposal of the old clothes should be left to the discretion of the Watch Committee. Mr Simpson said he did not see why they should have the ?? dignity and honour of giving away these things (laughter). On a show of hands four were held up for the amendment and 6 for Mr Whitwell's proposition. It was then suggested that tenders be advertised for new hats and coats in the Peterborough Advertiser, Mr Whitwell remarking it is a capital way of making one's wants known to the public. The chairman wished to throw out a hint and recommended that they should not go to any great expense as he did not know how far the authority would be interfered with by the new Police Act. Mr Miller thought it was absurd to talk of ordering new coats and hats when it was not certain they should retain their own men and he therefore proposed that the coats should be mended. The chairman thought it was very likely the present watchman would be superseded by the new police. Mr Whitwell said that altered the case and he therefore quite agreed with Mr Miller's amendment, and the question was postponed.
Peterborough Weekly News and General Advertiser Saturday, November 29th, 1856. P.110, Col.6
Costs of the new police for the Liberty of Peterborough discussed
Report to the Adjourned Quarter Session of the Liberty of Peterborough Justices held on 25 November 1856
Report of a committee looking into the establishment of a proper police force for the Liberty under the new Act under Chairmanship of Earl Fitzwilliam.
Recommended
1 Ch Constable, pay subject to arrangements with the County Magistrates,
1 Supt £90 pa
1 Insp £80 pa
1 Sgt £60 pa
8 1st class constables at £1 per week
5 2nd class constables at 17s6d per week
Discussion about what proportion of the establishment should be in the town and rural areas and the amount of the rate for each.
Mr. Strong: "You cannot strictly call the inspector a Peterborough constable though he resides there; and if you keep the Peterborough police low, you gentlemen will perhaps get your pockets picked when you come to town".
Mr. English: "It we keep you high, you will be so well protected that all the thieves will come into the country".
Captain Bayly raised the need for a proper police station in Peterborough
Peterborough Weekly News And General Advertiser Saturday, November 29th, 1856. P.110
Editorial on the setting up of the new police for the Liberty of Peterborough
"Our magistrates have perfected and made public their scheme for a police for the Liberty. We think that the scheme will meet with general approbation. Economy and efficiency have both been duly considered, and there is every promise that, at a comparatively small cost, we shall have such a Force as will be adequate to the wants of the city and district. The proposal to place the direction of the force in the hands of Captain Bayly, the Chief Constable of the county, must give satisfaction, as it comes recommended as a measure of economy, and a means of insuring uniformity in the management of the police of the county. For all but strictly police purposes our force will be distinct from that of the county. There are many advantages attendant on this separate jurisdiction which it is not necessary to enumerate. As will be seen by our report Mr. English objected to the scheme as unduly favourable to the city. This objection seems to be founded upon a narrow view of the services of a police and a faulty appreciation of the intimate connection existing between what is called "the rural district" and the city. The distinction, as regards the Soke is arbitrary. If the rural district was a distinct division, could maintain the same number of men as is appointed to it by the scheme at one half the estimated cost, it does not follow that it would have as efficient a police, and be as well protected. Mr. English's, argument, if good for anything, assumes that the number of men stationed in the country is all that has to be considered. Without the reserve for emergencies, the unity of action and covering power furnished by the central force in Peterborough, the seven constables would be of little use to the rural districts. Instead of a strong force at Peterborough being disadvantageous to the district with an affiliated police, it is just the reverse and the very disposition which an able chief constable would make with a view to the protection of the whole. Had Mr. English divided the liberty and given the seven constables, as useful as legs and arms separate from the head and body, to the rural district, and Peterborough had established an efficient independent police, then all the thieves must have been driven to the country as the safest place. Whether town or country our interests are in the matter identical and best served by a united police. The future Chief Constable asks that the police in the due discharge of their duties may be supported by the public. He is justified in seeking this support which we hope will be as ungrudgingly afforded, as it is wisely sought.
Peterborough Weekly News And General Advertiser 20 December 1856
Adj Quarter Sessions 13 Dec 1856
The Chief Constable showed the justices the books the force would keep and extra £15 pa for one of the constables to keep the records. Books to be produced periodically for the Police Committee. Discussion on Capt Bayly's salary - Home Office set a minimum for a Chief Constable of £250pa. They offered 100gns for the Liberty force's contribution to his salary. Also discussion about expenses for the Chief Constable.
Peterborough Weekly News And General Advertiser 3.1.1857 and 7.2. 1857
Advertisement for Constables of the Liberty of Peterborough Police.
Qualifications for constable:
- aged 22-35,
- Minimum height 5ft 8in without shoes,
- able to read and write a legible hand
- free from bodily complaints and of strong constitution according to the judgement of the surgeon by whom he will be examined.
- If married, must not have more than 2 children
- must produce certificates of character from at least two well known respectable persons
Peterborough Weekly News And General Advertiser 14 Feb 1857 p154
Police. People are asking after the new police and profess to be surprised at the time it takes to bring them out. No time we believe has been lost in making the appointments however close such appointments have been kept, with what object it is hard to discover - and the men are being selected. By March it is said, we shall have the new force in action.
Peterborough Weekly News And General Advertiser 28 Feb 1857 p162
The following (25) persons have been nominated to serve as constables for this city and the hamlets for the ensuing year.
J. Bristow*,
J. Waterfield,
J. Serjeant,
J. Jamblin,
G. Punt,
H. Jauncey*,
J. Read,
T. Allen,
W. Speechley*,
T. Rayner*,
S. Hunt,
W. Templemen*,
J.L. Lovell*,
G. Wallis
T. Shelton,
J. Newbon,
J. Barton,
T. Johnson,
J. Joyce*,
J.H. Barnes*,
R. Perkins*,
J. Hardy,
R. King*,
H. Branston*,
W. Southwell.
(The eleven marked thus * are now serving).
(This is a rare glimpse of the selection and appointment of Parish Constables, although this does not show a parish by parish breakdown.
Almost halh of the nominees appear to have served for more than one year. )
Peterborough Weekly News and General Advertiser 28 Feb 1857 p162
The New Police. The magistrates and Capt. Bayly, Chief Constable, met at the Gaol on Wednesday to examine the candidates for the situation of policemen for the Liberty. There were thirteen candidates out of which five constables were selected.
Peterborough Weekly News and General Advertiser 7 March 1857 p.166
The Police.
Mr. D. Smith, late Superintendent of the Chipping Norton Division of the County of Oxford has been appointed Superintendent of the Police of this Liberty. Mr. Superintendent Preston has also been appointed Inspector and J. Jeff of Kettering, Sergeant of the new force. The whole of the required number of constables has not yet been obtained, when it is, the force will enter upon their duties. The earlier the new police come into action the better for the peace and well being of the country. In this city an efficient force is urgently called for, fights and disturbances of that kind being of frequent occurrence. On Monday evening, two watermen were allowed to fight a regular pitched battle, with women acting as seconds, in the fair meadow and on Tuesday another row -of a similar description took place in Bridge Street.
Peterborough Weekly News and General Advertiser 14 March 1857
The New Police. On Wednesday, ten of the officers and men of the new police were sworn in. Several men are still wanted to complete the establishment. Those already embodied will at once go into training and a month or so will elapse before they are ready to enter upon their duties. In the meantime the building formerly occupied as the infirmary will be converted into a station—house with residence for officers and barracks for single men. Capt. Bayly is sparing no efforts that will contribute to the formation of the force on a satisfactory footing.
Peterborough Weekly News and General Advertiser 18 April 1857
Liberty of Peterborough. Chief Constable's Office, Northampton, April 13th 1857
"I beg leave most respectfully to inform you that the County Police Acts having been declared in operation by the City and Liberty of Peterborough of which I have been appointed Chief Constable. I hereby give you notice, in conformity with 20th Sec, of the Act, 3 and 4 Vic., Cap.88, that I shall be prepared to take charge of the city on and after 1st May next".
Peterborough Weekly News and General Advertiser 8 April 1857
A Retirement."For a period of 35 Years the onerous and important duties of Chief Constable of Peterborough have been efficiently performed by
Mr. Bristow. The establishment of the New Police now allows of Mr. Bristow's retirement from the office he has so ably filled and
though it may be at first difficult to do so, our townsmen must look elsewhere for that advice and assistance that they have been so long accustomed to get from him. If we are not mistaken, Mr. Bristow has performed his public function to the satisfaction of his fellow citizens and some of them will doubtless think that a faithful old servant's retirement should not take place without an expression of public feeling."
Peterborough Weekly News and General Advertiser 13 Feb 1875
Death of Mr. George Bristow.
We announce with regret the death of Mr. George Bristow, which occurred at his residence - the Manor Rouse, Fletton, on Saturday. Mr. Bristow was born at Lincoln in 1791 and had consequently attained his 84th year. He was hale and hearty up to a comparatively late date and died from decay of nature. Mr. Bristow came to Peterborough at an early age, and subsequently entered into business here. He was well and widely known as the head of the firm of Bristow & Son, auctioneers and valuers and had worthily discharged many local offices, amongst them that of head constable of the Liberty for upwards of half a century. For a long period the good order of the City and Liberty depended upon Mr. Bristow and his assistants, and his resolution and intelligence enabled him to meet the demands of every occasion, however pressing, as at election and fair times. To his friends, Mr. Bristow was endeared by his social, kindly qualities, and by all who knew him, he was respected.
Almanac Entries from Clarke’s Companion to the Almanac 1853 - 1857 (from copies held at the Peterborough Archives; originals in the Peterborough Museum)
1853 Night Police
Van Der Aa, Peter, Superintendent Cumbergate Street
William Barber, Richard Gordon, Henry Redhead, John Wright
1854 Night Police
Van Der Aa, Peter, Superintendent Cumbergate Street,
William Barber, Richard Gordon, William Southwell, William Phillips
1855 Night Police
Van Der Aa, Peter, Superintendent Cumbergate Street,
William Barber, Richard Gordon, William Southwell, John Thurlow
Constables:
George Bristow, James Joyce, Henry Jauncey, Geo Morton, Jas Lovell, Thos Rayner, Thos Blunsum and Simon Brakes
1856 Night Police
Mr Smith Superintendent, St Johns Street,
William Barber, Richard Gordon, William Willgrove, John Thurlow
Constables:
George Bristow, James Joyce, Henry Jauncey, W Templeman, Jas Lovell, Thos Rayner, Thos Blunsum, J.H. Barnes
1857 Night Police
Mr Smith Superintendent, St Johns Street,
William Barber, Richard Gordon, James Alexander, John Thurlow
Constables:
George Bristow, James Joyce, Henry Jauncey, W Templeman, Jas Lovell, Thos Rayner, Thos Blunsum, J.H. Barnes
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