The Middle Ages adi066-1485

When the Normans conquered England, they adopted many Anglo-Saxon laws keeping methods such as the tithings, the hue and cry, the hundred and Shire courts. They worked so well and people were used to them so they saw no reason to change.

As time went on the Lord of the Manor³ became the local ruler. He had a Manor Court and appointed officers responsible for functions such as ale tester, bread weigher. The most important of these was the local Constable who helped the Lord of the Manor to keep the King’s Peace. He was not paid and he had to combine his duties with his ordinary work as best he could. His tasks included reporting villager’s behaviour to the Courts, arresting criminals and guarding them until their trial and calling out the hue and ciy.

In 1285, a new law laid down rules which made the citizens of every walled town ‘watch the town continually all night, from the sun setting to the sun rising’. Any stranger was to be put under arrest and handed over to the constable in the morning. It was the constable’s duty to organise night watchman in turns to cany out these duties.

In 1361, an Act of Parliament made it law for each County to appoint three or four worthy men to arrest, restrain and chastise offenders and rioters. These men were to be known as Justices of the Peace⁴ which still exist today in Magistrates Courts.

Tudor and Stuart Times adi 485-1714

Life in England became very different in these times, both the Barons and the Church became veiy powerful. The Justices of the Peace together with the Parish Council took over the local government.

The constable was still not given any pay or uniform. He was an ordinary citizen chosen to do a special job. The duties he performed were not popular and were increasing. Not only did he have to catch those who committed crimes but carry out punishments as well.

In 1663, the City of London began to employ paid watchmen to guard the streets at night. In later years these men were named Charlies. For the tiny sum of money paid these men were usually old, half starved and of little use. They carried a bell, a lantern and a rattle and were armed with a staff. Baiting Charlies was a popular sport with the young men of the time.

London in the 18th & 19th Centuries

In 1748, London was a very dangerous place to live. People were forced to travel, even in the middle of the day as if they were going in to battle. At that time a man called Henry Fielding, the Chief Magistrate for Westminster, a district in the City, had his Office in Bow Street near Covent Garden. He realised that London needed a more permanent and efficient Force than the local constables. They still had no uniforms but they were paid a salary for giving full time to the job. The little Force became known as Mr. Fielding’s people and they were successfid in breaking up a number of criminal gangs. They later became known as the Bow Street Runners.

Fielding realised that if his Force were to have any success they needed help from the general public. He published descriptions of criminals and of crime and asked the public to help with information. Very soon this little Force had improved the state of London’s streets.

When Henry Fielding died at the age of 47 his blind half brother John took over from him and improved the Force. In 1763, he organised a small night horse patrol to guard the roads leading into London but he had to abandon it the following year when the government withdrew the money to keep it running.

Despite their hard work, honesty and courage, the two Fielding brothers had little immediate effect on crime in London. Then ideas, however, began a 75 year struggle to police London adequately and they left behind them the Bow Street Runners who were a useful band of thief takers who could work in any part of the Country.

One of the richest areas for theft in those days was the River Thames. All along the wharves lay merchant ships loaded with rich cargoes. All the goods passing in and out of the country were stored in large warehouses along the riverside and in the docks. The losses of these goods by theft were colossal.

A sea Captain named John Harriot and a London magistrate, Patrick Colquhoun, devised a scheme for policing the River Thames and the wharves along its banks. The scheme was put into action in 1800 with a Force of 60 salaried men, with their Headquarters at Wapping, a district in the City. The River Police helped to make the great Port of London more secure from theft and became the largest regular professional police force in London.

A mob who had been making a lot of money from smuggling and were upset because the River Police had stopped them doing so, attacked the Office of the Thames Magistrates. The Police, who were armed with cutlasses, fought them off. Although the mob were dispersed one of the Policemen was killed in the fight. The River Police are now part of London’s Metropolitan Police Force.

The successful example of the River Police encouraged the Home Secretary to increase the numbers of the Bow Street Runners. The Bow Street Horse Patrol was revived and 54 former cavalry troopers were employed to tackle the swarms of highwaymen who were robbing travellers daily on the roads in and out of London. These men wore a uniform which consisted of a blue coat with yellow buttons, blue trousers, black boots, a tall leather hat rather like a top hat, white gloves and a scarlet waistcoat. This gave them the nickname of Robin Redbreasts. They were armed with a pistol, a cutlass and a truncheon.

A few years later they were reinforced by a training branch called the Unmounted Horse Patrol, numbering about 100 men. Both branches answered to the Home Secretary and were the first uniformed Police in the country.

Meanwhile, a larger foot patrol in plain clothes was organised. They were also armed with cutlass and truncheon and worked in the inner London area and for about 5 miles along the roads of the suburbs.