This is a post about crime and apprehending wrongdoers in the late 18th century and the first half of the 19th in Marlow.
Before there was an organised police force in Bucks, Marlow relied on it's parish constables, tithing men, night watchmen and the parish beadle to keep law and order. For more on the role of the Beadle and a bit about George Pocock who held this position for some time, see a dedicated post here
Parish Constables were unpaid and selected from local householders in theory. You couldn't refuse the role as such, but you could pay someone else to do the job for you. If you didn't put sufficient effort into the role, you could find yourself in court yourself. The standard of policing therefore varied year on year. Some parish constables were summoned in their own right, usually for failing to execute an arrest, or delaying it at least.
In Marlow, the same people often appear to hold this role for several years, probably because they were known to be willing to take on the job. They were effectively therefore paid by whoever was supposed to take on the role for that term, and they could also claim back certain expenses and get a payment for apprehending some offenders. (See Note 1) Marlow seems lucky to have gained these semi professional constables, because a number of them were known to travel far and wide in the pursuit of offenders in the 1820's - 40's. Constable John Boulter in the mid 1820's stands out as one of these. Some of those working with Boulter were regarded as much less satisfactory, and in the end an additional Special Constable William Sawyer was brought back out of retirement to bring something of a local crime wave under control in the later 1820s. It seems they were partially successful at least, with a number of members of a robbery gang based in Marlow sent to the Assizes after Boulter and Sawyer tracked gang leader George Edmonds to a pub in Flackwell Heath, a village with a very rough reputation, and arrested him. George's brother was hung for horse stealing. See a post here.
But before these dedicated men came along, and in the gaps between them, the constables were said to be extremely wary of apprehending offenders such as poachers given the fact they were frequently outnumbered and arrests could lead to bloodshed. Even in 1840, an attempt to arrest Well End (modern day Dean Street, not Well End, Little Marlow) poacher William Perry involved a 100 strong crowd calling for the law mans blood, an attack by a dog and eventually the knocking out and disarming of the outmanoeuvred Parish Constable. A full account of this tumultuous day can be read here. This is an extreme example, but it is no surprise that unpaid men were not going to necessarily go looking for troublemakers if they could avoid it in a not too overt way. In the interests of balance I must add we have also found examples of parish constables here acting in a violent manner with little provocation, and more on this will follow.
From 1842, paid constables could be directly employed by the parish. I'm not sure when Marlow got their first constable of this type but it would appear the regular constables in this period were some of the men performing the role prior to 1842. In the same year, the magistrates became the ones responsible for appointing the paid constables as opposed to the parish vestry or manor. But Marlow does not seem to like this change for in 1842 after the magistrates appointed their choice of parish constables, an old style "court leet" was held at Harleyford and another batch of constables were appointed and sworn in. Some men were actually appointed by both!
The early 1840's did see something of a crime epidemic in Marlow. The Bucks Gazette claimed that house breaking and robbery were so prevalent in Marlow in 1841 that few evenings passed without a home being attacked. Draper Mr (Edward) Hewett of the High Street had just became the latest victim. (His premises are shown below, read more about him here)
Despite this, a meeting by Marlow inhabitants to decide on the "propriety of establishing a police force" in the town resulted in a vote resoundingly in favour of doing no such thing. No doubt the issue of paying for this was foremost in the voters minds. The issue was taken out of the locals hands when Buckinghamshire Constabulary was formed in 1857. However Marlow continued to elect Parish Constables for decades. The cost of maintaining both was a very frequent cause of complaint, because the parish constables were entitled to certain fees and payments even though they did not receive a wage as such. Arguements relating who should receive a fee for executing a warrant on behalf of the Marlow Petty Sessions magistrates are common in the late 1850's and 60s. A dual system of constables had some advantages though. If you wished a summons to be issued on your behalf for certain offences eg to a husband for deserting his family or for an affiliation order in the event of an illegitimate child, you as the victim actually had to pay the police to execute the warrant under some circumstances. (Who is deemed liable to pay is very variable) The parish constables were often willing to do so for free, on the basis that they would claim back a fee from the court in the event of a successful prosecution, paid out of costs awarded.
Parish Constables were still appointed by the magistrates in the 1890s, from a list of "fit and proper persons" provided by the parish vestry. At this point they were normally 4 in number and their everyday duties light.
DIY CRIME FIGHTING
Although Marlow was fortunate to gain several diligent Parish Constables, they did have limited time and training. So if you suffered a crime, and were rich enough, it was down to you to take many of the steps that might bring the perpetrator to justice. You could circulate a description and advertise an reward for the suspects apprehension for example. It seems some people were reluctant to spend money on this kind of activity, as it involved more outlay when you had already suffered a loss, with no guarantee of success. This in turn upset others who were anxious that criminals should feel it likely they would be pursued until caught. So in an effort to increase convictions, a couple of anti crime related subscription societies were set up in Marlow.
One was the Society for Prevention of Sheep Stealing which was active by 1775. If a sheep was stolen, the subscription funds were used to cover the cost of advertising for information as well as providing a reward should an arrest result. There was for example a hefty 10 guinea reward in 1775 for the capture of the person responsible for stealing a "fat ewe" from Lower Temple Meadow. The same amount was offered in 1778 for the recovery of some sheep last seen grazing in a turnip field in Well End, Little Marlow. If an accomplice to the theft should come forward with information, the Society would they said, endeavour to procure them a pardon. There was no guarantee they would be successful in this appeal however!
In 1788, Marlow had an "Association for Prosecuting Felonies, Robberies and Thefts" which was also a subscription organisation. It was open to those living in Great and Little Marlow as well as Bisham and Wycombe. If a member suffered a crime on their person or property, and their subscription was up to date, they could be paid back for costs incurred in the pursuit and apprehension of the offender. So should you discover that you had been a crime victim, the first thing you needed to do was record this fact with either the treasurer Mr Herne, or the secretary Mr Henry Allnutt (an attorney who was also secretary of the anti sheep stealing association) as well as two other members. Either of the first would then go to all of the trouble of organising the advertising of a reward and doing whatever they could to trace the offender. Expenses incurred yourself to the same end would be settled at one of the bi annual subscribers meetings at the Crown. One thing you could not do however, and that was chose not to press charges in the end. If you did not play your part in bringing the criminal to trial, you would have your membership terminated for good with no subscription payments returned. Membership was restricted to those who could make the minimum 5 shilling payment a year, in addition to additional fees based on the amount of land you owned and it's value. You were covered even if you were away from home, outside the membership catchment area.
The amount of reward offered by the above depended on the punishment that could be inflicted on the wrongdoer. You could get £10 for information securing the conviction of someone for a capital offence, and £7 7s if they were transported for a minimum of 14 years. Other crimes not leading to transportation could earn an informant just over £1.
In the 1820's there are also mentions of a Great Marlow Society for the Protection of Property with similar aims and adverts offering rewards.
THE NIGHTWATCH
Originally adult males were supposed to take it in turn to participate in the night watch, or they could pay someone to deputise for them. The Parish Constables were responsible for organising and supervising this. Some towns had an exclusively paid night watch organised by the parish but I have not found evidence of this in Marlow until the 1840's. Organised watching seems to have faded away here but some citizens got together in 1828 to pay for a private night watch in "consequence of the numerous depredations committed in and about the town." The three men would be employed during the winter months only. Other references to the watch in this period refer to it being introduced to deal with specific events such as during the period of canvassing before the 1830 election. This particular night watch doesn't seem to have been too effective as under it's nose the town became victim of a spate of night burglaries supposed to have been committed by a Berkshire gang. (Many of these crimes are blamed on Berkshire residents over time, no doubt Berkshire people blamed Bucks gangs for the same!) But in 1840's Marlow did have a paid designated night watchmen, Mr Shaw, who patrolled all night, calling out the time and weather as they went. "Past twelve o'clock and a cloudy night!" was a typical phrase as remembered by a later Victorian looking back.
I have also found descriptions of parish constables themselves coming across a crime in progress at night, perhaps while out checking on the public night watch when it existed. Parish Constable Henry Stallwood for example is described as on patrol at 2am in Marefield when he comes across a man who has been robbed. He subsequently catches those responsible as he had seen them lurking suspiciously a little before. Interestingly, he does not approach these suspicious men when he first sees them, despite noticing that one had his face disguised and they were standing about in the early hours of the morning. He obviously recognised them and thought it better to apprehend them in the daylight.
NOTE
1. The Constables were required to present signed accounts not less often than every 3 months, to the overseers of the poor. The books could be examined by rate payers and the payment had to be approved by them. It was paid out of the poor rates.
Written and researched by Kathryn Day.
Related Posts:
To read about the first police station and the later police court extension see here.
Light fingered Marlow here
Charles East, transported for 14 years - info within the post here
Webb's gang of marauders - bringing terror to 1820s Marlow here
For other crime related posts see the General History option here or use the top drop down menu
SOURCES
The Parish Officer: Comprising the Whole of the Present Law Relating to the Several Parish and Union Officers, as Well as of the Guardians of the Poor in England, Comprising Also the Law as to Church Rates, Highway Rates, Vestries, Watching and Lighting, &c - Archbold, Frederick John, Shaw 1858
Reading Mercury 19 July 1775, 21 January 1788, Copy from the British Library and accessed via the BNA.
Oxford Journal 24 February 1778, as above.
Berks Chronicle 26 March 1825, 2 February 1828 as above.
Oxford University and City Herald 25 November 1826 as above
Bucks Gazette 17 April 1841, as above.
Windsor and Eton Express November 15 1828, 13 November 1841 as above
Bucks Herald 17 April 1858, as above
British Library Online: https://www.bl.uk/georgian-britain/articles/crime-and-punishment-in-georgian-britain Accessed April 2021
https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/laworder/policeprisons/overview/watchmenconstables/ Accessed March 2021
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