The office of constable is an old one. In the past, there were high constables and constables of lathes, wapentakes, hundreds and franchises; and there were other men serving similar functions under different names, including borsholders, boroheads, headborows and others. These individuals were based in towns, parishes, hamlets, in other words, in settlements of various sizes and populations.

They originated, pre-1066, with individuals being ‘ordained for the more sure keeping of the peace, and for the better repressing of thieves and robbers’. All free men were supposed to organised themselves into companies, each comprising ten men. If any ‘harm’ or crime was committed by one of these ten men, and he then fled, the other nine men in his company could be punished, probably by a fine, in his absence. Those who were unable to get accepted into a company because of a bad reputation could be imprisoned as one ‘unworthy to live at liberty amongst men abroad’.

The high constable was established in law under Edward I, and was the constable of a hundred; traditionally, a petty constable, also known as a tythingman, was responsible for a tything. Constables executed the precepts of justices of the peace, including the appointments of overseers of the poor and highway surveyors, and oversaw the surveying of bridges, issuing precepts for alehouse licensing and the levying of county rates. Their role, then, took on much more than the apprehension of suspected criminals – they had a vital role in maintaining the social cohesion of their local area, ensuring that everything worked and that people took on other roles within their community.

The custom in towns was that its inhabitants should take it in turns to serve as constables – and that could mean both men and women being constables. The 18th century legal writer Richard Burn criticised this habit, for the simple reason that he felt women shouldn’t be able to take on such a public role. However, he was forced to concede that ‘such customs [are] allowed to be good’ in other legal books, and that in practice, a woman might choose to ask someone else to serve in her stead anyway.

Others would try to avoid serving, such as physicians, but in law they had little choice but to serve. They could not say that their practice meant they were too busy, because these practices were private, not public offices. The only physicians who were not allowed to be constables were the president, commons and fellows of the ‘faculty of physick’ in London. Surgeons in London were also exempt from being constables; one man, a surgeon named Mr Pond, once refused to be a constable and was indicted for this – but the rule was upheld that members of London’s corporation of surgeons were indeed exempt.

Another profession that was exempt was that of the apothecary – but only if they were based in London or ‘within several miles thereof’. In addition, those in the provinces who had served a seven-year apprenticeship were also exempt. Some others had ‘privilege’ when it came to avoiding being a constable, including attorneys at Westminster, practising barristers, militiamen and London Aldermen (in the latter case, it was recorded that they could not be ‘compelled’ to be a constable).

The method of choosing and swearing in constables had changed over time, but by the 18th century, the usual manner was that high constables were chosen at the sessions attended by magistrates; similarly, petty constables would be nominated and sworn in by the justices of the peace. If someone really didn’t want to serve, they might refuse – but then also find that the magistrates bound them over to the sessions or the assize courts, where they would be indicted and face a criminal conviction.

A constable’s duties
The job of a constable could be onerous. As well as his business carrying out the orders of the magistrates, he had criminal activity to monitor and sort. If anyone assaulted another person in his presence, or threatened someone, or in any other way be ‘ready to break the peace’, the constable was responsible for committing him to the local stocks, to a gaol, or to a magistrate, until the individual was able to find financial sureties. The constable could take this money himself, to be sealed and delivered, and if the individual could not, or would not, find the money from friends or relatives, the constable could take him to prison until the money could be found. However, the constable was not allowed to take a man’s oath. He was, though, regarded as an officer of the magistrate, and as such he could execute a magistrate’s warrants.

If a constable was assaulted by an individual while he was executing his office, and in self-defence the constable killed that person, he would not be regarded as having committed a felony – but if he in turn was killed by someone he was trying to apprehend, that would be regarded as premeditated murder. Constables could certainly face violence. In 1730, London constables were required to attend customs officers who were seizing tea and other goods from a property in Rosemary Lane, near the Tower of London. The goods were worth around £2000, and so both customs officers and those who had smuggled them into London were keen to have them. Violence arose, and one of the constables was left seriously wounded.

What was the reward for being a constable, given his duties? The constable could deduct his own ‘reasonable’ charges from executing warrants, or levying penalties, with conditions; if he had to take an individual to gaol, that person was responsible for repaying the cost of conveying him there. Local magistrates could discharge the constable from his office at sessions, and replace him, if he had served over a year.

In London, as the 18th century progressed, the situation was slightly different to in the provinces. Although the situation had been similar – householders serving by appointment or a rotation for a year, alongside their ordinary jobs – because of a desire to avoid this task, some men had taken to paying others to take their role. Enterprising individuals then started becoming a paid deputy constable or night watchman, making the role both paid and more professional. Therefore, London had regular patrols of paid constables and watchmen, some of whom even wore uniforms – many years before the Metropolitan Police came into being. This was in addition to the Bow Street Runners, fee-charging thief-takers based at the Bow Street magistrate’s office. In 1792, seven police offices were established in the capital, which were staffed both by stipendiary (paid) magistrates and by constables, and charged with finding and arresting criminals (the Old Bailey Proceedings Online website has some great background on early policing in London).

‘Modern’ policing
In 1829, the Metropolitan Police Act came into force, creating a new police service in London. This eventually took in parts of pre-existing policing in the capital, including the late 18th century Marine Police, and the Bow Street Horse Patrol.

However, the City of London Police has always been a separate organisation with responsibility for policing the Square Mile. Historically, City policing was the responsibility of the City Watch – operating day and night shifts under two sheriffs – with ward beadles, under the aldermen, responsible for maintaining the Night Watch. The Day Watch eventually evolved into the City Day Police, which in turn was modelled on the new Metropolitan Police; in 1832, the London City Police officially came into being, and this in turn became the City of London Police in 1839.

This was the same year that the County Police Act enabled magistrates to establish police forces in their own counties. This act, however, did not make such forces compulsory – it was only in 1856 that the provision of county police forces became mandatory.