DOGBERRY "ON DUTY."
There were two other officials besides the Overseer and Church-warden,
the dignity of whose office entitles them to a place of honour in these
sketches--viz., the old Parish Constable, and the Parish Beadle.
To understand what the old Parish Constable was in relation to the
public peace we have to consider him as embodying most of the functions
of the present county policeman, and a variety of other matters, some
of which now fall upon the Relieving Officer, the Recruiting Sergeant,
and Overseer. All this helped to place him in a position of some
dignity and importance, which he conceived entitled him to advise even
magistrates and parsons on their duty! Over the Parish Constable was a
Chief Constable for each hundred, through whom he was in touch with the
Quarter Sessions. Unlike the Parish Constable, {48} however, the Chief
Constableship of the hundred was a life appointment. When the police
force came into existence the gentlemen holding the office of Chief
Constable of the hundreds were pensioned off, and, in support of the
popular notion of the longevity of pensioners, it may be of interest to
add that some of these old superannuated Chief Constables' pensions
were still running in Cambridgeshire until recent years; indeed, I am
not sure that the payments have all ended even yet. In this county,
too, the old Parish Constables are still appointed annually; but their
glory has long since departed.
The Parish Constable was essentially an emergency man, and the manner
in which he "rose to the occasion," forms a curious and interesting
chapter of parochial history. If occasionally, like his prototype in
"_Much ado about Nothing_," he, on the clerical side of his office,
made a slip, and committed an offender to "everlasting redemption," and
put down "flat burglary" for perjury, still he did manage to acquit
himself of his task in a practical sort of way, though always with a
tender regard for his own comfort when on duty.
The office of the old Parish Constable was not quite adapted to the
modern idea of police work. Until a crime was committed the old
constable had no reason to bestir himself, and when a crime was
committed he was hampered in many ways. With a drunkard and a brawler
he had the stocks ready to hand, but when a great crime was committed
such as sheep-stealing--fearfully common, notwithstanding the dread
penalty of the law, in the last and also the present century--the
constable had no convenient telegraph office from which to warn his
brother officers round the whole country side. He had therefore to
resort to the homely process of carrying the intelligence himself, and
such items as
L s. d.
for carrying a hue and cry to Anstey . . . . 0 0 4
represented the highest point of Dogberry's intelligence department.
From one Parish Constable to another the news was carried, like the
fiery cross over the Border, until the whole country round was aware of
what had occurred, and, as one might expect, the criminal himself had
often got fairly away.
Those parishes lying near the coach roads sometimes had a good share of
this carrying the hue and cry, and searching for criminals. Thus in
Therfield parish in 1757, we find the constable making this charge:--
for Sarchin the Parish upon Account of the mail L s. d.
being robedd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 1 0
This was the Caxton mail bag, and the "sarchin the parish" appears to
have created a profound impression upon the inhabitants, possibly from
the awful penalty for such an offence which young Gatward of the Red
Lion, at Royston, had suffered only a few years before. {49} The story
of the searching of the houses of Therfield for the missing mail bag
has been handed down even within the memory of persons still living.
The search appears to have been fruitless, but the truth could wait
even a hundred years; for, about thirty years ago some workmen, who
were digging at a spot at the entrance to the village by the Royston
road, actually dug up the brass label of the "Caxton letter-bag," and
thus confirmed the suspicions of those who had fixed upon the village
on the hill as the neighbourhood towards which the stolen mail-bag had
been carried by the robbers of that far-off time.
But though the Parish Constables were not an organised force of
permanent officials, there was something like a system, and on special
occasions of a heavy calendar at the Assizes or Quarter Sessions, we
find the Parish Constables drafted to be on duty at Hertford or
Cambridge, even though they had no business from their own parish.
Thus as late as 1823, when the celebrated trial of Thurtle and Hunt
took place at the Hertford Assizes, the Therfield Parish Constable's
accounts for the year contain this entry:--
Thomas Lacey, constable to the parish of Therfield, for attending the
Assizes at the trial of Probet hunt and turtle--
L s. d.
expense heating and Drinkin Lodgin . . . . . . . . 1 5 0
allowance for 6 days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 10 6
There also appears to have been a sort of gathering of the clans and a
dinner once a year, and in every parish account I have seen Dogberry
credits himself with having--
L s. d.
Paid at the constables' fiest . . . . . . . . . . 0 2 6
But, however useful and dignified an official the old constable was in
emergencies affecting the public peace, it was on the civil side of his
work that his duties often became the most interesting, when, as was
the case in most villages where no beadle was kept, he combined the
duties of that office with those of the policeman; and in no respect
does he figure in so interesting a light as in the pleasing function of
arranging paupers' marriages and seeing that they were carried out.
The motive for all Dogberry's finesse in match-making diplomacy was
connected with the old parochial settlement. If one of the fair sex
was likely to become troublesome to a parish our friend Dogberry made
it his business to get hold of the responsible swain, and by
persuasion, bribes, and threats, managed to bring the parties together,
get them through the marriage ceremony, and himself (the constable)
earned the lasting gratitude of the parish for having got rid of a
pauper, settlement and all! The pecuniary consideration involved was
so important that when the bride was of one parish and the bridegroom
of another, a good dealing of manoeuvring between the rival
constables--the one to force on and the other to prevent the
match--took place, and when the successful constable did manage to
bring the parties together, the {50} parish benefitting by the process
could afford to be liberal, and Dogberry, and his "aid," and the
wedding pair, had a merry time of it while the credit of the parish
lasted. So much of a bargain-making was this marrying a pauper that it
is not unusual to find such entries as these in the parish books of
last century--
L s. d.
Gave W---- a wife, cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 19 6
By expenses attending, Marrying, Mary D----,
and sending her away . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 17 6
When a pauper had brought about trouble under the Bastardy Laws
Dogberry first used the arm of the law by apprehending him, and then
the subtle methods of diplomacy by marrying him.
Interesting are the detailed accounts of the old weddings carried out
under the superintendence of the Parish Constable. Here is one from
the parish of Therfield--
Therfield Parish dr. to H. Hodge.
Etin and drinkin at John Hollensworth's weddin.
Aug. 8 3 folks suppor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 2 0
" 9 3 folks brakfarst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 1 6
" " 3 deners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 3 0
" " 3 suppors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 2 0
" 10 3 brakfast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 1 6
To Beer for the Hol Time . . . . . . . . . . 0 13 4
2 Cunstablers' time, 2 days . . . . . . . . . 0 8 9
2 nits (nights) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 6 0
Pad at Sam Green's Cheppine . . . . . . . . . 0 2 8
-------
2 0 9
In another hand is added . . . . . . . . . 0 19 3
-------
L3 0 0
Here is a picture of a very interesting state of things! The little
party that persuaded John Hollensworth to marry the fair one, who was
expected otherwise to be a trouble to the parish, evidently went off to
Buntingford on August 8th to get there in time for the great event on
the morning of August 9th, and, after spending the day in the manner
indicated by this hotel bill, remained till the 10th and left after
brakfarst. But even the responsible pair of "Cunstablers" failed to
get by Sam Green's, at Chipping, without spending that 2s. 8d., and
arrived home late at night on the 3rd day, in what condition the record
says not, but so much to the satisfaction of the parish that their
diplomacy was apparently rewarded by a substantial bonus of 19s. 3d.
being added to their bill!
There are many other journeys to Buntingford on a similar errand
recorded in the parish accounts of Therfield. In one case in 1774 the
bounty of L3 3s. 3d. was given to the man for taking the woman, and the
total of the "Cunstabler's" expenses in this little expedition was L8
19s. 2d. The details of this account contain a remarkable run of {51}
items for Quarts of Beer, "beer for parish ofesers," &c., and of the
whole account of 40 items 19 of them are beer!
In one case the expense of marrying a Barkway woman to a man at
Clavering cost L6 0s. 11d., and of this amount L3 4s. 11d., was spent
in eating and drinking; L1 18s. 2d. at ye Bull, at Barkway, before the
party started, and the remainder at the Fox and Hounds at Clavering.
The carriers made a good thing out of these little transactions, for
there is one case from the parish of Barkway where the carrier charged
a bill of L1 3s. 6d. for conveying the bride and bridegroom and
Dogberry to the altar! But in this case the bill was for taking Sam
Smith and his future wife to London, and they did the thing in style!
First, the constables of Barkway and Therfield and their "aids" had to
apprehend the bridegroom; in the next place the marriage had for some
reason to come off in London, and before the ceremony was completed the
bill paid by the parish ran up to L6 11s. 8d. Some interesting details
of this wedding are given below:--
The parish of Barkway to John Beale (constable).
For the Expenses for haveing Saml. Smith and L s. d.
is wife to London . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 12 6
Paide at home before whe whent out with him,
for the gold Ring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 6 0
Paid at the Angel for Drink . . . . . . . . . . . 0 1 0
Paide for two Letters from W. Bullen . . . . . . . 0 1 0
Paide for a heade [Probably "aid"] coming
from Buntingford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 1 0
Paide Thos. Climmons three Days Jorney for
going to London . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 4 6
and three Days Jorney for my Self . . . . . . . . 0 7 6
Eatin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 5 0
Drink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 9 0
The degree of fervour with which the constable and his "aid" drank the
healths of the bride and bridegroom may be inferred from the large
proportion for drink. Something must of course be allowed for a
festive occasion such as this, when Dogberry could afford to waive a
little dignity and be sociable! But he did not always need this
incentive, and could even discharge the responsible office of having a
prisoner "in hold," and at the same time carry off a respectable
quantity of malt liquor. Take the following illustration--
The parish of Barkway, dr. to James Brown while R. R. was in hold.
1793. Jan. 17 To Dinner for Consbl. and 2 Aids and L s. d.
prisoner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 2 8
Do. Supper for do. . . . . . . . . . 0 2 0
" 18 Do. breakfast for do. . . . . . . . . 0 2 0
Do. for Dinner for do. . . . . . . . . 0 2 8
To Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 14 10
-------
1 4 2
{52} This little transaction covered 24 hours, from dinner time one day
to dinner time the next, inclusive, and while the four meals only cost
the moderate sum of 9s. 4d., the Beer came to 14s. 10d., or 3s. 8 1/2d.
each man, and, as the price was about as now, each man drank 22 pints
of beer!
That this little weakness was not peculiar to the parish of Barkway is
clear from the accounts in other parishes. Yet the account was allowed
and passed without any Government auditor!
The duty of keeping watch and ward in most places during the last
century, and a part of the present, was almost as important a civil
function as were the police functions of the old constable, if only for
the reason that fires were extremely common, and the buildings of
materials which led to fires of a destructive character when they did
occur.
[Illustration: DOGBERRY "ON DUTY."]
In the village constable were merged some of the functions both of
policeman and beadle. The function of "watch and ward" had, however,
no official representative in the villages, where in times of special
risk, when incendiary fires were too common, the principal inhabitants
took their turn in keeping watch. To find the Parish Beadle in the
full-blown dignity of his office we must therefore go to the towns, to
Royston for instance, where we shall find Mr. Bumble in all the stately
pomp of cocked hat, great coat with a red cape, and gold lace, breeches
and hose, and a staff with the royal authority of Georgius {53} Rex
emblazoned thereon! A full figure, and an interesting character,
worthy in every way of the old Georgian era; in a corporation, as
important in his own estimation as Mayor and Corporation combined;
elsewhere, as we shall see, he was sometimes reduced to the humiliating
condition of having to be "generally useful."
To our modern notions it must, I think, seem strange that it was
necessary for him to unburden his official conscience every hour of the
night by the ringing of his bell and calling out the hour and state of
the weather! We have no right, however, to laugh at our forefathers
about a matter of this kind, who might, I daresay, very well laugh at
some of our modern customs. We must bear in mind that there was no
policeman on beat at that time, and, considering how much one may get
reconciled to by the force of habit, it is quite possible that the
people of the Georgian era slept the more soundly for these nocturnal
interruptions--rested more peacefully upon the assurance which was thus
conveyed, however indistinctly, to their minds, that while they slept
their town and property were safe from the marauder, and safe from fire
so far as a dignified, not over-paid, and I daresay sometimes not very
wide-a-wake individual could make them so!
Royston was probably the only place in this district which employed a
beadle, bellman or watchman, as a permanent official. The first
account of such an appointment, that I can find from existing
documents, is for the year 1783. This year there was a special
arrangement made of a temporary kind to meet an emergency, or to
relieve the old Bellman. At any rate, in August of that year, it was
agreed in public Vestry to appoint an assistant watchman for six months
at eight shillings a week (no mention in his case of coat and hat,
&c.), to attend at the same hours as the old Bellman (Spicer), who was
then receiving nine shillings a week, besides outfit. The wages were
then paid partly out of "subscriptions of the gentry and partly from
the Church rate." Spicer, the "Old Bellman," as he was called, in
contradistinction to his assistant, continued to hold office after this
for about fourteen years, and then, after an evidently long period of
service, resigned the office through some little delinquency, and we
find the Vestry engaged in the important business of appointing a new
Beadle, Bellman or Watchman, the record of which will afford us a good
opportunity of learning something of what the duties of the office
were. The Beadle combined in his office a number of duties, including
one which he must have felt a little _infra dig_--I mean the office of
scavenger! The following is the record referred to:--
"At a Publick Vestry held at the Parish Church of Royston, the 24th day
of April, 1787, pursuant to public notice given in Church yesterday,
for the purpose of choosing a proper man to serve the office of Bellman
and Scavenger for this Town in place of William Spicer, who {54}
resigned his place at Church on Easter Monday." [The Easter Vestry had
had under their consideration complaints of Spicer's conduct, and there
was a full meeting now assembled.]
"It is Agreed upon _nem. con._ that the Place and Business of a Bellman
and Scavenger is to go about the Town in the Night as Bellman, from
Lady Day to Michaelmas Day from the Hours of Eleven o'clock at Night
until four o'clock in the Morning, and from Michaelmas Day to Lady Day
from the Hours of Eleven o'clock at Night until five o'clock in the
Morning, and to ring his Bell every time he calls the Hour, and to do
his Utmost endeavour to prevent any Robery to be done in the Town.
"And as Scavenger to Devout his whole time in the Day to Keep all the
Streets, Lanes, and Drains in the Town Clear; and not to Suffer any
Dirt to be in Heaps in any part of the Town, and to his utmost
Endeavour to prevent any Paupers to Beg about the Town, but forthwith
to apprehend them and send them out of the Town.
"And to assist the Constables in any business that shall be required to
be done in the Town, and any other Business the Parish Officers and
Committee shall think proper.
"And for such Service he, the Bellman, shall receive from the
Churchwardens, weekly and every week, the sum of ten shillings.
"And the Bellman now appointed shall receive from the Town a New Bell,
Real, and Staff, One New Great Coat with a red Cape, and a New Hatt,
and likewise a New Cart fit for the purpose of taking up Dirt from the
Streets; all to be returned to the Churchwardens in good repair in case
of vacating his office."
This agreement, subject to a month's notice in writing, was to remain
in force until the next Easter "except the Bellman shall be found Drunk
when on Duty, then the Bellman to be immediately discharged from his
office."
The candidates for the office at this time were John Hagger and Joseph
Clarke, and Hagger was appointed.
The duties set forth above were those belonging to Mr. Bumble, as
Bellman, to call out the hour and state of the weather at night, and as
Scavenger to keep the streets clean by day. The other side of his
office is slightly hinted at by the reference to assisting the
Constable, and in fact it was the day duty which embraced the peculiar
dignity of beadledom. He was the man who had to look after the
behaviour of the paupers, could in quiet times occasionally "thrash a
boy or two to keep up appearances" without much questioning, and though
not possessing the penal authority of the Constable, had a great deal
of the detective tact to exercise in preventing unseemly brawls, &c.
At the Royston Fair the Beadle's was a notable figure, and of this kind
of duty the {55} following instruction to Spicer, the old Bellman and
Beadle in 1791, may be quoted--
"Ordered that the Bellman be desired to go round the Fairs every Fair
Day and if he finds any person or persons using or attempting to make
Use of any kind of Gaming in the Fair that he immediately prevent if he
possibly can, otherwise to apply forthwith to a Constable for that
purpose."
In 1803 the old Bellman and ex-Beadle Spicer, who had been called upon
to resign in 1797, was appointed the town Scavenger at a salary of 2s.
a week! How are the mighty fallen! Spicer had probably become a
pauper, and, to add to the degradation and humiliation, the quondam
wearer of the scarlet cape, cocked hat, and royal staff, had, at a
later meeting, his 2s. a week for scavenging taken off because he had
neglected his duty, and he was dismissed from this humble office!
Whatever was his failing the official decline of Spicer was as pathetic
as that of Mr. Bumble's surrender of all his "porochial" dignity to the
charms of Mrs. Corney in _Oliver Twist_!
On the subject of the powers of the Beadle as Scavenger a curious and
significant resolution was found necessary in 1788, when it was--
"Order'd that the Scavenger Do keep the Streets clean and not suffer
any heaps of Dirt to lye, and that any person who thinks proper shall
be at liberty to take Dirt or Dung from the Streets at any time after
it has laine one Day."
In other words, if a person allowed dung to be in the street for more
than a day he might lose it altogether and find it carried away on to
somebody else's garden. A very effective way of enlisting the
co-operation of the public in keeping the streets clear of all
offensive matters. The condition of things made some such drastic
measures necessary at a time when the effect of unsanitary conditions
was not very much thought of by individuals. Upon this point the state
of the Pest House on the Warren, set apart for the reception of persons
suffering from infectious diseases, was reported upon in the following
terms; "One of the rooms had been used as an henhouse, but in other
respects clean." For the credit of those receiving the report,
however, it should be added that it was "Ordered that the room should
be cleaned and not be used for that purpose any more."
The last of the race of Beadles for the town of Royston was John Ward,
who will probably be remembered by some readers of these pages. He had
the honour of receiving the highest wage I have found paid to that
office, viz., 12s. a week, besides the outward panoply which gave to
the office its pompous gravity. For years there is no more familiar
item in the parish accounts than that of "John Ward, Beadle, 12s." In
1832, however, when the air was so full of reforms {56} of all kinds,
John Ward, Beadle, lost part of his emoluments. His weekly stipend
became reduced to 9s., apparently because the office of Scavenger was
again made a distinct office, to which James Shepherd was appointed at
6s. a week. Shortly after this the office became a thing of the past,
and John Ward, Beadle, disappears from our view, to join the company of
the last minstrel, the last fly wagon, the last stage coach, and the
last tinder-box!
For well-a-day! their date was fled,
His pompous brethren all were dead,
And he, neglected and oppress'd,
Wished to be with them and at rest.
* * * *
Old times were changed, old manners gone,
A "Peeler" filled the Beadle's throne!