X James MASONDear Howard,Thank you for your enquiry concerning James sadlythe Museum on this occasion will be of very littlehelp and to explain the reasons why.The Cheshire Constabulary was formed in April1857; there are many thousands of records, theseare held by the Cheshire Record Office, Chester.As a retired Police officer and voluntary PoliceMuseum Researcher I am slowly extracting theserecords. Cheshire Police Officer Enrolment Recordsare held under Reference CJP7 Volumes 1-5. Thesehave been checked and James is not recorded withinthem.To briefly explain the next stage, In 1857 theCheshire Constabulary was responsible for policingthe County of Cheshire prior to this the Countywas loosely policed by what were known as 'ParishConstable' and the Constables were responsible forthe Parish in which they were resident. At thesame time as the Parish Constables there were 7other police forces within the County, these wereknown as Borough Police Forces, and one which wasa City Police Force, i.e. Chester City Police thisbeing formed in 1836 it remained as a totallyindependent police force up until 1949 and onlythen did it become part of the CheshireConstabulary. The Constables were only responsiblefor the Borough/City that they were resident in. Ithen checked the volume that records Constablesfor the City of Chester it shows PC14 James Mason,joined January 1850 and resigned on the 19th March1857, and sadly this is all it shows, this is thetypical entry for all officers of that time.Unfortunately there are no other records availablefor the Chester City Police.I am assuming that you already have thisinformation but just in case you have not, I notethat on the 1841 Census for the St. Johns theBaptist area of Chester it shows James Mason,Policeman, born circa 1806 Hinckley,Leicestershire, resident with his wife Elizabethand four children at Milton Street.The 1851 Census shows James Mason, Policeman(City), this also confirms that he was indeed amember of the City Police, resident with his wifeElizabeth and seven children at Union Terrace, St.Johns, Chester.What this probably means in relation to the dategiven as to when he joined in January 1850, isthat he was serving in 1841 and perhaps even in1833 when the force stated, but he may haveresigned, as was often the case with manyofficers, perhaps not being able to secureprolonged different employment he re-applied toChester Police.I searched the 1861 Census for James, bearing inmind his resignation date of March 1857 but to noavail. However, I did note an Elizabeth Mason,Widow, born Chester circa 1815; she is given asthe niece of John Baker, 81 years, widower, alsoat the property 8 Steam Mill Street, was anElizabeth 16 years, granddaughter to John Baker.Certainly the ages are nearly correct. I alsofound a James Mason, aged 57 years in the deathregister for Great Broughton, Chester in theJuly-Sep quarter of 1859, and this is the onlyJames Mason in the vicinity of Chester. It couldalso be the case that his resignation in 1857 fromthe force was through ill health, being unable tocarry the extremely arduous duties of the service.If you also read the history of the CheshireConstabulary "To the Best of Our Skill andKnowledge" which is on the Museum Web Site, I feelcertain that a useful picture can be obtained oflife in the force at the time, my own opinion isthat discipline was draconian and those whostrayed outside the rule's were fined way abovewhat they earned or dismissed. I am truly sorry Ihave been unable to furnish you with any greatdetail. I have added what is recorded within theCheshire Police Force History with regard toChester City.CHAPTER SEVENTEEN The Borough Forces Chester City Congleton Macclesfield Stalybridge HydePREVIOUS to the Police Act, 1946, Cheshirecontained eight independent Borough Police Forces.The Act reduced the number to three. The fiveextinguished forces were Chester City (1949),Congleton, Hyde, Macclesfield and Stalybridge.Each of these forces had a police history of somelocal interest. That concerning Macclesfield wasput on record in 1947 by the last of its ChiefConstables - Mr. W. G. Symmons - now ChiefConstable of St. Helens. The others, in detail,remain to be written. What follows here must, ofnecessity, be brief.Each of the forces, except that of Hyde, may besaid to have begun as such in the year 1836 whenpolice administration, was to some extent, tidiedup by the Municipal Corporations Act of the yearbefore which, amongst other things, created WatchCommittees having the duty of employing asufficient number of constables and administeringthe force.The 1835 Act made no provision for an Exchequergrant and, of course, no system of inspection withits concomitant of standardized administration andprocedure which came only in 1856. It is in thislight, therefore, that the pre-1856 days of theBorough Forces should be looked at.CHESTER CITYAt the beginning of the nineteenth century,Chester had a body of Commissioners to administerthe very elementary needs of local government.This body, under an Act of 1762 had power, amongstother things, to employ and pay watchmen. Some fewconstables existed elected by parishes or wardsand appointed formally by the City Court ofQuarter Sessions.A register of watchmen of I806 shows that eighteenmen were employed on this duty. One was oversixty-nine years of age and eleven of them areshown as being "old soldiers". In 1815 it isrecorded that during the months October to Marchthe Watch was increased by ten, giving a total oftwenty-eight. At the same time wages were reducedfrom twelve shillings to ten shillings per week.The Commissioners met at The Exchange. This was apublic building occupying the site on which thepresent Town Hall was built in 1862. The onlypolice station house in the City was in thisbuilding. On the erection of the present Town Halla police station was included and it has been thecity police headquarters until today.In addition to the Watch, a certain number ofconstables were serving; quite how many is by nomeans clear. A report of a special committee ofthe Council dated 18 39 says: "It appears to theCommittee that previous to January, 1836, theConstabulary and Police Force of the Cityconsisted of- Mr. Hill, Mr. Dawson, Mr. Haswell,The Mayor's Porter, The Beadle, Thomas Worrall.Three row constables from six to nine o'clock atnight, and about fifty ward constables. That the`Police Force' consisted of thirty-two watchmen,twenty-one firemen, viz., one superintendent, fourcaptains and sixteen firemen. That the presentestablishment consists of Mr. Hill, Mr. Haswell,The Mayor's Porter, Thomas Worrall and twenty-sixconstables. That Mr. Hill and Mr. Haswell areprepared by the next meeting with informationrelative to the salaries and emoluments asconnected with their respective offices."From this rather confused picture it is possibleto guess that probably Messrs. Hill, Dawson andHaswell, and maybe Thomas Worrall, were full-timepolicemen in the period immediately preceding1836. It seemed that Haswell had a specialresponsibility as "superintendent of the Watch",and Hill as "superintendent of Police", for eachwas respectively so described in 1839. The threerow constables were probably part-time and thefifty ward constable's probably annual vestry orparish constables.Before 1835 the only disciplinary authority restedwith the Magistrates for in 1829 the ChesterCourant reported: "Four parish constables werebrought up on a summons for neglect of duty on theSabbath. They were all discharged on excuse andpromise of being punctual in future. One had apain in his knee; another didn't know; a third wasaway from home; and the fourth blamed his wife."In 1844 a Watch Committee report stated that theforce consisted of one superintendent, twosergeants and sixteen constables, and that theywere each furnished with a staff, cutlass andhandcuffs. They were issued with a greatcoat, acoat with embroidery to collar, trousers, hat,stock, badge, cape, boots and gloves, the issuebeing a greatcoat every two years, and otherarticles yearly. The "hats" were undoubtedly ofthe common style of top-hats of the periodvarnished or otherwise weather-proofed, for acorrespondent to a local newspaper spoke of "theglazed-hatted policemen" of the City.The wages were recorded as being: superintendent £120 per annum; sergeants £1 per week andconstables fourteen shillings per week.In the same year it was ordered that Mr. Hill "beauthorized to produce a book to be called ThePrisoner's Property Book for use at the policestation."That the policemen's lot was not withoutoccupational hazards is to be seen in the frequentreferences to damage to uniforms or personalinjury, as for example in May, 1844, when theWatch Committee ordered a new pair of trousers forAbraham Price and a new shirt for Henry Johnson,"their own having been destroyed in the executionof their duty in apprehending Robert Edwards forbreach of the peace," and that the Council berecommended to allow Peter Gillan ten days wages,he having been disabled in consequence of injuriesreceived in an affray in Steven Street.In addition to policing the city it seems theWatch Committee had a responsibility for managingthe local prison, for in 1839 it was reported that"this establishment was ill-managed, and owing tothe illness of the Governor the chairman hadappointed Constable Capper to assist him." It wasfurther reported by the chairman that, but for theexertions of Holmes (a policeman in gaol for threemonths for assault), a prisoner named Jackson,under sentence of transportation, would certainlyhave escaped.Holmes had been sentenced a few weeks earlier forwhat was described by the Recorder "as a mostbrutal assault." The City prison went out of usein 1872.In September of the same year (1844) it isrecorded that the cells at the police station wereto be heated with hot water.In 1850 Mr. Hill was authorized to procure a bedfor the use of the constable on night duty at thepolice office with two brown Holland covers forthe same.Chester being a garrison town and a cross-road forEnglish, Welsh and Irish traffic, was always abusy place for the police. The earlieststatistical information available (1865) showsthat of 2,081 persons proceeded against in theCourts, 927 were unable to read or write. As tonationality 1,401 were English, 606 Irish,fifty-five Welsh, sixteen Scots and foreignersthree. The labour and political troubles whichcontinued for so long to affect the peace of EastCheshire seemed not to have affected Chester,except occasionally when, as in 1839, to meetthreats of rescue attempts of some Chartists fortrial at the Assizes some 300 to 400 localinhabitants were enrolled as Special Constablesand armed with cutlasses supplied from governmentstores.John Hill served as Head of the City Force until1864. He was the first of the only four ChiefConstables the City ever had in its 113 yearslifetime as an independent force (1836-1949). Hecommenced service as Superintendent of the Watchin 1824. He gave evidence before the RoyalCommission (1836-9) on the state of thelawlessness in the country surrounding Chester,and in particular in the Hundred of Broxton. Hewas then described as High Constable of Chester.The second Chief Constable was George Lee Fenwiek,who commanded the City Force for a period ofthirty-four years (1864-98). Fenwick was a welleducated man. He is believed to have been aschoolmaster for a time before taking up policeservice. His annual reports and comments were mostcomplete and illuminating. In 1897 he produced agraph showing the movement of annual proceedingsfor drunkenness offences covering the thirty-fiveyears up to 1897. This shows nearly loo cases in1865 and a general gradual decline to about 250 inthe last year recorded in this fashion.His comments on the life of the under-privilegedno doubt provided much food for thought, as: "WhenI inform you (the Watch Committee) that in oneentry containing thirty-eight dwellings I latelyfound upwards of 230 persons, that the width ofthe entry is only four yards, and that thesanitary arrangements are not a model ofcompleteness, I think you will be of the opinionthat if working men or even women who inhabit sucha place occasionally seek a change elsewhere thatthere is not much cause for astonishment. "Probably the outstanding event of Mr. Fenwick'stenure of office was the "Fenian Plot" of 1867,already referred to. This, as we know, came tonothing.Mr. Fenwick retired in 1898 when he was succeededby Mr. John H. Laybourne, who came from Liverpoolwhere he had been a chief inspector. By this timethe strength of the force was fifty, made up ofthe Chief Constable, five inspectors, threesergeants and forty-one constables.Mr. Laybourne retired in 1920 after twenty-twoyears as Chief Constable. He later became a memberof the City Council and was Mayor 1934-5. He laterwent to reside in Canada.Thomas C. Griffiths, the fourth and last ChiefConstable of the City, began his police service inSt. Helens, in 1903. He later transferred to thePolice Force of Southend-on-Sea from which placehe came to Chester. He retired on the amalgamationof the County and City Forces in 1949 with a totalpolice service of forty-six years, for twenty-nineof which he was Chief Constable of Chester,commanding a force which had grown to anestablishment of seventy.Throughout the whole of its history the CityPolice Force had a busy time. Perhaps the busiestweek of the year was race-week. Year after year asuccession of police officers, imported from asfar afield as Doncaster and Birmingham, followedeach other into the witness box at the Citymagistrates' court to speak of the misdeeds of thepickpocket, the card sharper and the welsher. Inone race-week before the turn of the century itwas recorded that seventy-seven race-meeting"followers" appeared before the justices.Reference has already been made to the behaviourof the denizens of the alleys, entries and slumsof Chester. Whilst public personal behaviour hascontinually improved one police problem stillremains; this concerns the question of traffic. Itmust always have been a problem even in thepre-railway times when all road traffic carryingpassengers or goods to or from Ireland viaHolyhead passed through Chester using the onlyexisting bridge - Handbridge - to cross the river.The problem could hardly have been eased by thecomparatively short life of the local tram-carsystem which operated from the late nineteenthcentury until the 1920s.The visit of Barnum and Bailey's Circus to theRoodee in October, 1898, was the cause of asuspension of tram traffic and the employment ofthe whole force for some hours to keep the wayclear for the traditional procession through theprincipal streets.The personal behaviour and habits of the rank andfile of the force, it seems, was no better and noworse than were to be found generally amongsttheir contemporaries in other forces. However, thelatitude given to some offenders is ratherdifficult to understand. During the middle thirdperiod of the nineteenth century it is noted thatsome constables would be "allowed" up to as manyas twenty convictions for drunkenness on dutybefore the Watch Committee finally decided theywere "not likely to make efficient constables" anddischarged them from the force.Of course the force had its element of good men,hard-working and reliable, without whom it couldnever have earned (in time) and held the good willof the public. Whilst a drunken policeman mightwell set back public trust to a considerabledegree; the work of the good men always more thanoffset the losses.Occasionally the prestige of the force wouldacquire an extra bonus of public favour as in1932, when Sergeant Capper and Constable (laterInspector) Alfred Cleaver rescued persons from ablazing house in Trinity Street. Both officerswere later awarded the medal of the Royal HumaneSociety and Cleaver, for additional risk, receivedthe King's Police Medal for Gallantry and theBronze Medal of the Society for the Protection ofLife from Fire.Before terminating this short and somewhatinadequate sketch of the Chester City Police,mention should be made of a gentleman who,although not of the force, was intimatelyconnected with it for many years. This was Dr.George Harrison who was doctor to the City Forceand examiner of recruits to the Cheshire police.Such was the esteem in which he was held that in1895 he was presented with a large photograph ofthe force in which he occupied the place ofhonour. In 1900, he entertained the whole force todinner at the Town Hall in celebration of twentyyears service as Police Surgeon.If you have any further questions please don'thesitate to contact me. Jim Talbot. Trustee andResearcher, Cheshire Museum of Policing.