Cambridgeshire

Police

History

Notes

Notes on the Lighting and Watching Act Police Force, Balsham, Cambridgeshire.

| Introduction | Traces of adoption of the Act | Why adopt the Act | Success or failure? | Balsham Police Officers | Effectiveness| Lighting and Watching Act 1833 |

Introduction

This article is work in progress, raising as many questions as it answers. Any further information on any of the issues raised would be most welcome.

Balsham is a rural village and parish in the South East of Cambridgeshire, nine miles from Cambridge and near to the County boundaries of Essex and Suffolk. The larger village of Linton is to the South West. In the 19th Century Balsham was in the Linton Petty Sessional Division. The population of Balsham was: 1841: 1271, 1851: 1352

Balsham was one of a number of parishes in the County of Cambridgeshire to adopt the watching provisions of the Lighting and Watching Act of 1833 in the years preceding the formation of the Cambridgeshire Constabulary in 1851.

Traces of adoption of the Act

The First clue that a Lighting and Watching Act police force was established in Balsham can be found on Page 55 of a ledger kept by Smart, the tailor, in his shop in Magdalene Street Cambridge. There is recorded an order for the supply of a police uniform to the "Balsham Police Inspectors" on 24 Nov 1847. This comprised a uniform coat and trousers: £3.10.0., Winter trousers: 13/6, and a greatcoat: £2.2.0. The Inspectors paid the total cost by cheque on 28 January 1848. Smart's ledger is in the Museum of Cambridge. Elected “Inspectors” were responsible for appointing and managing officers in Lighting and Watching Act forces.

The Cambridge Chronicle, 8 March 1851 p8, records discussions by the Cambridgeshire Magistrates on the need for a rural police Force for the County and there is a brief reference to a Balsham force. So, a Lighting and Watching Act Force, probably comprising a single officer, supervised by a number of Police Inspectors under the Act, was in existence between around 1847 and 1851.

top of page

Why Adopt the Act?

Like most English parishes, Balsham would have appointed one or perhaps two Parish Constables, probably annually, following some sort of rotation of households. Appointment was generally unpopular and usually unpaid. Expenses could be claimed for particular tasks undertaken, and the quality of service which the community received from its Parish Constables was somewhat variable. No newspaper reports or records have been found of the formation of the Balsham Lighting and Watching Act force. Concern about crime and anti-social behavour by local youths may well have motivated the Vestry to introduce professional policing by adopting the watching provisions of the Lighting and Watching Act of 1833. There were reports of sheep stealing by a local gang (Cambridge Chronicle 29 May 1847 p2 and Cambridge Independent Press, 29 May 1847 p3). The Haverhill Association for the Prosecution of Felons offered a reward for information leading to the conviction of thieves who stole sheep from Linton, which were later found at Balsham (Cambridge Independent Press, 1 May 1847 p3).

Later in 1847 the press reported: "Balsham - some evil disposed person fired a gun into one of the windows of Mr Robert Symond's house in this village which, as may be supposed, caused great alarm. Whether the object was to inflict bodily injury or destruction of property has not transpired" (Cambridge Chronicle, 30 October 1847 p2 – there were two “Robert Symonds” in Balsham at the time of the 1851 census – one a farmer whose family farmed 300 acres and the other was an agricultural labourer.) It was at this time that a pub fight at Newman's beer shop in Balsham resulted in the death from internal injuries of Robert Barker and the subsequent trial and acquittal of Thomas Howard for his manslaughter. (Cambridge Independent Press, 30 October 1847 p3; and Cambridge Independent Press, 11 March 1848 p3)

There were also aparently some issues with religious dissent in the village. At Linton Petty Sessions on 30 December 1846, James Webb of Balsham was charged by Rev R Weaver, of the same place, with disturbing the congregation assembled for worship in the Independent Chapel of which he was the minister. Upon Webb expressing contrition and paying expenses, the Rev gentleman withdrew the charge. (Cambridge Chronicle 2 January 1847 p2)

The coming of the railway, just three miles from the village, must have been another unsettling change for Balsham Residents. Strangers, in the form of Navvies, would have been working near the village constructing the Newmarket and Chesterford Railway, with a station, Balsham Road (opened April 1848), serving Balsham and Fulbourn. The railway was to prove to be something of a mixed blessing for Balsham. The swell mob later used the station to stage unlawful prize fights in the nearby countryside. At least three such prize fights took place in Balsham. Bell's Life in London and Sporting Chronicle - 25 June 1848 p7, reported that a special train had been hired for punters from Shoreditch to Balsham Road; tickets: 1st class £2, second class £1. A correspondent wrote to the Editor of the Cambridge Independent Press, (24 June 1848 p3) complaining of the:

"exhibition of cruelty on Balsham Heath on Tuesday. Eight or nine hundred persons, it is said, witnessed it; although the place of it was kept so secret, except among the amateurs, that the constables of the neighborhood had not time to apprize a magistrate to have the disgraceful exhibition prevented. No money was taken for carriages, horses, and people going on the ground; so that there might be seen gentlemen of the swell mob, country practitioners, pale faced wasted labourers out of work, unwashed smokers of cigars, and well-dressed and well-looking countrymen in close contact, and equally enjoying, as they call it, the horrid sport of seeing two responsible creatures fight until perhaps another blow would terminate the trembling existence of one of the party, and usher him into the immediate presence of his offended Maker! The light-fingered gentlemen were very busy, and the gamblers very loud and eager, and a good deal of money was lost and won".

We can catch a glimpse of badly behaved local juveniles from the report in 1849 of the death of an eccentric local miser who, it was said, "in the warmer months of the year, wore nothing but a shirt and smock, this becoming known to the Balsham juveniles, they were a great plague to him, hooking up his garment with sticks, &c". (Cambridge Independent Press, 14 April 1849 p3). Then the Cambridge Independent Press, 1 June 1850 p4 recorded the case at Linton Petty Sessions of William Wakeling aged 12, for smearing dung on the door of Mr George Griffin of Balsham, a long suffering victim of such attention.

The three parishes of Linton, Hadstock and Bartlow, had a Lighting and Watching Act force in place from 1838. This may have influenced the nearby Balsham Vestry to set up their own uniformed police, either following a positive example, or due to unwanted attention from any miscreants moved on from Linton.

top of page

Success or Failure?

The Cambridge Chronicle, 8 March 1851 p8, reported on the Justices' discussions in Quarter Sessions about establishing a new rural Police Force in Cambridgeshire. Mr George Jenyns of Bottisham Hall, champion of the proposed new rural police, stated
"Some parishes availed themselves of the Lighting and Watching Act: that did savour somewhat of a general police establishment; but it was inefficient, and parishes that had tried it had found it to be a failure. (Balsham and Cottenham)".
Mr Jenyns objected to small local forces under the Lighting and Watching Act for four reasons:
(1) the police were without a head;
(2) their jurisdiction did not extend beyond a single parish;
(3) the expense was very great; and
(4) constant residence made them form acquaintances which interfered with the proper discharge of their duty, and rendered them liable to the suspicion of giving way to tampering. On the last point he quoted evidence given before a Parliamentary Committee, to the effect that constables should be changed at least once a year.

Why did George Jenyns specifically highlight Balsham, from as many as 20 of these local forces, as a place where a Lighting and Watching Act force had failed? Had the force been dismantled before Jenyns referred to it? Were there difficulties in finding and appointing suitable officers? Were appointed officers failing to bring about the desired improvements?

top of page

Balsham Police Officers

In the absence of any list of local constables, the following have been found from press reports:

William Fletcher
William Fletcher, police officer, served at Balsham around 1848-49. In 1848 He was assaulted in the execution of his duty (Cambridge Independent Press 7 Oct 1848 p2)
It has not been possible to flesh out William Fletcher’s police career. The name was very common in local policing circles. Any of the following may, or may not, have been the William Fletcher at Balsham.

• William Fletcher, Constable, Cambridge Borough Police 1.1.1840 – 31.7.1843
• William Fletcher, Constable Cambridge Borough Police 26.10.1846-26.4.1847
• William Fletcher, Constable, Peterborough, serving there in Feb 1849
• William Fletcher, Constable, Isle of Ely Constabulary, serving there in March 1849 and at Mepal in 1851

James Allan and William Blanks
James Allan (builder) and William Blanks, (wheelwright) were sworn as Parish Constables for Balsham 1849-1850 by the Linton Bench (Cambridge Independent Press, 21 April 1849 p1). William Blanks was not a constable immediately prior to this as he gave character evidence supporting a sheep stealer in a case at Quarter Sessions in Jan 1849, and was simply mentioned by name, not as a Constable. (Cambridge Independent Press 13 January 1849 p1)

William Honey
William Honey was serving as a police officer in Balsham in 1850 when he was assaulted by William Blanks while attempting to clear the “Five Alls” beer shop, (Cambridge Chronicle and Journal - Saturday 21 September 1850 p4)

Effectiveness

It is difficult to judge the effectiveness of the new Balsham policing arrangements. Over the period 1847 to 1852 few press reports of local crime appeared and only a relatively small number of court cases from Balsham were heard at the Linton Petty Sessions. Examples appear below, but the press reports do not provide details of investigation or other police action, nor do they generally name the officer dealing:

• Henry Fuller of Balsham charged with poaching and committed for two months in default of paying a fine (Cambridge Chronicle 20 November 1847 p2)
• Mrs. Linsdell, beer-seller, of Balsham was fined 10/- , inclusive of expenses, for unlawfully assaulting Margaret Millington, of the same place. (Cambridge Independent Press, 30 September 1848)
• Henry Fuller was charged by PC. William Fletcher, of Balsham, with unlawfully assaulting him in the execution of his duty; committed for one month, in default paying £2. (Cambridge Independent Press, 30 September 1848 p1, Cambridge Independent Press, 7 October 1848)
• Linton Petty Sessions James Linsdale, Beer seller of Balsham, charged with and fined 15 shillings for assaulting and beating the wife of James Linsdale of Balsham, labourer, of the same place. (Cambridge General Advertiser, 28 February 1849 p3)
• William Daniels, 38, was found guilty of stealing a sack and bushel of barley from his master's farm at Balsham. 5 months hard labour. (Cambridge Independent Press, 17 March 1849 p4)
• Charles Cooper and George Knight broke into the house of William Wallman at Balsham - seen in the act by local vet, George Bennet Webb, who apprehended them and handed them over to the constable. They later were sentenced to 7 years transportation. (Cambridge Independent Press, 27 October 1849)
• The Reverend WH Chapman of Balsham, charged William Mansfield and Charles Noble, "two lads who bear notoriously bad characters", with destroying several hurdles on the night of the 5th November. In consequence of the witness in this case being too ignorant to understand the nature of an oath, they were discharged, after being reprimanded and cautioned by the bench. (Cambridge Chronicle, 1 December 1849 p4)
• William Foxton of Balsham charged with assaulting Samuel Hooper of the same place fined 6d and 5s 9d, half the costs in the case, the complainant to pay the other half. (Cambridge Chronicle 29 December 1849 p1)
• John Arch of Balsham was charged with damaging the door of the cage at Balsham - ordered to pay 6s damages and expenses or 7 days imprisonment (Cambridge Independent Press, 6 April 1850 p1). (As most other parishes, Balsham had a cage or lock-up, usually a single secure cell, to hold prisoners until they could be brought before a magistrate. The location, appearance and construction of the Balsham cage has yet to be discovered)
• Robert Casbolt, Henry Lindsay and John Brown alias Turpin, charged with being drunk and creating a disturbance by fighting in the street of Balsham on the night of Sunday 25th August 1850. Each ordered to pay 8s 10d costs and bound over to keep the peace for 6 months (Cambridge Chronicle 21 September 1850 p4)
• Charles Brown charged with using a dog for the purpose of taking game on the land of the Revd W H Chapman of Balsham. Fined nine shillings and 11 shillings expenses or one month's hard labour. (Cambridge Chronicle 21 September 1850 p4)
• William Blanks charged with assaulting William Honey, police officer of Balsham, while attempting to clear a beer shop called the "Five Alls" at Balsham, fined £1 5s 6d and 14s 6d expenses or one months imprisonment (Cambridge Chronicle 21 September 1850 p4)
• Charles Plumb, Cubit Fuller and Samuel Roope were charged by the Constable of Balsham with refusing to assist him when called upon by him to do so. (Cambridge Independent Press, 12 April 1851 p4)
• Ephriam Skipperage of Balsham was charged with stealing two legs of horseflesh from Mr Purkiss of West Wratting - discharged for want of evidence (Cambridge Chronicle 19 April 1851 p6)
• William Casbolt of Linton charged by Thomas Linsell, broker and beer house keeper, of the same place, with finding and concealing a bag containing 40 sovereigns and 100 fourpenny pieces, which he stated he had lost on the road between Balsham and Linton in May last. In this case also there was a vast amount of false swearing and the bench discharged the prisoner: (Cambridge Chronicle 14 June 1851 p7)

It is not possible to judge the effectiveness of the Balsham officers from this information. Does an average of three Magistrates’ court cases mentioned in the local press, per year, suggest the officers were holding down the level of crime, or were not very good at detecting offenders?

By early 1852 the new Cambridgeshire Constabulary was in place and the Balsham Lighting and Watching Act force ceased policing the village.

top of page

This page was last modified: 30 August 2025, 16:48

contact us

This site is powered by Web Wiz Green Hosting. We have been using their services for many years and are more than happy to recommend them to you.