Cambridgeshire

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Notes

The Journal of the New Cambridge Police 1837-8

| Introduction | Policing Cambridge in the1830s | The Cambridge Station House | Transcripts | Analysis | Journal Content | Borough Police Regs | Watch Committee Report 1836 | Cast List |

Introduction

This part of the site is about a journal, kept by officers of the Cambridge Borough Police at their Station House between 22 March 1837 and 25 May 1838. It is an early record from a small borough police force which was formed in 1836 and operated until 1965, when it was amalgamated with a number of other forces to become the “Mid Anglia Constabulary”, later re-named as the present “Cambridgeshire Constabulary”.

The survival of police records from this period is unusual. The records of Borough and County Police Forces are not covered by any statutory record management regime, unlike those of the Metropolitan Police which are subject of the Public Records Acts. Police records have, over the years, generally suffered from lack of care or interest, due mainly to accommodation pressures and organisational restructures. Also the movement of senior officers between forces, while desirable for many reasons, often leaves senior management with little interest in the early history of their current force. It is no surprise therefore that, over the years, many forces introduced “destruction policies” rather than “retention policies” for their records.

A few loose manuscript notes in the journal suggest that it may at one point have been used as a source of anecdotes for someone giving a talk. There are occasional pencil drawings in the Journal, the work of a child, so this volume was at some stage in private hands, before later being returned to the Force and added to its museum collection.

The Journal has lost its covers but retains the end papers, and it was originally some 356 pages in length. Entries are in faded, now sepia, ink in a number of different hands. Only one or two leaves have been lost during its lifetime, leaving around 2,500 individual entries. Assuming that the force maintained a similar record from its formation, this Journal is probably the second volume in a series.

The Journal records many of the day to day workings of the Borough Police. The Force was, in some ways, feeling its way with the two different communities of Town and Gown. The Journal served a multitude of purposes. It was an official record of daily work which was scrutinised by the Superintendent and the Watch Committee to ensure that their Force was operating to their satisfaction and that any breaches of discipline were resolved. It was used to record some contemporary evidential notes and details of crimes and stolen property. In some instances it informed the Force of outcomes following particular incidents. It was used to record personnel issues, such as sickness and disciplinary offences by the officers. It was a medium to pass on information, instructions and intelligence between sections and for the Superintendent to issue instructions to his officers and to censure them when they stepped out of line.

Even though this Journal served all these purposes, it was not the only record kept by the Force at this time. In addition there was a loose-leaf charge book to record the details of prisoners and charges, a bail book, and a book to record issues relating to licensed premises. Individual officers were required to keep “account books”. No examples of these other records are known to have survived from this period.

The Journal was referred to by the Superintendent as the “Occurrence Book” or the “Memo Book”. In more modern times, such a journal would probably have been called a “Station Diary”.

The Journal is important for two reasons. First it is an unusual early survival from the 1830s, giving us an insight into the day to day workings of a newly established Borough Police Force. Second, it helps us to understand life in Cambridge at the dawn of the Victorian era. This is partially a record of the low life of the town, which has generally not been the focus of other published histories.

A transcription of the Journal, divided into monthly files can be accessed here. Minimal editing has taken place. The result is that this volume includes much of the day to day minutiae of the life of the Borough. The entries serve to illustrate the pace of life in the 1830s and the pressures and problems faced by the Force and its leaders. Original spelling, capitalisation, punctuation and contractions have been retained so far as possible. In many instances the standard of English is far from perfect, making the use of a spell-checker impractical. Where there is any doubt about interpretation an explanation is furnished in square brackets.

This page was last modified: 24 July 2025, 10:34

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