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| Police truncheon made by Howell of Leeds |
I have been researching objects in the collection relating to Victorian crime
and punishment for next year’s exhibition at Abbey House Museum.Some
of the objects I researched were equipment used by 19th Century
police constables, such as police
truncheons, a policeman’s rattle and a warrant card.
I researched the owners, manufacturers
and dates of the objects. This led me to social history section at Leeds Central Library, where I researched the identities of the
people who owned or made the objects using trade
directories and reference books. On websites such as www.ancestry.co.uk I found birth and
death records of the police constables who owned the objects.
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| Police rattle made by J Wood, Leeds |
Researching past police officers
In
order to research the police constables
further I went to the West Yorkshire Archives, where I found a detailed account of the careers of the police
constables from such sources as a register of police constables from
the early 19th to the early 20th century. I also found the identities
of the police constables in the police code of conduct book which
logged any promotions and any disciplinary actions the police
constables faced.
Uncovering court cases
I also
researched some of the 19th Century court documents in the collection, such as a document that summoning a woman named Emma Jarrett to court
as a witness to testify against a man named Harry Earnshaw. He was later found
guilty and was sentenced to six months' imprisonment for stealing two
horses in 1880.
I also found other interesting court cases. There was a jury
summons for the Leeds Assizes in May 1926, during which one of the trials
involved Louie Calvert, who was one of the last women in Britain to be hanged.
By Bradley Hilton, Level 5 work
placement, Leeds Trinity University
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