Conquering the British Ballarat: the policing of Victorian Middlesbrough.

Introduction

The creation of a policed society was one of the major developments of the nineteenth century. As recent studies have shown, there was considerable variation from town to town and, while the process was never unproblematic, there were greater difficulties to be overcome in the growing industrial and commercial centres--Merthyr Tydfil and Wolverhampton as much as Manchester and Liverpool--than in more tranquil market centres, such as Exeter and York. (1) Exceptionally, new communities came into being, which necessitated the creation of a system of policing where none had existed before. Middlesbrough, with its dramatic growth in the early and mid-Victorian years, was the starkest example of such a town, and the development of policing therein is of particular interest.

General discussion of the creation of a policed society in England and Wales focuses on three major issues: first, the nature and extent of the threat posed by the criminal population; second, the chronology of change; and, finally, the extent to which the police were beneficiaries, rather than positive agents of change. Distinguished historians, such as George Rude and David Philips, have argued against the 'lurid picture painted by Dickens' and stressed the extent of petty rather than serious crime and its often unthreatening nature, though the late David Jones has painted a bleaker picture, particularly in his work on Merthyr Tydfil. (2) Jones has also taken a more pessimistic stance than Philips in suggesting that it was not until the 1860s, rather than the 1850s, that the balance swung decisively in favour of the police. Lastly, whereas earlier police historians, such as T. A. Critchley, saw the police as a positive force bringing about change, more recent commentators, notably Robert Reiner, have argued that the police were beneficiaries of wider social changes. (3) No one town can be seen as typical but it is only through detailed local studies that broader interpretations such as these can be tested and reformulated.

Middlesbrough's reputation for lawlessness has given it a distinctiveness that sets it apart from many other British towns and cities. The way in which 'the British Ballarat' was conquered is the main focus of this paper, but some preliminary observations are necessary on the appropriateness of this characterisation. Asa Briggs, in his classic study of Victorian urban development, first used the term 'the British Ballarat' to emphasise the distinctive, frontier quality of Middlesbrough. A new community came into being, "with a rough but vigorous life ... on a turbulent urban frontier." (4) There is no doubt that, by British standards at least, the demographic and economic expansion of Middlesbrough, especially in the mid-Victorian years, was dramatic. However, the comparison with Ballarat, on the Australian goldfield in Victoria, while superficially attractive, obscures important differences between the two communities that exaggerate the problems faced by the local elites in Middlesbrough and overstate the contrast between it and other rapidly expanding and relatively new towns in Britain. First, the population growth of Ballarat was truly phenomenal. In September 1851 there were just over 500 licensed diggers; by August 1853 the number had risen to just under 6000. The overall population of Ballarat in April 1854 was 16,684 but rose to 47,728 by March 1857 and 61,210 by April 1861. (5) Even in the years of most rapid expansion, Middlesbrough never grew at such a rate. Second, despite major problems of recruitment and retention, the level of policing was much higher in Ballarat (and the gold fields generally) than in Middlesbrough. In 1854 there was one policeman for every 100 of the Ballarat population. (6) Third, the purpose of policing on the goldfields was significantly different from the policing of Middlesbrough, and indeed of Melbourne. Not only were the police heavily armed and militaristic, but also they were used largely as tax-gatherers enforcing a highly unpopular licensing system. (7) Finally, the police were isolated from the community and faced with a degree of popular hostility that was not to be found anywhere in mainland Britain. Rather than being the British Ballarat, Middlesbrough had more in common with Melbourne. (8) However, it remains the case that by British standards there was a distinctiveness about Middlesbrough in terms of its development and its criminality that made it somewhat unusual, if not unique.

Middlesbrough: from 'frontier town' instability to socio-economic maturity

The transformation of Middlesbrough from the rural backwater of the early nineteenth century to the bustling industrial centre of the early twentieth century is well known. The turning points occurred in 1829, when Joseph Pease et.al. purchased the 500 acre Middlesbrough estate and planned a settlement of 5000 people with coal exports at the centre of the local economy; and in 1850, when iron ore was discovered in the nearby Eston Hills that provided the basis for a burgeoning iron and steel industry.

The hopes of the founding fathers were soon exceeded. By 1841 the town's population was c.5500, rising to c.8000 a decade later, and reaching c.19,000 in 1861. Growth continued with the town's population exceeding 55,000 in 1881 and reaching some 120,000 by 1911. (9)

In the early years of expansion the town's population was characterised by its youthfulness, the predominance of males and a high percentage of long-distant migrants, including a relatively large Irish contingent. The number of (male) heads of household born in either the North Riding of Yorkshire or Durham was only 55 percent in 1841 and fell to 50 percent by 1861 and below 40 percent a decade later. Many of the incomers were relatively young and living as lodgers. At its peak in 1841 60 percent of households took in lodgers, though this figure fell to just below 30 percent in both 1861 and 1871. Furthermore, the overwhelming majority of these lodgers were men. Overall, the population of the town in the mid-nineteenth century was characterised by its imbalance in terms of class--there was a very small middle-class presence and allegedly only one gentleman in the town in the late 1830s; and gender--men accounted for 54 percent of the population from 1841 to 1871 with the greatest imbalance in the 20 to 40 year age range. (10) Not surprisingly, the rapid growth of the town led to overcrowding, insanitation and an above average incidence of disease. (11) Although the town continued to expand after 1871, the rate of growth eased somewhat. The peculiarities and imbalances of the town's demography were tempered by time, though the town's dependence on heavy industry meant that it always retained a 'macho' image. The problems of over-crowding, inadequate housing, poor sanitation and ill health were gradually and partially tackled while the overall prosperity of the town increased in the long run. (12) When Lady Bell produced her classic study of the town, At the Works, she was consciously working in the tradition of Booth and Rowntree, seeking to expose poverty and its associated problems. (13) In one sense, this was what she achieved but, in another, her revelations indicated how far Middlesbrough had improved since its early days.

Crime during the 'frontier phase'

Demographic and social circumstances were conducive to high levels of crime in the 'frontier phase' of the town's growth, but establishing the extent of crime is far from straightforward. The official crime statistics give an indication of the changing levels of recorded crime but it cannot be assumed that they measure accurately (or even provide an accurate indication of) serious crime. Historians have for long been aware of the problem of the dark (and unmeasurable) figure of unreported and unrecorded crime but, more recently, attention has been drawn to the supply-side constraints that may well have resulted in an underrepresentation of serious crime. (14) Nonetheless, the recorded crime figures do have a value as a measure of the willingness and ability of society to prosecute. Further, they had a contemporary significance, playing an important part in Victorian discussions of the threat of crime and the necessary responses thereto. The bulk of serious crime in Middlesbrough that reached the courts was tried at quarter session at Northallerton. At the start of the 1840s the serious crime rate was 280 per 100,000 of population, though these figures are somewhat distorted by the large-scale dock riot of 1840. (15) Given the inadequacies of the police in the town at this time and the disincentive to prosecution arising from the distance to Northallerton, the extent of under-recording was almost certainly greater than in most other parts of the country. Predictably the rate for men (425 per 100,000) was higher than that for women (113 per 100,000). Furthermore, these figures were respectively 20% and 12% higher than in the heavily industrialised county of Lancashire. The overall situation improved to the extent that by the early 1850s the serious crime rate had fallen to 189 per 100,000, though it began to rise again in the middle of the decade. (16) However, improvements had been more marked elsewhere. By the mid-1850s the recorded crime rate was some 40% higher than in the Black Country. The significant extension of summary justice in 1855 makes further comparison difficult. The serious crime rate for Middlesbrough centred on 1861 was 157 per 100,000 but, making allowance for the likely impact of the 1855 legislation, the adjusted rate of between 173 to 188 per 100,000 suggests that there had been little or no improvement in the town. (17) Thus, the evidence from Middlesbrough does not sit comfortably with the more optimistic interpretations of Rude and Philips.

Serious crime in Middlesbrough, as elsewhere, was dominated by offences against property. (18) Portable items, those easily disposed of or turned into cash, dominated the calendar of offences. Items of clothing were most likely to be stolen. Employers and fellow lodgers were common targets. Commonly one or two items, a shirt, a pair of trousers or a pair of boots, were stolen but occasionally larger-scale thefts were effected. A sailor, George Thompson, was found guilty in 1842 of stealing 7 shirts, 2 coats, a pair of trousers, a waistcoat, a pair of drawers, a pair of stockings, 2 silk handkerchiefs, a hat and a canvas bag, as well as a chest from the house of William Stephenson. Money and jewellery comprised the second largest category of stolen goods and, once again, most offences were relatively small-scale. In a not untypical case, Robert Lennard, when drinking with a local prostitute, fell asleep and was robbed by his companion. In another, Stephen Moody, a labourer, stole a sixpence and 8 one-penny pieces from fellowlabourer James Stewart. However, a significant minority of cases, some 16 per cent of the total cases from Middlesbrough, involved the theft of quite considerable sums of money. James Cole, for example, broke into the house of Robert Morrow and stole a cash-box containing [pounds sterling]35 in gold while a servant, Alice Lamb, stole 30 sovereigns, 30 half-sovereigns and a further 20 shillings from the house of John Coyle.

Violent crimes were a relatively small, but high profile, aspect of serious crime in the town. The dock riot of 1840 was by far the most spectacular with a crowd of some 400 men threatening the Irish labourers who had been brought in to complete the work at a lower rate of pay than previously employed Lancashire men. After a struggle to maintain order that necessitated the use of reinforcements from outside the town, the ringleaders--some 18 in total--were arrested and sent for trial at Northallerton. But this was a unique event in the early history of the town. Most incidents of violence involved two or three people. Nonetheless, there were some extremely unpleasant cases. In 1861 Thomas Westwood was seriously assaulted and robbed by a gang of four--two men and two women--while four years later Francis Coates was disembowelled in public by Henry Hughes who had reacted violently to Coates' derisive comments. Even more horrific were two separate gang rapes--involving 6 and 11 men respectively--that took place in 1862. However, it remains the case that the number of serious crimes involving violence were relatively few in number. To that extent Middlesbrough, like the Black Country, was not 'notably homicidal' but these figures mask a grimmer reality that can be more clearly seen in other crime figures. (19)

This pessimistic interpretation is confirmed when one looks in detail at the level and nature of petty crime in the town. Evidence from the official statistics (from 1855 onwards) and the local press paint a dismal picture. Drunkenness, especially during holiday periods, disfigured the town and aroused the ire of the local opinion formers. The festivities of Christmas 1858 and New Year 1859 gave rise to "men in a beastly state of beer ... half-puddled walking about in their every-day toggery and black faces ... half-idiotic imbeciles, as they reeled along 'in all their glory'" while "there were assembled as vile a crew of 'roughs' as ever escaped the inside of Deptford hulks." As a consequence, parts of the town were "bespattered with filthy ejections from overburdened stomachs" and "bestial refuse met the eye at every turn, bearing the distinct testimony to the dregs of humanity which had been thereabouts." (20) The emotiveness of the press is not contradicted by the dispassionate statistics of the criminal returns. In the five years centred on 1861 the drunkenness rate in the town was 1990 per 100,000, compared with a national average of c.400 and a national peak of c.850 in 1875. (21)

Violence was the second distinctive feature revealed by the petty crime statistics. All assaults in the town at 1300 per 100,000 contrasted with a national average of c.400; assaults on police officers, at 200 per 100,000 contrasted with a national average of c.70. While the situation in Middlesbrough was not without parallel in Britain, the town, and especially the heavily populated 'old town' and the streets immediately south of the railway line, saw violence as a recurrent feature of every-day life. There were a number of extremely high profile crimes of violence, as noted above, but it is the routine, low level but recorded crimes of violence that strike the observer. (22) Men assaulted one another, often in drunken brawls and often in the same locations, such as the Globe Inn and the Whitby Abbey Inn. And serious damage could be inflicted. Peter Flinn was fined the not inconsiderable sum of 17s 6d with 22s 6d costs (a total of [pounds sterling]2) in 1860 but in the fight he had knocked out an eye of the unfortunate Samuel Crompton. (23) Englishmen fought Irishmen--a legacy of the dock riot and fuelled by religious tension; Irishmen (and women) fought each other--Connaught men versus the men of Cork; men assaulted women (partners, wives and mothers) and children, again, often in the most brutal fashion; and women fought each other in 'clothes line quarrels', reported humorously in the press especially when 'female cannibals' such as Margaret Cane slashed the face of her husband with a broken bottle before biting the arm of a landlord who refused to serve her with more drink! (24) And finally, men and women, Irish and English attacked the police, though the police were also perpetrators "very frequently [abetting delinquents] in their demoralizing practices [and exulting] in what they [the police] are pleased to term 'a good stand up fight'." (25) Although prosecutions for drunkenness and assault did drop by 25% and 20% respectively over the course of the 1860s, the town still experienced very high levels of petty crime that continued its reputation as a rough and ready community well into the mid-Victorian era. The extent to which one can generalise from the experience of Middlesbrough is unclear. In other parts of the country, notably South Wales, the situation is unlikely to have been significantly different, though more detailed local research is required. Nonetheless, there is sufficient evidence from Middlesbrough alone to provide a warning against simplistic assumptions that the threat of crime and disorder had been quickly contained and conquered after the difficult years of the 1840s.

Crime during the years of maturation

The situation in Middlesbrough changed significantly in the late 1870s and 1880s. The serious crime rate almost halved in the 1870s and there is no evidence in the local record to suggest that this was the product of a cash-strapped force, unwilling and unable to bring prosecutions. A further extension of summary justice in 1879 makes long-term comparisons difficult but the fact that the rate of such serious crimes as burglary and violence against the person (that is, crimes not affected by the 1879 legislation) declined in the last quarter of the nineteenth century is indicative of real and significant change. (26) Gang assaults largely disappeared from the town's streets, as did faction fights among the Irish. Similarly, the incidence of burglary declined to such an extent that there was something frightening, but almost anachronistic, about the case of two Middlesbrough men charged with robbery with violence on the highway at York assize in 1896. (27) However, two qualifications need to be made. First, serious violence was still a recurring feature of late-Victorian Middlesbrough life. On average, there were one or two homicides, two or three serious assaults and one rape prosecuted each year. Several of these cases involved considerable violence and, in at least one case, the charge did not fully capture the severity of the assault. (28) Second, the progress was reversed in the early twentieth century. Between 1903/4 and 1910/3 there was a more than fourfold increase in all offences against the person. (29) Further, as recent research has indicated, the official statistics probably understate the extent of crimes of violence--a view strengthened by the evidence of local coroners' court records. (30) In Edwardian Middlesbrough there were an average of just over 120 inquests per annum. A large majority were returned as accidental deaths or deaths due to accidental causes. Irrespective of any doubt regarding these deaths, there were also a significant number of open verdicts or verdicts of death due to the neglect of parents. Thus between 1908 and 1913 there were only six cases of wilful murder and four of manslaughter. But in addition, there were 23 cases of death due to parental neglect, 20 open verdicts as well as 54 officially recorded suicides, not all of which were totally beyond doubt. (31)

A similar pattern of improvement unfolds when the statistics of petty crime for late-Victorian and Edwardian Middlesbrough are considered, with the 1870s emerging as the watershed decade. The petty crime statistics were dominated by drink-related offences: 1 in 5 cases in the 1870s, rising to 1 in 3 a decade later. However, the rate of prosecution for drunkenness fell from 1991 per 100,000 in 1861 to 1490 in 1871 and to 1076 in 1881; for assaults from 1300 to 1053 and then to 515 in the same benchmark years. The decline in petty crimes of violence, though not for drink-related offences, continued through to the outbreak of the Great War. These figures almost certainly reflect, though not precisely, real changes in behaviour. Drunkenness and violence, in public at least, were seen to be less acceptable by more than the middle classes. Behaviour that had been acceptable in the 1840s and 1850s was no longer acceptable, particularly among the respectable working classes. To that extent the police were beneficiaries of wider social changes but their presence contributed to the decline of such antisocial behaviour. It is also the case that there was a shift of emphasis in police priorities. Increasingly from the late-nineteenth century onwards, gambling, and specifically street-betting, became a major concern for the police. The way in which the police tackled the problem throws important light on the success of the police in stamping out an activity, which, though formally illegal, was not seen to be so by a significant portion of the population and some policemen. (32) Street betting was reported to be endemic in the town in the 1870s and 1880s but the police rarely acted unless pressured to do so. Pressures built up in the 1890s and 1900s, reflecting national changes, such as the work of the National Anti-Gambling League and a growing concern with the impact of betting on economic efficiency, and local concerns with police collusion and corruption. More action was taken by the police. The new chief constable, Riches, took a more systematic approach to the problem than his predecessor, Ashe, but as he was forced to admit his endeavours and those of his men had had limited success. Bookmakers were driven from the streets but "many are the devices resorted to for the purpose of escaping detection by the police." (33) In fact, Riches probably over-estimated the willingness of his men. As one unnamed constable told Lady Bell: "I feel quite ashamed sometimes to think what I spend my time in doing and what I am after. [i.e. pursuing street gamblers] I am neglecting my other duties." (34) Many constables did not feel that gambling was intrinsically wrong but, more problematic, there were those who actively participated. In 1893 and again in 1910 there were major inquiries into the relationship between the betting fraternity and members of the force. Although no widespread problem of corruption was revealed, it is difficult to believe that the campaign against gambling was conducted with maximum efficiency when many ordinary constables (and some of their immediate superiors) held ambivalent attitudes towards the 'evil' they were charged to eradicate. (34) Nonetheless, in broad terms, the official evidence of the crime returns, and the qualitative evidence from the local press, strongly suggest that Middlesbrough was significantly less Hobbesian at the end of Victoria's reign than at its beginning. (36)

The growth of the Middlesbrough police force

Although the Improvement Act of 1841 provided the town's founding fathers with powers to police the town, the evidence of the 1840s points to the conclusion that the threat of crime was not deemed serious enough to warrant more than a minimal police presence. (37) The reasons for this are far from clear. The absence of a significant middle-class sector may explain the absence of demands for reform, while the very existence of a burgeoning new town may have resulted in lower expectations of the standard of security in Middlesbrough. And sheer short-sightedness and meanness may have contributed as well. Whatever the reason, the advent of modern policing dates from the appointment of William Hannan in 1853, which coincided with the acquisition of borough status and came at a time of growing national debate about policing, which culminated in the passing of the County and Borough Police Act in 1856.

Hannan exerted persistent pressure on the Watch Committee to increase the police establishment to maintain peace in the town, particularly at nights and on weekends. A force of seven men had been created by 1855 but the largest increase came in 1857 when, as a result of the financial provisos of the 1856 County and Borough Police Act, a further six men were recruited. As a consequence the ratio of police to population was reduced from 1:1375 to the contemporary benchmark figure of 1:1000. There were subsequent increases to the town force but these were outstripped by the growth of the town. Throughout the 1860s the police/population ratio deteriorated and was only restored to its 1856 level in 1866 when the force was increased in size by 25 percent. Despite these increases in the establishment the impact of the force was reduced by the rapid turnover of men, mainly attracted by high wages 'at the works', and the consequential inexperience of the force as a whole. (38) Policing was viewed as a stop-gap occupation. Thirty percent of recruits in the period 1856-69 resigned from the force, many in the first weeks and months. Here was a clear indication of the dissatisfaction of recruits with the force and its demands. However, a larger number, 36 percent, were dismissed: a clear indication of the dissatisfaction of the authorities with the quality of recruits. The failure to adapt to police discipline was reflected in a continuous stream of men being dismissed for drunkenness on duty, neglect of duty and insubordination. (39) However, even during these difficult years the beginning of a more stable force could be discerned. A small but growing minority made policing a career, including future chief constable William Ashe, who made an unspectacular start to his career in 1866. What is more, by contemporary standards the Middlesbrough force was deemed to be 'a well-chosen and efficient body of men' at a time when longer-established and larger city forces, such as those in Leeds and Sheffield, were being criticised for the inadequacies of the men they had recruited. (40)

If the 1870s were something of a watershed in the 'taming' of Middlesbrough, these years were also a key period in the development of the town's police force. It grew in size from 41 in 1871 to 76 in 1891 and 134 by 1911. More importantly, the police/population ration improved, modestly between 1881 and 1901, and more dramatically in the early twentieth century. (41) Looking at a key indicator, the turnover of recruits, there is a clear contrast between the late 1850s and 1860s and the 1880s and 1890s. In the former period the percentage of recruits leaving within their first year exceeded 40; in the latter the figure was less than 10. At the same time, and a clear indicator of the maturation of the force, the percentage of recruits serving for ten or more years, that is those making a career of policing, rose from less than 10 in the earlier period to over 25 in the later. The detailed breakdown of the force contained in a nominal roll for 1882 clearly shows the change that had taken place. The chief constable, the 53 year-old Edward Saggerson, had a total of 34 years' police experience. He was supported by one superintendent, with 25 years' experience, and three inspectors, all of whom had 20 or more years' experience, while another two highly experienced inspectors were paid for privately. Equally striking was the experience of the rank-and-file. Eighty percent of the first-class constables, for example, had at least five years' experience, 25 percent had over ten years' and 8 percent had over 15. (42)

There were several reasons for this transformation. (43) Economic considerations were not unimportant. In the three decades from the 1870s to the 1890s real wages for career policemen rose at a greater rate than those for men employed 'at the works' or in engineering with the exception of those men recruited in the 1890s who failed to gain promotion beyond the rank of constable. (44) In addition, improved conditions of work, including improved leisure and educational facilities, and a growing sense of camaraderie, deriving from a shared experience of work and play, played their part.

The police and crime in Middlesbrough

However, it cannot be assumed that there was a causal link between the emerging maturation of the borough force and the significant reduction in crime rates that characterised the last quarter of the nineteenth century in Middlesbrough. It is far from easy to establish the extent to which the police contributed positively to the creation of a more law-abiding town and/or the extent to which they were the beneficiaries of wider social changes over which they had little influence. At any point in time there were practical constraints upon the actions and impact of police activity but, as the wider socio-economic and cultural context changed over time, police work in Middlesbrough became easier. As they worked more with, and less against, the grain of working-class culture and values the positive effect of policing was increased.

There is little doubt that successive chief constables, especially Saggerson and Riches, were determined to enforce the law and to bring what they saw as order and decorum to the streets and public places of the town. Furthermore, key figures--notably the long-serving chair of the watch committee, Isaac Wilson--supported them in this aim, while there were a vociferous minority of contributors to the local press who sought to keep up pressure on the police to 'clean up' the town. Similarly, the town magistracy was broadly supportive of police action. This was most clearly the case during the 1870s when police and magistrates worked closely together in dealing with the perceived problem of the 'rough' Irish but there is little evidence, if any, to suggest there were any serious tensions between the two throughout the period. (45)

The translation of intention into outcome depended in large measure upon the ability of the ordinary constables who actually patrolled the streets. Their numbers increased significantly, though the continuing growth of the town meant that the ratio of police to population did not change markedly, at least in the late-Victorian years. Of greater significance was the quality of the force. Change took place in a variety of inter-related and not always planned ways. The decision to join the force in the early days was commonly opportunistic. Many men joined with little idea of what was expected of them and with little intention of staying for any length of time. For some later recruits this still remained true but the percentage of recruits in this category declined significantly. The more that was known about police work, the more that policing was seen as a legitimate career for working-class men, the more likely it was that recruits made an informed decision about joining the force. The training of recruits--well motivated or otherwise--also changed. (46) Police training in the mid nineteenth century was all but non-existent in most forces and Middlesbrough was no exception. Much was concerned with discipline and the ability to walk a beat properly. Training in the craft of policing was rudimentary. Learning took place informally, the slightly less inexperienced leading the inexperienced, as a body of good practice was developed. Further, learning on the job was--and remained--more important than initial training during probation. There was never a revolution in police training in late-Victorian Middlesbrough, or else where in England and Wales, but practices did change. At a very basic level, the simple passage of time resulted in the acquisition of more experience. More men, and especially senior officers, had a better grasp of what could and could not be done. (47) There developed a force wisdom that could be passed on to new recruits. Much of this was enshrined in, reinforced by and developed through the General Orders that were issued by successive chief constables. Attempts were made to recruit 'better' men and to provide them with support. The provision of a library, the establishment of special educational classes for men wishing to become sergeants--such were the local initiatives that were taken. More specifically, the development of a detective force--limited and belated though it was in Middlesbrough--also added to the effectiveness of the force as a crime-fighting body. And the evidence of falling crime rates could be seen--and was seized upon by the police--as proof that the police were becoming more effective. (48)

The apparent success in the police's core activity of crime-fighting was reinforced, on balance, by their wider contributions to their local community. The responsibilities of the police expanded considerably over time and this carried with it the potential for conflict between police and policed. School attendance and street trading were issues that set apart legislators and sections of the general population and thus left the police in a difficult position in enforcing legislation that was not accepted as legitimate by all. However, this was more than offset by their contribution to the safety and smooth running of the town. Even when they stopped doubling up as fire-fighters, the police were to be found at emergencies and their actions received positive coverage in the press. On a more mundane level, dealing with dangerous dogs and runaway horses was an important and recurring feature of police work. With responsibility for school patrols and traffic control they quite literally contributed to the better running of the town. (49) There was also a welfare role which could range from ad hoc responses, for example, the setting up of a boot fund, or providing food during economic depression, to more regular activities, which in the case of band concerts shaded into the broader cultural life of the town. (50)

The popular perception of the police undoubtedly changed. The local press was far less critical in the 1880s and 1890s compared with the 1860s, There were a growing number of positive statements and actions supporting the police while there were fewer assaults upon the police and an almost total disappearance of the organised hostility from certain sections of society that had been so visible in the 1860s. (51) All in all, it is not difficult to put forward a plausible argument that the police were active agents in the creation of a policed community in which an ever-increasing percentage of the population not simply tolerated but positively accepted their role. However, it has to be recognised that the police were operating in less unfavourable circumstances as the century progressed. In the first instance, there was a greater degree of socio-demographic stability. While it is undoubtedly true that the town continued to grow at an impressive rate, the dependence upon immigration diminished and, more importantly, the relatively shallow-rooted community of the 1850s (with its high percentage of young single males) became more stable as people married and a generation of Middlesbroughborn individuals emerged. At the same time, the local economy broadened and matured. Middlesbrough never ceased to be Ironopolis, heavily dependent on 'the works', and the iron and steel trade continued to be characterised by marked cyclical fluctuations, but there was more to the local economy than iron and steel production. Other sectors of manufacturing, engineering for example, were less volatile and, equally important, there was a range of economic activities, including those in the tertiary sector, that brought diversity and a greater degree of economic stability to the town. Furthermore, the material standard of living of the bulk of the population improved in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. (52) Additionally, and not unrelated, the broader cultural life of the town diversified. The positive impact of cultural diversity had been recognised for many years. In 1864, when Newsome's Circus visited town, the Middlesbrough Weekly News noted that

  [t]he police reports testify that during the last three months--the
  time the circus has been open--cases of drunkenness and kindred
  excesses have greatly lessened, and indeed, in numerous ways we have
  seen the tendency of the innocent amusement provided within the walls
  of ... Mr. Newsome's establishment has been to promote public order
  and propriety of conduct. (53)

Alternative recreations for the working classes were relatively few and far between in the 1850s and 1860s but by the end of the century there was a much wider array of leisure activities and associated venues. Theatres and music-halls were an important facet of working-class leisure and by the early twentieth century the cinema made its appearance. (54) Although gender specific, there was a proliferation of amateur clubs covering a range of sporting activities, not simply the high-profile association football. Specific provision for juveniles was made in the form of Boys' Brigade, the Scouts and various youth clubs. As well as an expanded range of recreational and educational facilities, there was also a growth in working-class organisations such as friendly societies and trade unions. In addition to the activities and values with which such organisations were involved, there was a broader growth of new mores--linked to notions of respectability--which played an important part in the creation of a more stable and more self-disciplined community (or more accurately, collection of communities) that was ipso facto easier to police.

Significantly, by the early twentieth century, influential commentators and opinion formers in the town were clear that the police had been a major element in creating an acceptable level of security. In Ashe's last year, 1901, the Middlesbrough Year Book paid tribute to the chief constable but noted (not entirely accurately) that

  Few towns the size and character of Middlesbrough can boast of so
  little serious crime. Serious crimes of violence are practically
  unknown, while cases of housebreaking are very few and far between.
  The state of affairs is largely due to the increasing vigilance and
  the admirable organization of the Police Force. (55)

Similar sentiments were found in the pages of the local press. The North Eastern Daily Gazette praised Ashe for his 'benign' presence and his success in ensuring the 'protection and welfare of the people'. (56) But if Ashe's achievements were considerable those of the grammar school educated Henry Riches were 'superhuman' as he "thoroughly modernised the force and the police system generally," (57)

The Middlesbrough police were seen to have been major agents in the transformation of the town from its turbulent frontier days of the mid nineteenth century to the relatively peaceful town of the late-Victorian and Edwardian years. Such sentiments are part of a booster tradition but are not totally inaccurate. However, making long-term comparisons over the reign of Victoria, and particularly between the mid and late Victorian years, one is forcibly struck by the scale of change. Despite its continuing growth and despite the persistence of areas of considerable poverty and squalor, the town was a safer place to live in as the rate of crimes against property and the person declined. Middlesbrough could still be a violent and unsafe town but with a more disciplined and more experienced police force it was a securely policed town in a way that it had not been as late as the 1860s. The 'frontier town' had been conquered and disciplined.

Recent writing has placed considerable emphasis on what might be termed the changing context of policing. It would be naive to ignore the changes outlined above but there is a danger of over-stating their significance and, as a consequence, down playing the contribution of the police. Ultimately one cannot escape the (rather banal) conclusion that the creation of a policed society was the product of a complex interplay (or, more accurately, series of interplays) between an increasingly more efficient and effective police force and a changing socio-cultural context that made it easier for the police to work with, rather than against, the grain of local society. However, it is important to recognise the fact that contextual changes, in and by themselves, did not guarantee the successful creation of a policed society. At best, they created a good opportunity for this to happen. However, the opportunity had to be seized and this the Middlesbrough police did. A double transformation was achieved, especially in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Internally, the borough police became a disciplined and mature force; externally, the force neutralised much opposition and even won over some popular support. Neither transformation was total. Some early twentieth century policemen were inefficient, even corrupt, but not on the scale experienced fifty years before. (58) Some Middlesbrough men and women in the early twentieth century loathed the police, more were suspicious but not on the scale experienced fifty years before. As a consequence of these changes, as a consequence of the growing convergence of interests between a majority of the community and the police, Middlesbrough was transformed. The British Ballarat was no more.

Middlesbrough was not a typical Victorian town. Its peculiar economic and demographic characteristics set it apart but, despite its singularities, the town experienced, albeit in more acute form than most, widely common problems of establishing the rule of law and of imposing order and decorum at a time of rapid urbanisation. The changes that took place in that somewhat grim part of the north-east of Yorkshire throw important light on the complex interplay of factors, involving local politicians and opinion-formers, the police and the policed communities, that ultimately led to the creation of a stable, policed society. Superficially, it is tempting to see Middlesbrough as something exceptional, a classic example of planning that went wrong, or, at least, was overwhelmed by unforeseen changes. To some extent this is true, particularly regarding the physical development of the town, but such a perspective can also be misleading. The intentions of the founding fathers to create a morally, as well as physically, ordered society were never abandoned. The continuing commitment of local political leaders, drawn initially from the iron masters but later from the local 'shopocracy', ensured that actions were taken to improve the security and decorum of the town. It is also the case that, over time, the community--and particularly its working-class components--adopted codes of behaviour that resulted in a less tumultuous and more law-abiding town. The passage of time in itself was a key element as the difficult-to-adapt-to novelties of industrial development, urban life and policing in the 1840s and 1850s turned into the routine and commonplace patterns of the 1890s and 1900s. But also, change was driven by the various men who comprised the town's police force. Whether almost-anonymous constables or the well-known senior officers of standing in the town, these men, for all their imperfections, played a central role in the process of change. It is somewhat paradoxical that a group of men, who in the early years were seen as part of the problem, made (and had to make) a major contribution to its solution. The often-flawed and poorly-trained beat constables of the nineteenth and early twentieth century, learning the skills of their trade by sheer hard experience and developing a modus vivendi with the communities they policed, were the men at the interface between the police and the policed. The long-term success of policing rested in no small measure on their ability to develop tactics and a style of policing that enabled a heavily outnumbered body of agents to enforce laws, and through them codes of behaviour, that emanated from the ruling elites and, furthermore, which were often viewed as irksome, if not alien, by those members of the working-classes who felt the 'force of the law' most directly. (59) There was never total success. Some laws were too unpopular, some policemen too crass and clumsy (and worse), while some sections of society ignored or rejected the police and what they stood for. Nonetheless, there were real successes. At the death of Victoria there was in Middlesbrough (and the country at large) a policed society in a way that simply did not exist in the early years of her reign. The police were an accepted, though not always respected, part of every-day life and they had played their part in establishing their position in society. To that extent, they fulfilled a more important role than their morecommonly praised seniors in the realisation of those aspirations to respectability and order that were to be found increasingly among working-class, as well as middle-class, society; to that extent the humble constable was the unsung hero in the complex process of creating a viable policed society not just in the British Ballarat but in the country at large.

ENDNOTES

1. C. Emsley, The English Police: a political and social history (Hemel Hempstead, 2nd edn., 1996); C. Steedman, Policing the Victorian Community: the formation of the English provincial police forces from 1856 to 1880 (London, 1984); R. Swift, "Urban policing in early-Victorian England: a re-appraisal," History, 73 (1987); D. J. V. Jones, Crime, Protest, Community and Police in Nineteenth-Century Britain (London, 1982).

2. G. Rude, Criminal and Victim: crime and society in early nineteenth century England (Oxford, 1985); D. Philips, Crime and Authority in Victorian England (London, 1977); Jones, Crime, Protest.

3. T. A. Critchley, A History of Police in England and Wales (London, 1967); R. Reiner, The Politics of the Police, Hemel Hempstead, 3rd edn and see also F. M. L. Thompson, The Rise of Respectable Society (London, 1988).

4. A. Briggs, Victorian Cities (Penguin, London, 1968) pp. 245 & 250.

5. C. M. H. Clark, Select Documents in Australian History, 1851-1900, (London, 1975) pp. 78-80.

6. The overall police/population ratio for Victoria as a whole was 1:144 in 1854 but ratios varied from 1:247 in Melbourne and 1:154 in Geelong to 1:89 in Bendigo, 1:56 in Castlemaine and 1:32 in Beechworth, all on the goldfields. Approximately 40% of the total police force was used to police the 17% of the population living on the goldfields. R. Haldane, The People's Force: a history of the Victorian police (Melbourne, 1995) p. 42. Such was the attraction of the gold fields that there were wholesale resignations from the police forces of Victoria in the early 1850s which necessitated drastic, and often wholly inappropriate, measures, such as the recruitment of 130 military pensioners from Van Diemen's Land in 1852.

7. Haldane, People's Force, pp. 41-44

8. For a fuller discussion of this issue see D. Taylor, "Asa Briggs' Middlesbrough: the myth of the British Ballarat," forthcoming.

9. D. Taylor, "The Infant Hercules and the Augean Stables: a century of economic and social development in Middlesbrough" in A. J. Pollard, ed., Middlesbrough: town and community: 1830-1950 (Stroud, 1996).

10. Much of this is adapted from J. W. Leonard, Urban and Demographic Change in Middlesbrough, unpublished D. Phil., University of York, 1974.

11. Taylor, "Augean stable," p. 60.

12. Ibid., pp. 71-3. See also A. A. Hall, "Wages, Earnings and Real Earnings in Teesside: a reassessment of the ameliorist interpretation of living standards in Britain, 1870-1914," International Review of Social History, 26 (1981).

13. Lady Bell, At the Works: a study of a manufacturing town (London, 1907) reprinted 1969.

14. D. Taylor, Crime, Policing and Punishment in England, 1750-1914 (Basingstoke, 1998,) chap. 1 and H. Taylor, "Rationing crime: the political economy of crime statistics since the 1850s," Economic History Review, 51 (1998).

15. The figures are five-year averages centred on the census years of 1841 and 1851. The dock riot cannot be discounted but its impact can be measured by the fact that the adjusted rate centred on 1841 is 230 per 100,000 compared with the unadjusted rate of 280. The figures, of course, do not take into account the small number of serious offences from the town tried at assize.

16. It should be noted that the appointment of a new head constable, William Hannan, and an increase in the number of police constables in the town almost certainly led to an increase in recorded crime. Certainly Hannan had little doubt that much crime would continue to go unprosecuted if the resources at his disposal were not improved. D. Taylor, Policing the Victorian Town: the development of the police in Middlesbrough, c. 1840-1914, (Basingstoke, 2002), chapter 3, especially pp. 34-7.

17. Ibid., chapter 4. The precision of the calculations in this paragraph should not obscure the frailties of the underlying evidence. The police force in Middlesbrough was extended over the course of the 1850s but the high level of turnover in the force reduced its impact. The precise impact on the recorded crime rate is impossible to establish.

18. For further details see Taylor, Policing, chapter 4. All the cases are drawn from the Northallerton Calendar of Prisoners, 1830-99, North Yorkshire County Record Office, Northallerton, MIC 1454.

19. Philips, Crime and Authority, p. 260.

20. Middlesbrough Weekly News, 8 January 1859.

21. The statistics are taken from the Borough of Middlesbrough, Minutes of the Watch, Police and Lighting Committee, Cleveland County Archive, Middlesbrough, CB/M/C, 2/100 and the annual reports of the chief constable. Middlesbrough was not unique in this respect. Several north western towns and cities had comparable levels of drunkenness. It should also be noted that the statistics of arrests for drunkenness are notoriously susceptible to changes in local policing priorities. However, there is no evidence to suggest that the policy of the chief constable of Middlesbrough changed significantly in the period.

22. Middlesbrough Weekly News, 4 August 1865, 26 December 1865, 6 October 1865 and Taylor, Policing, chapter 4.

23. Middlesbrough Weekly News, 2 June 1860. In another case Robert Messiter was tried summarily for an assault on Jessy Bone that resulted in her suffering severe wounds to the head and body and losing three teeth. Stockton Gazette and Middlesbrough Times, 15 September 1860.

24. Peter Fall left his wife in "a most sickly spectacle. Both here eyes were blackened in a frightful manner and her face so cut and smashed with blows in every direction that it was almost impossible to distinguish the features." Middlesbrough Weekly News, 21 October 1864.

25. Middlesbrough Weekly News, 13 August 1859. Nonetheless, one should not ignore the large-scale assaults on policemen that characterised Middlesbrough in the 1860s. See Taylor, Policing, pp. 81-88.

26. Taylor, Policing, pp. 21-25.

27. Taylor, Policing, p. 149. There were also two serious cases of robbery with violence in the following year, one involving an attack by a gang of three men.

28. Patrick McCarthy was sentenced to five years' penal servitude for the manslaughter of his wife in a "particularly brutal" attack but he was not charged with murder because of lack of clarity in witness statements. Taylor, Policing, p. 146. It is also the case that several of the men involved were clearly deranged.

29. This has to be qualified by the fact that the greatest increase was in offences involving sexual assault. This to a large extent was the product of changes in legislation rather than a real increase in such criminal activity.

30. See especially, Taylor, "Rationing crime."

31. The figures are calculated from the returns in the Annual Reports of the Chief Constable.

32. See also S. Petrow, Policing Morals: the Metropolitan Police and the Home Office, 1870-1914 (Oxford, 1994), part V. D. Dixon, From Prohibition to Regulation: bookmaking, anti-gambling and the law (Oxford, 1991) M. Clapson, A Bit of a Flutter: popular gambling and English society, c. 1823-1961 (Manchester, 1992).

33. Annual Report of the Chief Constable, 1909, p. 16. See also Bell, At the Works, p. 255.

34. Ibid.

35. In Middlesbrough between the wars there was a tacit understanding between street gamblers and (most of) the police, involving elaborate facades whereby the police appeared to be attempting to enforce the law while in reality tipping off their supposed targets. Such practices probably had roots that went back well into the late nineteenth century. K. Nicholas, The Social Impact of Unemployment on Teesside, 1919-1929 (Manchester, 1986).

36. There was also a growing emphasis on juvenile delinquency that led to more attention being paid to young offenders, especially after 1900.

37. For a fuller account see Taylor, Policing, chap. 4.

38. The account of police careers is based on a detailed analyses of the Constables' Conduct Registers, CB/M/P, 29, 30 and 31.

39. For details see Taylor, Policing, pp. 43-4. It is worth noting that the problems of high wages attracting men away from the police force in Middlesbrough pale into significance when one looks at Victoria in 1851. There men left employment in droves as the goldfields were opened up. Sixty out of one hundred forty Melbourne policemen left and it was not uncommon to see posters offering rewards of [pounds sterling]5 for the apprehension of absconding police officers. Haldane, The People's Force.

40. Report of Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary, 1868.

41. Taylor, Policing, pp. 135-6.

42. Nominal Roll of the Police Force of the County Borough of Middlesbrough, September 1882, Printed Council Minutes, 25 July 1882, CB/M/C, 1/42.

43. For a more detailed account see D. Taylor, "The standard of living of career policemen in Victorian England: the evidence of a provincial borough force," Criminal Justice History, 12 (1991).

44. Ibid.

45. Annual Report, 1878 and Middlesbrough Weekly Exchange, 12 October 1878. See also Taylor, Policing.

46. Relatively little work has been done on this subject but see Raymond B Fosdick, European Police Systems (1915, reprinted New Jersey, 1972) especially chapter 6.

47. It was often the case that in their desire to create a favourable impression and thereby popular acceptance, many senior officers in the early years set very high--unrealistically high--standards for the men in their force. This was particularly true of the Metropolitan police. It also appears to be the case that, with the passing of time and a diminution in the perceived need to be like Caesar's wife, such standards were relaxed. It is difficult to prove this conclusively but, if as seems likely, it was the case then the contrast between the ill-disciplined forces of the 1850s and the more disciplined forces of the 1890s will have been overstated. See H. Shpayer-Makov, "The making of a police labour force," Criminal Justice History, 24 (1990).

48. The annual criminal returns repeatedly stressed the crime-fighting success of the police--as one might expect--but the response of the local press was also, for the most part, very positive in its attitude towards the police in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Yet it is clear from both these sources that in certain respects, notably in the prosecution of gambling, as noted above, the police were singularly ineffective and knew that this was the case.

49. Taylor, Policing, pp. 132-3 and 176-7.

50. Ibid., p. 134.

51. See, for example, Middlesbrough Weekly News, 6 May 1864, 2 August 1864, 6 October 1864, 22 December 1865, 3 October 1867, 8 October 1868 and 5 May 1870 for evidence of widespread and often large-scale hostility.

52. Hall, "Wages, earnings." Though it has to be recognised that there were periods of severe short-term depression in the local economy and that poverty was a continuing reality for many.

53. Middlesbrough Weekly News, 29 April 1864.

54. M Huggins, "Leisure and Sport in Middlesbrough, 1840-1914," in Pollard, Middlesbrough, p. 150.

55. Middlesbrough Year Book, 1901, p. 53.

56. North Eastern Daily Gazette, 9 February 1900.

57. Middlesbrough Year Book, 1905.

58. It is not entirely clear whether the increased turnover was due to a real decline in the quality of recruits or to the more demanding standards of the new chief constable, Henry Riches.

59. For evidence from other parts of the country see H. R. P. Gamon, The London Police Courts Today and Tomorrow (London, 1907) and S. Reynolds, Seems So! A Working-Class View of Politics (London, 1911).

By David Taylor

University of Huddersfield

School of Music & Humanities

Queensgate Huddersfield HD1 3DH

United Kingdom