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Oswestry, Town, Council, history, law, order, police, force, Lord, Marcher, constable, Shropshire, buzz-pages, buzzpages
Oswestry, Town, Council, history, law, order, police, force, Lord, Marcher, constable, Shropshire, buzz-pages, buzzpages
Law
and Order
In 1203 William Fitzalan II proclaimed that no part of his hundred was under the jurisdiction of the Shropshire County Court, that neither the Sheriff, nor the King's Justices could summons its inhabitants, and that even the King's Writ had no authority there. The Fitzalans were of course, Lord Marchers, and to these Lords had been given the responsibility for keeping the Welsh in order, in return for great tracts of land on the border.
The power of the Lord Marchers lasted some 300 years, for it was only during the reign of Henry VII that they were abolished. However during that time the citizens of Oswestry were granted more authority to order their own affairs. In 1262, for example, the Burgesses were given a Charter which said in part:
And that no officer of Ours shall interfere with or intrude upon the liberties or enjoyments of Our said Burgesses except in case of the default of the said Burgesses and their successors. The same document provided that if any of the Burgesses found anyone buying merchandise anywhere but from a very strict closed shop arrangement, they were to be handed over to the Lord's officers and kept in his prison.
In 1398 Richard II visited the town, and presented it with its first Royal Charter. This confirmed various privileges which had grown up over the years, including the right of the Burgesses to be tried by their peers before the Bailiffs, and their immunity from,summons to trials outside the Borough, except for cases arising in the Borough which involved the Crown. Trials were to be held within the Town, and the right to build a Prison was granted. In 1407 Henry IV granted a new Charter to the town, which was more precise than Richard's which it ignored. It again confirmed the right of Burgesses to be tried by their Peers - Englishmen - before the Bailiffs and Steward. No steward was to interfere with the Burgesses who were to be elected and exempted from paying fees to the Constable of the Castle.
By 1582 the Lords of Oswestry had suffered a drastic reduction in their status and powers, and had dropped the royal we from their vocabulary. In the intervening years, and possibly as a result of this, friction had developed between various parties in the town.
To resolve the question of who held what authority, Elizabeth I issued a Book of Constitutions, Decrees and Articles. The Lord of Oswestry signed it as one of the parties and the Bailiffs of the Town signed on behalf of the Burgesses.
The book is perhaps one of the more important documents in the history of the town, for it provided for a Common Council of 25 Burgesses and 2 Bailiffs. Initially the 25 were to be nominated by the Steward and Bailiffs, and afterwards the Council was to elect Burgesses and fill vacancies in its ranks the same way. Two Bailiffs and a "Serjeant-at-Mace" were to be appointed annually. The Bailiffs were to be responsible for repairs to the Prison Housebound were to buy locks and bolts for the prisoners. A fee of 2d. was to be paid for every action brought in the Borough Courts, and no more than 4 attorneys - elected by the Bailiffs - were to practice in court. Legal advice was to be provided by the Earl.
Elizabeth's successor, James I also granted a Charter to the town, which again expanded the freedom of Oswestry. It was dated 1 5th March 1617 and its main provisions were that the town was to be a free borough, with, amongst other things, the right to make laws, and impose fines. The Bailiffs and Recorder - elected by the retired Bailiffs and Burgesses, and the Steward who was nominated by the Lord, were to be ex officio Justices of the Peace, and were to have authority to enquire into all manner of :-
felonies, murder, homicides, poysonyngs, enchantments, witchcraft, acte magic, trespass, forestallers, regrators, ingrossers and extortions whatsoever.
The Burgesses were again exempted from sitting on any jury outside the borough.
The Charter of Charles II brings us up to 1674, and apart from confirming various matter such as the fact that Oswestry was to continue as a free Borough, there was provision made for the Mayor to hold general sessions of the Peace, and powers for prisoners to be committed to the County Gaol. The Mayor was made responsible for the custody of the common, or town jail. The grant of a Quarter Sessions was also made, an item which many other Boroughs did not enjoy until nearly 200 years later.
Thus the gradual transfer of responsibility for the maintenance of Law and Order from the Lord to the Mayor, Aldermen and Common Council was achieved. The Quarter Sessions Book for 1737/1765 has at the back, lists of constables sworn in before the Mayor These constables, who served for a year were probably volunteers, or volunteered. The list for 1759, which added the occupations of the constables, includes a carpenter, shoemaker, labourer, innkeeper, harper, cooper, tailor, naylor and hatter. It seems that the constables may only have had responsibility during the day, for watchmen were sworn to keep order during the night. The following is the Watchman's Oath.
You shall well and truly Execute the office of a Watchman for this Ward in the Town and Borough of Oswestry from this time till six of the clockfour in summer To Morrow Morning. You shall not go to anyplace so as to get Drunk but walk to and fro in order to preserve His Majesty's peace and if any Meeting or affray happens that you cannot of yourself suppress you are to call for aid and bring the offenders before the Mayor in order to be punished according to the nature of the offence and what also belongs to your office according to the best of your judgment. So help you God.
On the 19th April 1831, we find the following entry in the manuscript volume of Documents and Proceeding Relative to the Town and Liberties of the Borough of Oswestry 1818/1888:-
At a meeting of the inhabitants of the said Town held at the Guildhall this day for the purpose of taking into consideration the expediency of appointing a regular Police Officer for the said Town in persuance of due notice thereof given - nothing done.
The irregular constables of the town could, and sometimes had to be, reinforced. On 1 7th December 1832 - a year after the above meeting failed to appoint a proper Police Officer, two gentlemen swore before the Justices of the Peace that they:-
have good reason to apprehend that a tumult or riot will ensure within this town in the course of the next week on the occasion of the County Election, wherefore (they pray) that a sufficient number special constables be appointed for the preservation of the peace.
Their request was granted and a number of special constables, at a cost of 10s 6d each were duly sworn. Again they were a varied crew of labourers, bricklayers, shoemakers, even a lawyer and the town gaoler. The total bill for this crowd control was sent to the County Quarter Sessions so that the County Treasurer could reimburse the Oswestry Bankers.
By 1840 the Borough must have appointed regular Police Officers for in 1841 the Watch Committee gave a short, sharp reply to the suggestion by the County Quarter Sessions Police Committee that the Oswestry force merge with the County force, which had been formed a year earlier. Sixteen years later, in 1857 the Watch Committee must have changed its mind, for a scheme was presented to amalgamate the two, and in 1861 an agreement was signed by the Quarter Sessions, and the Mayor, Aldermen and Common Council which gave effect to the scheme. At the time Oswestry's force consisted of: one superintendent, three first class constables and one second class constable. Upon merging, one sergeant, one first and two second class constables were appointed.
In 1879 the agreement was renegotiated. The main terms - notification of constables' names to the Mayor before appointment, and the agreement over payments remained essentially the same. However, one extra constable was appointed, with the provision that more would be provided if required. Clause 4, which was another new item makes curious reading: The house erected by the said Borough within, and forming part of the new gaol or lock up shall be used as a residence for a Police Constable or any other proper person whom the County may appoint to take charge of it. Before 1902 there were two Police Stations in the town, one at the Bailey Head, and one at The Cross.
In 1902 a new station was opened on the Horse Market, based partly on the building erected in 1871 by the Independents as a Lock Up. In 1944 plans were mooted for a new building as the old one was now far from satisfactory. It was 21 years later that the police, probably with sighs of relief, moved into the new premises in Park Street.
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