As Newport celebrates the 180th anniversary of the Chartist Uprising, we looked at the state of policing in the then-town at the time.

NEWPORT'S police force at the time of the Rising was pretty basic.

The town’s first professional policeman, John Redman, had been appointed just five years previously.

He quickly had his hands full dealing with crime and disorder, which was increasing rapidly and, he believed, mainly originated in the town’s beer houses.

MORE NEWS:

The Town Council’s Watch Committee took over responsibility for the force in 1836, with Redman’s position confirmed and allocated a salary of £90 p.a.

A ‘lead constable’, Richard Rees, was also appointed for Pillgwenlly, on a salary of £25 p.a.

Twelve, unpaid petty constables assisted them, but it was soon reported that they were ‘very inefficient and negligent of their duties’.

A police station was established behind the Parrot Hotel in Commercial Street, while offenders were kept in the town lock-up in Mill Street until they appeared before the magistrates. These included women and, in one month in 1839, two women actually gave birth while detained there.

The creation of a professional force did not immediately resolve the problems of law and order.

In 1837 the Watch Committee reported that it had, ‘received numerous complaints of the disorderly state of the borough, and of the inefficiency of the constabulary force’, exacerbated by a decision made the previous year to save money by policing without officers on night duty.

In 1837 Redman was dismissed on the grounds that he had ‘recently been negligent of his duty’ and was replaced by Edward Hopkins of the Bristol Police.

In May 1839 four professional police officers, also from Bristol, were appointed to serve under Hopkins.

They were issued with uniforms and armlets and equipped with handcuffs and cutlasses.

In the months before the Rising, the growing unrest in the town forced the Watch Committee to recruit special constables. By November, 150 had been sworn in.

The authorities were aware that even large numbers of specials were insufficient to quell serious unrest, resulting in the arrival of troops, who were billeted in the workhouse.

Even after the Rising, when the authorities were worried about a fresh outbreak of disturbances, the town appeared under-policed.

In 1845 there was a complaint that in other towns, ‘the police are generally found where a crowd is collected and ‘move on’ is the order of the day. I have never seen a policeman on Newport Bridge. Is there no law from Mill Street to Marshes Gate?’

This is part of a series of features marking the 180th anniversary of the Newport Uprising.