Name/Title
Brighton Borough Police webbing belt and clasp c1870 - 1914Entry/Object ID
97Description
Broad black/dark blue webbing belt with nickel silver clasp marked "Brighton Police" with coat of arms centre.The clasp appears to have traces of black paint on it.Use
Used as a uniform belt over a tunic or overcoat.Context
Belts were first introduced when police forces abandoned the tail coat in favour of a tunic in the 1850's. They smartened the appearance of the long tunics then worn and were used to hang leather truncheon holders, occasionally small swords and at night oil lanterns. When used at night they would often have leather guards attached to prevent the oil lamps from burning or staining the uniform.
This particular belt has a square shaped clasp marked "Brighton Police" and has the coat of arms for Brighton, two dolphins. Somewhat unusual is the use of a webbing, as police belts were usually made of leather, which could be polished.
Photographs show that Brighton officers were using belts for winter use with claps like the one used here from at least the 1870s until belts were withdrawn. To date the latest dated photograph of such belts being used shows a parade in 1909. The use of webbing and not leather is unusual for a police uniform belt and suggests that example was probably used for night duty. It is quite possible that an earlier clasp has had a webbing belt attached to prolong its life for this purpose. Webbing was only introduced as a replacement for leather in the military in 1908. The fact that the belt clasp has what appears to be paint on it further suggests that it may have been used at night and blackened for the same reason that night helmet plates were black in Brighton. At least one other Brighton webbing belt is known of, so this in not a one off.
The use of belts nationally, declined in the 1920's, and they were often only used for ceremonial occasions. It is known though that some police forces retained them for night use until the 1960's, presumably to hang battery powered lamps that replaced oil lanterns in the 1920's.
Photographs show that many of the Sussex police forces issued elaborate belts like this one in the 19th and early 20th centuries, however East Sussex Constabulary appears to have only used plain examples with generic "snake's head" clasps.