Name/Title
Eastbourne Police Downs Ranger's stirrups c1929-1974Entry/Object ID
2317Description
Pair of chrome plated steel horse stirrups, one stamped "4" the other "3". The one stamped "4" is also marked either "Luff and son" or 'Cuff and son" on bottom.Use
For attaching to a saddle for a rider to put their feet inContext
In 1929 Eastbourne Borough Council took ownership of a large area of Downland around Beachy Head, in order to prevent development. To police this area the unique post of Downs Ranger was created, a full time mounted officer of Eastbourne Borough Police based at a stable at Beachy Head, using a horse owned by the force (see item 2205). By this time the use of horses by the Borough Force had declined and the Downs Ranger became the only mounted officer in Eastbourne. The role survived the 1968 amalgamation into Sussex Constabulary but was ended in 1974, with the establishment of the Sussex Constabulary/Sussex Police mounted unit based at Brighton.
These stirrups are part of the tack used by the Downs Rangers and are known to have been moved to the stables at Brighton Police station in John Street, when the last Downs Ranger, PC Jack Williams was transferred to the mounted unit based there in 1974. They together with a bit and bridle fittings (see item 2316) also from Eastbourne, were rescued by mounted officer Bob Bird when the unit was disbanded in 1989. It is not known whether the stirrups themselves are as old as the bit and bridle roundels which date from 1891-1928. The fact that they are numbered suggests they may have been part of a larger set of tack and the Borough Force is known to have had several sets of mounted equipment, the first purchased in the 1890s.