Name/Title
Small wooden police rattle 1830-1880Entry/Object ID
1182Description
Small wooden rattle, with fixed handle and lead weights built into paddle.No marks.Use
To raise the alarm and summon the assistance of other officers.Context
Rattles were used since at least the 17th century as a means of raising an alarm. They were used by the first Metropolitan Police officers in 1829, as they had been by the watchmen they replaced. The type of small rattle pictured is of a generic type used by police in the UK throughout the 19th century, only being phased out with the widespread introduction of the police whistle in the 1880s. There are versions of these rattles with folding handles designed to make it easier for officers to carry them in the tailcoat pockets of their jackets (see item 219). These small weighted rattles replaced larger ones with turning knobs on the top.
There was originally a paper label attached to this rattle reading, "An old Police man's rattle, used by the Turville Constable and given to my father by one of the Pitcher's of Lander's Farm L.H.N."
Turville in Bedfordshire was the location of the TV series "The Vicar of Dibley" and there is a Lander's Farm in the Parish.
Whistles were adopted because not only were they easier to carry than bulky rattles but experiments in London showed they could be heard over a much longer distance than a rattle.The provenance of this particular rattle suggests it was not used in Sussex.