Name/Title
Wooden painted special constable's truncheon c1850Entry/Object ID
937Description
Wooden truncheon, painted very dark blue, 18 1/2 inches (47cm) long with letters "S.C." painted at end in gold. Multi turned handle. No wrist strap or makers marks.Use
For use by a special constable for protection and as a symbol of their authority.Context
In the 19th century special constables were non uniformed members of the public temporarily sworn in as constables to deal with public disorder. The role was formalised in the Special Constables Act of 1831. This gave local magistrates the authority to appoint special constables "on the occasion or threat of a riot". This 1831 Act was in response to the large scale rioting that had followed the rejection of the Second Reform Bill in 1831 by the House of Lords. The Bill which was popular amongst the general population, sought to give greater representation in Parliament to the masses, by standardising the size of constituencies and doing away with "rotten boroughs". Such boroughs were small areas allowed to have their own MP, despite having very small numbers of people living there, a system that allowed wealthy landlords to select their own members of parliament. The Special Constables Act only allowed specials to be sworn in for as long as there was a threat of a riot.
Throughout the century there were a whole series of violent demonstrations as a result of various political movements and objections to them. Some of these demonstrations led to huge numbers of special constables being sworn in, especially in London. It is reported that as many as 170,000 Special Constables were enrolled in the capital in 1848 to prevent "Chartist" demonstrators from marching into London( The Times Newspaper). Even as late as 1887 there were riots in London, necessitating the swearing in of thousands of special constables.
The only equipment given to these special constables was a truncheon, sometimes these were painted to give the holder their authority from the crown, ranging from highly decorated examples to more simple ones such as here with simply an "S.C." for "Special Constable". However many were not marked in any way.
As with full time police truncheons there was no single design, although the shape of this particular example is one that was in common use throughout the 19th century. There is some evidence that many of special constable truncheons were continually re-issued from storage for much of the 19th century, as each crisis came along, which makes them hard to date. This example probably dates to c1850, though could be earlier, as at 18 1/2 inches in length it is particularly long. As it came from Sussex Police it may have been used within Sussex.