PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
|
|
DEVON CONSTABULARY EAST STONEHOUSE, PLYMPTON and PLYMSTOCK The Devon Constabulary was responsible was policing the parish and urban district of East Stonehouse and the districts of Plympton and Plymstock that are now within the City of Plymouth. On January 6th 1857 the Court of Quarter Sessions for the County of Devon made a resolution that a County Constabulary should be formed and that it would consist of a Chief Constable; four Superintendents; nine Inspectors; twenty-three Sergeants; sixty First Class Constables; 130 Second Class Constables; and seventy-three Third Class Constables. The Inspectors were to be mounted. The Chief Constable, Mr Gerald de Courcey Hamilton, had already been appointed at am annual salary of £400 and by April 7th 1857 he had recruited 225 other ranks. The Constables were to receive between 16 shillings and one pound a week and the Sergeants would get £1 3s. [1] The Devon Constabulary was divided into four Districts, with Plympton, Stonehouse and Jump - later known as Roborough - included in Division C. On June 30th 1857 it was recorded that...'in this parish constables have hitherto been appointed under the act for lighting and watching and therefore until notice has been given by the Chief Constable that he is ready to undertake this charge, this parish is also exempt from police rate.' On October 12th 1857 the Quarter Sessions ordered that cells, quarters for one Sergeant and other police rooms be provided in East Stonehouse; that a Petty Sessions court, three cells and quarters for two Constables be provided at Plympton St Mary; and two cells and quarters for two Constables be provided at Jump. The subsistence allowance for providing prisoners with meals was 4d. per meal. Subsequently they ordered that a Petty Sessions Court be added to the facilities at Jump. [1] On June 29th 1858 it was reported to the Devon Police Committee that a portion of the St George's Hall, in East Stonehouse, was to be rented as a police station at the rate of £40 per annum from August 2nd next (1858) until a more permanent arrangement could be arranged. [1] Today we know the village of Jump as Roborough. Although it is outside the City of Plymouth, those readers who used to journey through the village before the by-pass was built will remember the Court House that stands on the eastern side of the Tavistock Road, near the Lopes' Arms Public House. This was designed and erected by Mr George Marshall during the summer of 1859 and brought into use early in December. The building contained twelve rooms, eight of which formed the residences for a Sergeant and Constable. There were also two cells and a public waiting room. Prior to the erection of this building any persons arrested in the area had to be taken to Stonehouse to be kept in the cells and returned to Jump for their court appearance. [2] The use of part of the old Mayoralty House at Plympton for a second-class police station and lock-up was authorised by the magistrates of the Plympton Division on February 28th 1862. The cost was £160, which was £10 higher than the alternative site near Plympton Church. [3] On June 27th 1864 the Chief Constable reported that the Stonehouse District, part of 'H' Division, comprised a 2nd Class Sergeant and twelve Constables, two of whom were on loan in connection with military building at Staddon Heights. The Superintendent in charge of the Division, Mr George Ross, was based at Stonehouse and he had 1st Class Sergeants at Plympton and Roborough plus seventeen Constables covering both places. [1] The Chief Constable reported on the strength of the Constabulary on March 31st 1878. 'H' Division, based at Stonehouse, was headed by Superintendent Edward Brutton with 1st Class Sergeants at Plympton and Roborough, seventeen Constables and one vacancy at Holbeton. The Stonehouse District was covered by a 1st Class Sergeant and thirteen Constables. [1] Helmets were introduced into the uniform in January 1879. [1] Mr Gerald de Courcey Hamilton, the Chief Constable of Devon, retired on December 31st 1891 and Mr Francis Randolph C Coleridge, formerly a District Inspector in Dublin, was appointed to replace him. [1] Although police whistles were issued in Plymouth in 1880 and became standard issue from September 1881, they were apparently not issued by the Devon Constabulary at Stonehouse until after the end of June 1892. [1] On November 9th 1896 parts of Compton, Eggbuckland, Laira and Pennycross were amalgamated in to Plymouth. One Sergeant and two Constables were retained at Compton, the remaining Constable staying with the Devon Constabulary. The Constable based at Crabtree in the parish of Eggbuckland was transferred to St Budeaux. [1] From April 1st 1907 Captain Herbert Reginald Vyvyan took over as Chief Constable of Devon. [1] East Stonehouse became part of the Borough of Plymouth on November 8th 1914 and one Inspector, two Sergeants and fifteen Constables transferred to the Plymouth Borough Police Force. Only the biggest and strongest men were selected for Stonehouse as they had to be able to deal with drunken sailors and this resulted in the pick of the Devon Constabulary being moved to Plymouth. As a result, Plympton became the headquarters of H Division. [1] From January 1st 1921 the headquarters of H Division was transferred from Plympton to the Police Station at Crownhill, where the superintendent was stationed. [1] Captain Vyvyan retired as Chief Constable of Devon on April 1st 1931 and the following day Major Lyndon Henry Morris took over. [1] A new police station was provided at Plympton in March 1939. [1] The Chief Constable of Devon, Major Lyndon Henry Morris CBE MC DL died on November 7th 1946. He was greatly respected by his subordinates because he respected them. He was responsible for two innovations for which he would be long remembered. Unlike his predecessors, he accepted that a policeman's house was not just an official residence but also his home. Because of that he always knocked or rang the bell and waited on the doorstep to be invited in. And secondly he dispensed with the requirement for a Constable planning marriage to provide references as to the character of his prospective bride. [1] From April 1st 1950 Tamerton Foliot was amalgamated into the City of Plymouth but the Constable who had been stationed there remained with the Devon Constabulary and moved to a new location. [1] On April 1st 1967 Plympton and Plymstock were amalgamated into the City of Plymouth. This was quickly followed by the disbandment of the City of Plymouth Police Force on May 31st 1967, when the Devon Constabulary, the Cornwall Constabulary, the City of Exeter Police Force and the City of Plymouth Police Force were amalgamated to form the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary. Sources:
|
