A week with very little news.
Most of the time has been spent reorganising our filing system.
Research into the Anglo-Saxon legal system continues. We have been looking at the Christian Church’s role in the administration of justice.
Have a relaxing and enjoyable weekend. We’ll see you again next week.
In the 1820s, married men living in Hanley who spent their time drinking in ale houses feared Molly Albin.
Molly, who lived in Tontine Street, was Hanley’s town crier. She used her job to publicly shame men who went drinking during working hours or neglected their families.
Men who frequented ale houses were terrified when they heard Molly ringing her bell and calling out their names. Large crowds gathered to listen to what she had to say about them.
She told the crowd everything she knew about a man she had named.
Molly pulled no punches when she described a man’s character. She listed all his defects. She told the crowd how much he earned each week and how much he spent on drinks. It heard how much money he gave his wife to buy food and clothing for herself and the children. All aspects of his life were made public. If a man had borrowed money that he hadn’t repaid, she gave details of the amount he owed.
Sometimes, a man whose lifestyle she was describing threatened her with violence. Molly was not afraid. It was unlikely that he would assault her. She was physically fit and capable of defending herself.
She knew that a man who attacked her would be arrested and brought before the Petty Sessions (Magistrates’ Court). The court sat in a room at the Swan Inn. It had the power to fine him, put him in the stocks or send him to prison. Men who attacked women were usually sentenced to two or three weeks’ imprisonment with hard labour.
The other really outstanding fact that marks Totmonslow out is connected to its historical role. Around 1200 years ago, it was the place where people from this area gathered. They came together at certain times of the year to settle disputes and carry out justice. These meetings were known as ‘moots’. And then: from about the year 800, England developed a loose system of administration based on areas known as ‘hundreds’.
Between 1842 and 1870, law and order in Hanley was maintained by Staffordshire’s county police force.
Although Hanley and Shelton, the two largest townships in the Potteries, amalgamated in 1857 to form the Borough of Hanley, the borough did not obtain its own police force until 1870.
Stanford Alexander was appointed chief constable. He had 35 police officers to maintain law and order in a town that had a population of 41,000. His officers worked three overlapping shifts, two 12-hour shifts during the day and one nine-hour shift at night. Despite the long hours worked, pay was low. Constables earned 21 shillings a week. Sergeants were paid 25 shillings, and inspectors received 30 shillings.
When Alexander retired in 1875, Herbert Windle was made chief constable. Windle improved pay and working conditions for his officers. He persuaded the town’s Watch Committee to give them a library and a recreation room, with a billiard table, where they could relax when they came off duty.
By the late 1870s, Hanley had become the Potteries’ commercial and cultural centre. Trains and trams brought people from neighbouring towns to its shops and markets, music halls and theatres.
On Saturday nights, Henley’s criminal fraternity made its way to the town centre. Children begged outside shops or stole from market stalls. Drunken brawls broke out in public houses. Gangs roamed the streets looking for a fight. Prostitutes accosted men in Piccadilly. Pickpockets mingled with the crowds in Fountain Square, and robbers lurked in dark alleys waiting to pounce on their victims.
Robbery and theft were indictable offences. They had to be tried in Stafford before the Assize Court or at Quarter Sessions.
Police officers and witnesses were forced to travel to Stafford. They had to wait outside the courtrooms in the Shire Hall until called to give evidence. Unwilling to make the journey, many victims of crime refused to prosecute offenders.
Law and order in Hanley were breaking down. The borough council requested Queen Victoria to grant the town its own Quarter Sessions. She granted the request. The borough’s Quarter Sessions held its first sitting on January 19, 1881. There were eight defendants, three of whom were illiterate.
Note: Law Enforcement in Hanley is one of a series of articles written by Betty Martin before her death. Other articles from the series will be posted from time to time.
Edited: 4th June 2025
North Staffordshire Heritage 