Gloucestershire's First Chief Constable

Anthony Thomas Lefroy, son of Limerick born Captain Anthony Thomas Lefroy who served as a Captain at Gibraltar and the Cape of Good Hope, was born in the year 1802 and baptised at Warkworth Parish Church, Morpeth, Northumberland, on the 26th April, 1802. 

Lefroy joined the Irish Police in 1823 at the age of 21.  From 1822 Ireland had an organised system of county constabularies and a single police force, the Irish Constabulary, from 1836.By the year 1839 Anthony Lefroy had achieved the position of Chief Constable for County Wicklow. The Constabulary of Ireland was a trained and disciplined force under the central control of the government administration at Dublin Castle.  It represented a fresh start in policing and its members served under a strict code, which governed all aspects of their lives, on and off duty.  Elaborate precautions were taken to ensure that they displayed strict impartiality at all times.  Policemen who lived in barracks, were prohibited from serving in their (or their wives’) native areas, and were unable to vote or to belong to any political or religious groups (the exception being the Society of Freemasons). This constabulary was to become a model for a number of police forces throughout the world.Following the successful establishment of the Metropolitan Police in London, the County Police Act 1839 (also known as The Rural Police Act) was passed. The act enabled Justices of the Peace in England and Wales to establish police forces in their counties. It was not compulsory, and constabularies were only established in 25 out of 55 counties by 1856, when the County and Borough Police Act 1856 made their provision mandatory.

The Act allowed Justices of the Peace of any county, in general or quarter sessions, to appoint constables "for the preservation of the peace and protection of the inhabitants" where they felt the existing system of parish constables was insufficient. At a General Quarter Sessions for the County, held at Gloucester on Monday, 4th of November 1839, a discussion took place regarding the formation of a County Constabulary and the appointment of Chief Constable. It is recorded that Lord Ellenborough said that the Magistrates should apply to Colonel MacGregor at the Inspectorate of Constabulary in Ireland, to see if he had anyone serving under him who would be suitable to be recommended for the post of Chief Constable so that there was no chance of its being supposed that the office of Chief Constable was given by acquaintances, by connection with the County, by private intimacy on the part of the Magistrates or otherwise than by the appointment of the very best man. The Lord Lieutenant concurred but suggested that a letter should go to the Secretary of State requesting him to communicate with the heads of London and Irish Police. At the Adjourned General Quarter Sessions held at Gloucester on the Monday, 18th of November 1839 a minute was approved and recorded agreeing to the establishment and appointment of County and District Constables. 

A Testimonial from the head of Ireland's Inspectorate, Colonel MacGregor, recommended  Anthony Lefroy who was 37 years of age and not a military man. 'That he was an extremely gentlemanly man. An Englishman believed from Cumberland and had served in the Irish Police Force for several years to the entire satisfaction of Colonel MacGregor.' 

On the 18th of November 1839 Anthony Lefroy was appointed Chief Constable of Gloucestershire. A letter dated 9th December 1839 from the Secretary of State, confirmed the appointment.

Now the Gloucestershire Constabulary was recognised and given the Government's blessing. The County force had been founded only six hours after Wiltshire Constabulary, making it the second rural police force to be formed in Britain.On December 1st 1839, less than two weeks after his appointment, he had already brought over from Ireland, and placed on the pay-roll, six new superintendents and twelve constables (a thirteenth, Thomas Watson from Co. Armagh, signed on three weeks later).

Lefroy's original plan was to have the County divided into 20 police districts, each being controlled by a superintendent. That idea was forced to change as a high rate of resignations and dismissals took its toll and by 1841 the figure was 14 and in 1842 down to 11.

Before releasing his new recruits into those mainly rural districts they were issued with a uniform and given a brief period of training by experienced Irish officers. 

The 1839 appointments book shows that 16 of the first 23 constables originated from Ireland, some being brought over by Anthony Lefroy and others sent by Major Browne at Dublin HQ. 

Out of the more senior appointments, at least five of his twenty new District Superintendents, Charles Keiley, Thomas Russell, William McMahon, John Nicholls and Thomas Pilkington were from Ireland and John Dean King was an Englishman from Woolwich in Kent who had served in Ireland and married Deborah Westerman from Leinster in 1839. 

We know little of those five officers or their six colleagues. Their ages and origins are not recorded in the Superintendents Default & Commendations book.

One of the experienced Irish officers, Charles Keiley, must have been exceptional as he was appointed by Lefroy as the County's first Deputy Chief Constable in July 1840 and administrator for the outer Tewkesbury District. Keiley stayed in that post until 1853 when he vanished into thin air after absconding with the wages and expenses for Cheltenham and Tewkesbury.

Each new superintendent needed a horse to travel between the stations in his district and was given a £40 yearly allowance for its maintenance.

The new force's first problem was the existing police station at Cheltenham.

In 1831 Cheltenham Town Commissioners had instituted its own police force based on the Metropolitan Police system consisting of an inspector and 25 men with headquarters at what is now John Dower House in Crescent Place, pictured here.

The 1839 Act required town forces to be absorbed into the County policing structure and within a few months the Cheltenham force was disbanded, despite opposition from Town Commissioners and local people.

Because the city of Gloucester already had an independent police force unaffected by the new Act of Parliament, the County Constabulary now had its new headquarters at 1 Crescent Place, Cheltenham. It was here that the administrative machinery of the Force was based, while the 45 men allotted to police Cheltenham went across the road to the Central Police Station. 

The Superintendent there in 1841 was Irish born Thomas Russell and one of his Sergeants was also from Ireland. He was  Sgt William Hanbidge born in 1816 at Dunmore, Co. Wicklow and was later a Superintendent at Chipping Campden and Painswick.

Qualifications, necessary for Superintendents and Constables, as laid down by the Secretary of State.
To be under 40 years of age. To stand 5 feet 7 inches, without shoes. To read and write and keep accounts. 
To be free from any bodily complaint; of strong constitution and generally intelligent. 
No person appointed a Superintendent or Constable who shall be a Gamekeeper, Wood Ranger, Bailiff, Sheriff's Bailiff or Parish Clerk or who shall be a hired servant in the employment of any person or who shall keep or have any interest in any house for the sale of beer, wine or spirituous liquors by retail and if any person who should be appointed a Superintendent or Constable, should at any time after such appointment became a Gamekeeper, Wood Ranger, Bailiff, Sheriff's Bailiff or Parish Clerk or shall act in any capacity or shall sell or have any interest in the sale of any beer, wine or spirituous liquor, such person shall thereupon become and be incapable of acting as such Superintendent or Constable and shall forfeit his appointment of Superintendent or Constable and also all salary payable to him as Superintendent or Constable. 

The uniform items issued for the first year were :

One Greatcoat Cape with Badge

The 1839 appointments book shows that at least 16 of the first 23 recruits originated from Ireland. To be added are the Superintendents, who were not included in that record, a high proportion of whom were from Ireland.

At least eleven of Lefroy's Irish recruits came from the recently formed Dublin Metropolitan Police and were recommended by Major Browne. An un-armed unit, it had replaced the old Dublin Police Force (1786-1836). 

The information in the table below was kindly passed by Jim Herlihy via Jeff Lowndes. Jeff is researching his Gloucestershire Constabulary ancestor, another Irishman, Superintendent Thomas Russell, who served at Cheltenham in the early 1840s. 

Dublin Sergeants Charles Keilley and Thomas Pilkington, who joined the Gloucestershire Constabulary as Superintendents and were involved in its early administration, both appear to have joined the DMP as sergeants and gave their previous occupation as clerks.

James Budds only remained in Gloucestershire till August 1841 and then resigned. Thomas Lee was made a sergeant in 1840 but resigned in 1843 after being reduced to constable. Andrew McIntyre was made a constable but resigned after a few months. He rejoined the DMP in October 1840. John O'Brien was also only with the Gloster force a few months and was dismissed for "living under the influence of liquor". 

Robert Porter was made a sergeant in 1840 and remained to collect his pension in 1864. John Sheckleton was also made a sergeant in 1840 and remained with the force until his resignation in the 1850s. John Sheils (Sheills) was made a sergeant in 1841 but resigned in July 1842 to become a game-keeper in the Forest of Dean. 

Paul Sparks was made a constable but was dismissed for drunkenness in October 1842. He rejoined the DMP in June 1843.

James Stephenson, also a constable, was dismissed for "striking and knocking down Constable Charlwood".

Thomas Pilkington, who had already served 13 years with the Irish Constabulary before joining the DMP, was a superintendent with the Gloucestershire force until his death in 1846.

Charles Keilley (Keily) joined as a superintendent and was promoted to Deputy Chief Constable in 1840.

In 1852 it was announced that he had been short-listed for the position of Chief Constable of Staffordshire.

His career ended in disgrace in June 1853 when the 38 year old absconded with £485, the month's wages and expenses for the Cheltenham and Tewkesbury forces, leaving his wife and eight children unprovided for. In July 1853 Chief Constable Lefroy announced a reward of £100 for the apprehension of the Irishman, or £10 for information of his whereabouts. Apparently he was never found.

Edward Wilkinson, a former coach driver, replaced Charles Keilly as Deputy Chief Constable. In July 1855 he was forced to resign after an embarrassing court case when a policeman named Alexander Gordon, who lived at Cheltenham police station, successfully sued him for damages for taking improper liberties with Mrs Gordon on three occasions. The jury had returned a verdict in favour of Mr Gordon and awarded him 40 shillings damages.

 John Nicholls, Superintendent of the Dursley district, an officer since December 1839, became the third Deputy Chief Constable on September 1st 1855. He was in that position in 1865 when Lefroy retired after 25 years service and was replaced as Chief Constable by Captain Henry Christianson. John Nicholls  remained as his DCC until 8 March 1867, when he died at the Cheltenham Police Station aged 57. He left a widow and six children, the eldest only thirteen years old.

John Nicholls was succeeded by Tetbury born Superintendent Charles Griffin.

The Dublin information came from author Jim Herlihy. He is considered an expert on the military and constabulary history of Ireland and has published several books including:

The Dublin Metropolitan Police. A Complete List of Officers and Men, 1836-1925. The Dublin Metropolitan Police: A Short History and Genealogical Guide.The Royal Irish Constabulary: A Complete Alphabetical List of Officers and Men, 1816-1922. Royal Irish Constabulary Officers, A Biographical and Genealogical Guide, 1816-1922.

A 19th Century bull's- eye lantern in the Tetbury Police Museum is believed to have belonged to PC John Tawney (born 1841) who served at Chipping Campden in the 1860s. The display notice indicates that it was recovered in 1887 after an accident in which the constable had suffered a broken leg and was treated by Bristol's Doctor W.C Grace the famous cricketer. PC Tawney was stationed at Oldland, Keynsham in the 1880s.  For the Victorian policeman this oil lantern was a very vital piece of equipment. Including carrying handles modified to fit on a belt, and a ground-glass lens, it not only served as a light source, with the amount of light varied by simply turning its chimney, but was a personal heater in the winter and a stove for his "cuppa".