Local historian: Policing in Victorian and Edwardian Sidmouth

The Devon Constabulary was formed in 1857, and Sidmouth appears to have had its own small police force comprised of two men from at least this time.

The first police officers we read about are PC John Pearce, who was born in Wiltshire and our very own PC William Bowman, a Sidbury man.

PC Pearce is mentioned on more than a couple of occasions. In 1859, he was called to The Old Ship Inn to investigate a rowdy gathering in the tap bar.

Apparently, the pub was packed with boys, men, and women of poor reputation.

A newspaper report of the time claims that there was singing, dancing and loud music being played until gone half past one in the morning.

PC Pearce was also involved in the arrest of local miller John Hooke for being drunk and disorderly. When the case went to trial, Mr Hooke claimed that it was the police constable who was the drunk one!

Sidmouth's first jail

L: The old jail and police cottages on Mill Street in 1970 (Graham Symington). R: The wall and barred windows today (Google Maps)

Our first jail and police buildings were situated in Mill Street.

Thought to have been built in around 1862, they were comprised of two small cells with barred windows and two adjoining police cottages.

The wall and cell windows survive today, but the cottages were demolished in the 1970s.

In the 1890s, police operations were moved to Newtown, where No. 17 became the new police house, with two small lock-ups being created in the yard behind.

I've been told that one of these cells still had bars on the window and was only recently converted into a shower room for the owner of the property.

The policeman and his family who lived in the house cared for those incarcerated, and there is a rumour that prisoners found the food provided by the policeman's wife far superior to what was given to them at Exeter Prison.

The modern police station

Sidmouth police station on Temple Street in 2013 (cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Jaggery - geograph.org.uk/p/3567611)

In the Edwardian period, larger and more modern accommodation was required, so a purpose-built building was commissioned and designed by EH Harbottle and Son.

Located in Temple Street, it opened for business in 1911.

Although the building is still occupied by the police today, the doors shut to the general public many years ago.

However, there has recently been strong support to reopen the enquiry desk, so watch this space...

More by Graham Symington:

1. The history of the now-demolished Blackmore Hall
2. The history of Sidmouth's Connaught Gardens
3. A dancing bear, girls of bad character and smuggling: The history of Sidmouth's The Old Ship Inn
4. Sidmouth, Jane Austen and ITV's Sanditon
5. The history of The Byes, in pictures
6. Tar Barrels... in Sidmouth?
7. Remembering Pike's Cottages
8. Sidmouth's old toll houses