

The Brighton and Chichester Railway Act, 1844, received the Royal Assent on 4th July 1844 thereby incorporating the Brighton & Chichester Railway Company. The object of the Company was to commence a junction with the existing Branch Line of the London and Brighton Railway at Shoreham that would terminate at Chichester, providing service to London for the inhabitants of Chichester, Arundel, Bognor, Littlehampton and Worthing. The works of the Brighton & Chichester Railway commenced on 15th February 1845.
In order to preserve the peace along the Railway during its construction the Company established its own Railway Police. At the Sitting of Magistrates for Worthing on 26th March 1845, four men were appointed as Special Constables establishing the ranks of the Brighton & Chichester Railway Police. The men sworn in this capacity were Mr Robert Cleave Sutton, Mr Thomas Robinson, Mr Joshua Hatcher and Mr John Sergeant. Mr Sutton was appointed Inspector and had charge of the new Brighton & Chichester Railway Police. A fifth man to be duly sworn, most probably Mr William Balchin, recently of the London and Brighton Railway Police, was brought forward to the Magistrates on 23rd April on the application of Inspector Sutton. The Policemen of the Brighton & Chichester Railway were issued handcuffs and a staff and PC Balchin was obliged to use the latter to fend off blows when he was assaulted by a bricklayer in a drunken fit at Shoreham on the 23rd of October.
Two of the Brighton & Chichester Railway Police, PC William Balchin and PC John Sergeant, were present in Shoreham on Guy Fawkes Night, 5th November 1845, as the High Constable had made a request for Policemen, parish constables and some respectable inhabitants to help put a stop to the annual practice of stealing and burning all sorts of combustible property in the celebration. The bonfire was made as was customary and, at about half-past ten o'clock, several of those present brought one of the gates from the churchyard and threw it on the fire. One of the revellers, armed with a formidable stick, dared anyone to touch the gate. PC Balchin made an attempt to remove the property from the fire and the man struck him on the head with the stick, knocking him to the ground. PC Balchin took him into custody with the assistance of the other constables; the bonfire was then extinguished and the others dispersed. On the following day, with a defence of nothing more than intoxication, the man was committed to Petworth Gaol for trial at the next Quarter Sessions for assaulting PC Balchin in the execution of his duty.
The twenty-three miles of the railway extension the Brighton & Chichester Railway Police watched over between Shoreham and Chichester were over land so level that the rails could be laid expeditiously on nearly the existing ground. The Worthing extension of the Railway opened for passenger traffic on 24th November and travel to the furthest extent at Chichester reached the same milestone on 15th June 1846.
The day of the Worthing opening was disrupted by an accident involving the third train of the day from Worthing as it reached Lancing. As the engine approached, three horses drawing six loaded trucks from a gravel pit ran on to the line with two of the trucks still in tow which had come loose from the others. The engine did not have sufficient distance to stop, knocking down one horse and crushing it beneath it, and so severely injuring a second it was necessary to put it down afterwards. The impact dislodged the engine and tender from the rails but without any injury to the passengers or physical damage to the equipment. The boy in attendance of the horses was handcuffed and taken into custody by Inspector Sutton. Upon further examination afterward, a Magistrate discharged the boy as he was found not to be negligent, rather just the opposite, as it was revealed he had acted in a brave manner whilst trying to prevent the horses from going on the line in the first place. After about two hours the passengers were again on their way. With this exception, the events of the day were executed without incident under the watch of the Brighton & Chichester Railway Police as directed by Inspector Sutton.
The future of the Brighton & Chichester Railway and its Police Force was foreshadowed in the provisions of the Brighton and Chichester Railway Act. The 1844 Act gave powers under Sections 323 and 324 to lease or sell the Company to the London & Brighton Railway Company. These powers were carried forward under the Railway from Portsmouth to Chichester Act, 1845, an Act for the purpose of a further extension of the Railway to Portsmouth. In October of 1845, the London & Brighton Railway Company purchased the Brighton & Chichester Railway Company although the Railway and its Police continued to operate under the old name until the London & Brighton and the London & Croydon Railway companies were consolidated to form the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway Company on 27th July 1846, under 9th and 10th Victoria, cap283.
PC Balchin was retained to become one of the new London, Brighton & South Coast Railway Police. He served as a Police Constable at the Lewes Station for a time before his promptitude, punctually and carefulness brought him notice and the position of Station Master there in October of 1846 and at the Brighton terminus from 1850. William Balchin continued in that capacity, earning the respect of both the public and his employers, until his death after a brief illness at the comparatively early age of forty-three on 25th September 1859. Many of the Railway Company's officers, including about fifty Station Masters, followed his remains to the grave as a last tribute of respect.
Sources
- Brighton Gazette, 25 January 1844, 13 November 1845, 27 November 1845, 01 January 1846, 05 November 1846, 13 August 1846, 29 September 1859 *
- Sussex Advertiser, 09 September 1845, 11 November 1845, 29 September 1846, 03 August 1847 *
- Stirling Observer, 04 December 1845 *
- Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser , 16 June 1846 *
- Illustrated London News, 14 November 1846 *
- * The British Newspaper Archive