On Monday, 02 May 1836, the new Hull Police were inaugurated as required by the provisions of the Municipal Reform Act. The men, clothed in a manner similar to that of the Metropolitan Police, including hats and truncheons, were drawn up in the courtyard of the Town Hall under the command of Superintendent Andrew MacManus. The uniform worn was of dark blue with white embroidery and the letter 'H' and the unique number of each man was embroidered on the collar. The Sergeants were distinguished by having plated buttons on the cuffs of their coats whilst the Constables had covered buttons. The buttons were silver plated, having the Arms of the town encircled with the words "Hull Police". The collars of the Inspectors were embroidered with silver lace. About a dozen men under Mr Lee, Chief Officer of the old system, also made their appearance and were thanked for their vigilance and attention to their duties by the Mayor and informed that, with the new Policemen having been sworn in, their attendance as Constables would no longer be required.
Hull Police Sergeant Coulehan, 1836
At establishment, the Hull Police comprised four Inspectors at 30s. a week each, three acting Inspectors at 25s. a week, nine Sergeants at 21s. a week and 77 Constables at 18s. a week. Clothing for the Superintendent cost £9 14s. per year; for seven Inspectors, £6 10s. each; for 86 Constables and Sergeants, £5 each. £500 was budgeted for a horse for the Superintendent, which was thought to be necessary, and for incidental expenses. The Watch Committee reported with much satisfaction that, along with the Superintendent, they would be able to provide a body of efficient police, as well equipped and paid as any in the United Kingdom for the annual sum of £5,777 4s.
The first Constable of the Hull Police to be sworn in was Patrick Coulehan. Sergeant Coulehan, of the Connaught Rangers, had accepted the offer of Superintendent MacManus, to "come over and help to lick the boys into shape".
The Force quickly proved successful. By the end of the first week after taking up their duties, a local observer noted:
There is no more annoyance on the flags from crowds of ill-mannered lads, rolling their hoops and committing other nuisances which had got to such a pitch as to render it hazardous for ladies, and often for gentlemen, to keep the footpath. The groups of loungers at the corners of the streets, by which the transit from one to another has been seriously impeded, have been prevailed upon to disperse, and the presence of drunken women collecting mobs in different parts of the town, and even in the most public thoroughfares, prohibited. This last hateful and disgusting nuisance has, we are sorry to say, lately been prevalent...
At the end of 1836, Superintendent MacManus, who had been plucked from the Metropolitan Police to head the Hull Police, was presented £25 in consideration of his efficient services and his extraordinary exertions in the formation of the Force. His salary was then also raised from £150 to £200 per year, exceeding the £175 per year previously agreed upon for his second year in service. Also accomplishing his duties in a very satisfactory manner, Sergeant Coulehan was promoted Inspector by 1840.
In contrast to the deserving men of the Hull Police, no praise was showered on the early accommodations for the new Force. This in no way reflected a lack of planning but a failure in the execution. The Sculcoates Public Hall was built as a Police Office and was well adapted in every respect for the Station House, containing commodious rooms for the residence of the principal Police Officers, a room in which the Magistrates were to sit and with waiting rooms for Constables and cells for prisoners. However, instead of giving up the whole of that building to the Police, the Commissioners only granted them a part of the north-east corner containing two cells and sleeping closets for the prisoners, in which the Inspectors and prisoners remained night and day. Every word spoken by the Police Officers could be heard by the prisoners. If the Superintendent had any orders to give to the Policemen, they were obliged to go into the street so that they were not heard by the prisoners. No means of ventilation existed in the cells but the door which meant the prisoners frequently requested the Officers to allow the cell doors to remain open to afford them a little air. The Inspectors on duty, even in the favourable weather at the time, were unwell from the conditions. Making matters worse, the entry door to their accommodations bolted on the wrong side, so that any person on the outside might fasten up the Inspectors and prisoners together.
The rise in strength and status of the Hull Police ran almost in parallel with the rise in the town itself. With Hull gaining city status in 1897, the Hull Police became the Hull City Police. By the date of its centenary in 1936, the strength of the Force had grown to 485, including the fire brigade, with 3,214 men having been enrolled as members of the Force since 1836. The mileage of streets patrolled was 230 1/2 along which were found 60 police boxes and six street pillars. There were 280 police pensioners living with a total number of 534 pensions granted. The annual cost of the Force for pay, clothing and equipment was £120,000, half of which was contributed by the Government.
It was not then a simple matter to join the Hull City Police. In 1935, the Hull Watch and Licensing Committee received 1,076 applications for admission to the nearly one hundred year old Force. Of these 184 were local applications. Fifty-nine were declined on the grounds of education with the most common causes of failure on educational grounds being spelling and grammar. Of the remaining applicants, thirty-eight were deficient in height, twenty-eight were deficient in chest measurements and twenty were above the age limit. Thirty-two were submitted to the doctor with nineteen being rejected and thirteen certified for consideration.
In 1974, along with the Scunthorpe and Grimsby Divisions of the Lincolnshire Constabulary, Hull City Police became part of the newly established Humberside Police on 01 April. The Chief Constable of Hull City Police, Mr Robert Walton, was appointed as Chief Constable of the new Humberside Police that had a strength of more than 1,700. The crown and sovereign monogram was carried on the issued helmet plates, badges and buttons for Humberside Police with general issue headgear being helmets and not caps for the new Force.
First motor vehicle, available for police purposes but not to carry prisoners or attend street accidents. It was fitted with a green light to the front, only to be shown when on urgent duty, 1915
First motor vehicle, available for police purposes but not to carry prisoners or attend street accidents. It was fitted with a green light to the front, only to be shown when on urgent duty, 1915
First motor vehicle, available for police purposes but not to carry prisoners or attend street accidents. It was fitted with a green light to the front, only to be shown when on urgent duty, 1915
Velocette LE, used by more than 50 forces, including Hull City. This quiet, reliable machine started life in 1948 with a 149cc water-cooled twin-cylinder engine, but well before this photo was taken in 1960 the engine had been enlarged (from 1951) to 192cc which gave a small but welcome power boost. Throughout its life the LE featured shaft drive and adjustable rear suspension. From 1958 the machine had a four-speed gearbox (originally three-speed), foot-operated gear change and larger wheels. This Hull City bike is one of these later, Mk III models.
Velocette LE, used by more than 50 forces, including Hull City. This quiet, reliable machine started life in 1948 with a 149cc water-cooled twin-cylinder engine, but well before this photo was taken in 1960 the engine had been enlarged (from 1951) to 192cc which gave a small but welcome power boost. Throughout its life the LE featured shaft drive and adjustable rear suspension. From 1958 the machine had a four-speed gearbox (originally three-speed), foot-operated gear change and larger wheels. This Hull City bike is one of these later, Mk III models.
Velocette LE, used by more than 50 forces, including Hull City. This quiet, reliable machine started life in 1948 with a 149cc water-cooled twin-cylinder engine, but well before this photo was taken in 1960 the engine had been enlarged (from 1951) to 192cc which gave a small but welcome power boost. Throughout its life the LE featured shaft drive and adjustable rear suspension. From 1958 the machine had a four-speed gearbox (originally three-speed), foot-operated gear change and larger wheels. This Hull City bike is one of these later, Mk III models.
Sources
- Hull Packet, 20 May 1836 *
- Hull Advertiser, 06 May 1836, 20 May 1836, 21 October 1836 *
- Globe, 14 June 1837 *
- Hull Daily Mail, 02 January 1925, 22 April 1936, 29 April 1936, 02 May 1936, 01 June 1936 *
- Stamford Mercury, 05 October 1973, 29 March 1974 *
- * The British Newspaper Archive
