paying extra to their beadle and watchmen in the winters of 1695 – 6 and 1697 – 8 ,
and which presumably involved a number of men continuing to patrol the ward
for some hours after the watch had been raised.^35
The inhabitants of Cornhill could afford to support the watch, but the ward
also contained important private institutions and interests that were willing to
contribute to the support of more effective night-time surveillance for their own
reasons. In the face of the crime problems of the 1690 s, the ward leaders negoti-
ated a new arrangement for the watch that combined private and public money.
In accordance with an agreement accepted by the wardmote in 1696 , an assess-
ment was to be imposed on all rated inhabitants to support a force of ten watch-
men and a beadle. In addition, the Mercers’ Company agreed to pay the wages
of six others, undoubtedly in the interest of providing extra protection in the
highly commercial area around the Royal Exchange. All sixteen watchmen
were ‘to do the duty of the ward and Exchange equally alike’. The watch money
would be collected by the constables, but they would be accountable for it to the
Common Council of the ward. Further, the deputy and common councilmen
established the placement of watch-boxes around the ward, the beats to be pa-
trolled, and the rules to be followed. The sixteen watchmen were to be on duty
every evening at 10 p.m., commanded initially by the beadle, who was to ensure
that the watchmen were at their various posts throughout the ward by 11 p.m.
Eight stands, at each of which two watchmen were to be on duty in turn through
the night—an hour on, an hour off—were organized around public houses and
were distributed through the ward:
- At the King’s Head, Mr Phipps, one stand
- At the Saw and Cabinett, Mr Poole’s door, one stand
- At the Hen and Chickens, Mr Salter’s door, one stand. This watchman’s light to
hang up as it may be seen down Bircher Lane - At the Golden Legg, Mr Legg’s door, one stand. This watchman’s light to hang up as
it may been seen down Finch Lane - At the Globe and Lion in Birchen Lane, Mr Woolgar’s door, one stand
- At the Bull, Mr Barwell’s door, one stand
- At the Grasshopper, Mr Collin’s door, one stand
- At the Hand and Spade, Mr Fenwick’s door, one stand
When these men had been sent off to their posts, the constable in charge of the
watch was to come on duty and with four of the watchmen not yet in stands to
walk the rounds of the whole ward. The beadle could then leave and the con-
stable was supposed to remain—presumably in the watch-house, though none
is mentioned in these 1696 orders—through the night. For their part the watch-
men were to walk a beat around the area of the stand every half hour, relieving
one another on the hour, until the watch was raised—at 5 a.m. in the winter
months, 4 a.m. in the spring and autumn, and at 3 a.m. in the summer. Two
Policing the Night Streets 179(^35) GLMD, MS 4069 / 2 , fo. 390.