An Expanding Watch, 1748-76^35o'Oock at Night to 10, in the Footway, well arm'd with Halberts, etc. for the
greater Safety of Passengers.'^42
In 1749, however, St Leonard, Shoreditch, obtained an act of Parliament
in order to fund a night watch and to pave and clean the streets. By the time
the Seven Years' War began in 1756, most East End parishes had obtained
local acts that included provision for a night watch, including St Matthew,
Bethnal Green, and St Luke, Middlesex (also known as St Luke, Old Street).
In December 1755 the residents of StJohn, Wapping; St Paul, Shadwell; the
hamlet of Ratcliffe, the precinct of Well-close, and St Anne, Limehouse
pooled their resources to obtain a combination watch act.^43 All of this latter
group were small, poor, riverside parishes, crowded between the Tower of
London and the Isle of Dogs. The cost of obtaining an act of Parliament was
not cheap so it made good sense for these parishes to coordinate their
efforts.
The House of Commons heard a familiar litany of complaints from the
East End when parish authorities requested parliamentary approval for the
new acts. William Cook of Shoreditch reported, 'That frequent Robberies
are committed ... which might probably be prevented, if the Parish were
regularly watched and lighted'. In addition to property crime, witnesses
from the riverside parishes complained of a murder that had been com-
mitted on the highway between Smithfield and Ratcliffe, 'before Eleven of
the Oock at night'. Ratcliffe only employed two men, while in St Paul,
Shadwell, there was 'neither Watch nor Lamp all through the Parish ... '.^44
Francis Barnes, a former Shoreditch constable, testified to the unwillingness
of parishioners to pay a voluntary watch rate. They told Barnes, 'He had no
Right to demand any .. .'.^45 Barnes also stated that what few watchmen there
were were 'so indifferently paid, that they will not give a proper and due
Attendance'.^46 The acts for establishing rate-supported night watch forces
also allowed for other local improvements. The most common package
included provision for watching, lighting, paving, and cleaning the streets.
Street conditions could be notoriously bad. One witness from Shoreditch
told the House of Commons that the streets not cared for by turnpike trusts
were in such poor condition 'that he had known Instances where Horses
have been Smothered in the Mire .. .'.^47
What was happening in the East End has been described as the break-
down of local government. Yet this sweeping condemnation of local admin-
istration in the eighteenth century is difficult to support.^48 The evidence
from parliamentary petitions indicates that East End parochial leaders
found their policing, policing in the wider sense, inadequate. They were
not content, however, to let the watch deteriorate further or do without
street lighting. They took the initiative, encouraged by the example and
cooperation of neighbouring parishes and the public debate about the ways
and means to prevent crime as well as the other nuisances and annoyances of