An Expanding Watch, 1748-76^43Blackfriars Bridges.^84 Thmpike trusts took on the upkeep of these highways
and often established systems of night watch on them as well. The roads
often led to already established towns and villages, such as Kingston, Dept-
ford and Clapham or Kensington and Chelsea in the north and west. The
increased through traffic brought by the new highways to these outlying
villages meant that the inhabitants began to see themselves as more vulner-
able to the ravages of crime. These villages also became more desirable as
suburban residential areas. As such, they attracted more and wealthier
residents who were very interested in having their property protected from
thieves. This is seen in petitions like that from St Mary, Newington in 1776
and by the frequent linkage in petitions, such as Clapham's, to Parliament of
proximity to the built-up areas of London and a perception of being 'much
exposed to Robberies, and other Outrages'.^85 In between these larger vil-
lages and the more heavily policed parishes of Southwark were parishes like
Lambeth and Putney that continued to depend on unpaid, amateur officials
or systems funded by voluntary subscription. It would not be until the second
decade of the nineteenth century that some of the less heavily travelled,
poorer or more far-flung places in the counties would follow the example of
their neighbours.
The second and third quarters of the eighteenth century brought a new
awareness of the problem of crime and its prevention to London. Levels of
crime not only seemed to have been unprecedented, there is evidence that
property crime in particular was in fact on the rise.^86 So too were other
problems generated by the urban expansion of greater London. Fear of
crime was primary in leading to the establishment of professional night
watch systems but there was a mixture of motives behind reform, especially
for these areas outside the West End. The sources we have to illuminate
the decision-making process at local levels are considerably limited; however,
we can still extrapolate from what we do have to make some general con-
clusions. In some places, the accumulation of nuisances, annoyances,
dirt, and crime finally reached levels that residents could not tolerate
any longer. The establishment of the night watch, such as in Southwark,
was thus part of a broad spectrum of concerns about the public space of
the streets. For local authorities, the occasional riot mattered little compared
to the problems of filth, dark streets, broken pavements, and property crime.
In other parishes, such as Clerkenwell, parish improvements and the night
watch in particular, were issues used by one faction within a parish to gain
local political power. The establishment of a night watch usually marked the
ascendancy of the more well-to-do over smaller property owners and
the working poor.