A NEW book which details 120 murders, profiles of 250 criminals, persistent drunks and good-time girls will be launched in Worcester’s former Police and Magistrates Court.
‘The Spike’, subtitled ‘Worcester City Police: the lives, the crimes and the violent times, 1833-1900’ written by ex-journalist and former City Council Press Officer Bob Blandford, paints a picture of Worcester as a hard drinking, hard fighting town, much at odds with the traditionally-held image of a peaceful, sedate backwater.
And Worcester’s 403rd mayor Coun Paul Denham has lent his support for the three hour public launch on Saturday (November 12) from midday.
The Mayor will welcome history-lovers into the original Police and Magistrates’ Court – now the Mayor’s Parlour – while the former Assize Court and the actual cells that stood witness to the trials of hundreds of prisoners listed in the book will also be open, adding a fascinating backdrop to the tale.
The Mayor’s chain dating from 1864 and civic sword that symbolised the power of the courts of the day will also be on show – as will a surviving Worcester City Police spiked helmet, now a much sought-after collector’s item, from which the book draws its title.
“It might come as a surprise to many that Worcester maintained its own police force for 1341/2 years before amalgamating with Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire Constabularies to form West Mercia Police in October 1967,” Coun Denham said.
“It’s an amazing story that’s almost as much a history of the City Council as the police, with the Guildhall standing silent witness to a colourful slice of Worcester’s murkiest past.”
“At no time during the period covered by the book did the police number more than the absolute minimum demanded by the Home Office – 1:1,000 per head of population, so perhaps this is my way of making amends to the hard-pressed policemen of the day,” he said.
During the often troublesome period covered by the book – 1833-1900, with part II covering 1900 to the year of the end of the force’s independence already under way – the Mayor was traditionally head of the Watch Committee that governed police affairs and also chief magistrate ruling over a daily dose of colourful cases six days a week.
By coincidence, Huddersfield-born Coun Denham is also a former magistrate, another link to the mayors of the past: “…so in a way, I feel I’m stepping into the very large shoes left by my forerunners” commented the ex-schoolmaster who taught maths in Hull before settling in Worcester.
Detailing the day-to-day catalogue of crimes and eye-witness accounts of hangings in the city alongside profiles of 250 Worcester baddies and the 587 known officers and Watchmen given the generally thankless task of maintaining order on the city’s streets up to 1900, ‘The Spike’ also contains hundreds of never-before-seen archive photographs.
The 388-page book will be launched on Saturday and Mr Blandford will be on hand to sign copies. It will also be available from Waterstones, TIC, the Hive, Worcester Museum, Tudor House Museum and other outlets, and on Amazon from the following week, price £18.99.
Signed and personalised copies are also available direct from the author at [email protected].
