Before the creation of a trained
police force, law and order was upheld
by parish constables who were local people doing the job for a year. They
would have no training and often did
not want to do it.
At the beginning of Queen Victoria's reign the government passed an Act
to allow counties like Breconshire to set up a County Constabulary or
police force. Montgomeryshire set
up such a force soon after (see the pages on
Constable Jones' journal),
but Breconshire did not. Instead the
county appointed a number of paid Superintendent
Constables to oversee the local parish constables and give
them support.
In autumn 1850
orders were made by the magistrates for giving these Superintendent Constables
a proper uniform.
The entry from the records below list what clothing they should have,
and the picture (right) shows what
they may have looked like.
