POLICING IN TRUNCH
Before the Norman Conquest in 1066 policing in Britain was run on the Saxon "frankpledge" system where all adult males were responsible for keeping order in the community. If wrong-doers were identified they were punished. Under the Normans, Constables were introduced who had offical authority but prosecutions were still the responsibility of victims. The Constables were usually unpaid members of the gentry.
After the Norman Conquest, Trunch was under the Soke (or Manor) of Gimingham and local gentlemen served on the Manor Court juries who adjudicated in cases brought before them of land ownership or misuse or anti-social behaviour etc. There was a County Sheriff who had higher authority but Gimingham rebelled against this. In 1275 The Hundred Roll said - all the freemen of John Earl Warren of the 8 towns of Gimingham Soke and 4 constables of these towns withdrew themselves from the oath before the sheriff in his turn so that the sheriff could not through them enquire as to the transgressions and transgressors in such towns.
During the Tudor period Thomas Gryme of Trunch was an under-constable.
During the Tudor period Thomas Gryme of Trunch was an under-constable.
From the early 16th Century some groups paid for protection of their property and rewards were offered for the return of stolen goods. Law and order remained a local responsibility and Norfolk had a yeomanry of local landowners to deal with serious disturbances. The Norfolk Constabulary was formed in 1839.
In the 19th. Century the census returns show that some policemen lived in Trunch. In 1861 John ROLPH (or Rolfe) lived on the Hill. He was married but I have been unable to find out anymore about him. However in 1871 James NEWMAN from Ridlington was the police constable living in Church Street, after starting his working life as a blacksmith. Later he moved to Panxworth and retired to East Winch.
By 1881 the policeman was John NOBBS who came from a Rockland family of farm workers. He married Mary Ann and they had 8 children, of whom 6 survived. After leaving Trunch he farmed and retired to Claxton in Norfolk. His son Joseph joined the Royal Artillery as a driver and farrier and served time in India.
Arthur SALTER was here as a policeman in 1891 having previously been a railway porter. He married Mary Mason in 1884 and they had 2 sons who both had interesting lives. Arthur Mason SALTER was also a railway porter like his father but in London where he was paid 4d an hour. He then joined the Scots Guards for 12 years before serving as a policeman in Bradford, Yorkshire. He served in WW1 surviving being wounded in action in 1915. The other son, Charles SALTER, lived in Heacham as a butcher, then in Oxfordshire as a cook. He also served in WW1 and when he died in 1969 he was living in Elizabeth Cottage in Brancaster Staithe in Norfolk, which is also where his father Arthur also died in 1951.
The policemen in Trunch didn't seem to stay very long and in between the census dates, others were named either in newspapers or the parish records. In 1827 an unnamed Constable of Trunch was fined 20s for neglect of duty for being drunk when taking a prisoner to Norwich castle. A more serious offence occured in 1867 when PC HENRY WILLIAM BROOKS of Trunch was beaten and left for dead during a robbery in Swafield. The offenders, the Storey brothers, were caught and sentenced to 20 years, eventually emigrating to Canada. PC BROOKS did recover and he went on to have 6 children and to become the postmaster in Hanworth for over 30 years.
Several men who were born or lived in Trunch went on to become policemen in different areas. For example Henry BECKERSON who was born in Trunch in 1827, the son of an agricultural worker, went on to be a police inspector in London. His brothers John and Robert also became policemen. Arthur PITT (1876-1954) was another who left his work as an agricultural labourer in Trunch to become a policeman in London. What different lives they must have experienced! Several members of the GALL family were also policemen.
At the turn of the 20th Century George AMIS and John SPURGEON were parish constables and in the 1939 register Alfred MASON, George HICKS, Jack BULLEN and Sidney HUMPHREYS were special constables.