Parish constable

A Parish constable, also known as a petty constable, was a law enforcement officer, usually unpaid and part-time, serving a parish. The position evolved from the ancient chief pledge of a tithing, and takes its name from the office of constable, with which it was originally unconnected.

It is distinct from the more senior position of the hundred-constable, also known as the High Constable (e.g. the High Constable of Holborn, who was one of the hundred-constables for Ossulstone; Ossulstone's hundred court was located at Red Lion Square, in Holborn).

In London, the position was superseded by the introduction of the Metropolitan Police Service in 1829, which created a full-time professional force. Elsewhere, professional county police forces took over, after the County Police Act 1839 was passed.

The office of parish constable originated from the tithing, a small unit of local administration. Each tithing was obliged, by frankpledge, to be responsible for the actions of its members. The heads of each household in the would often select one of their number to take charge of the tithing - the chief pledge; in Kent, Sussex, and parts of Surrey, this head man was instead known as a headborough.

A judicial process - view of frankpledge - obliged each tithing to attend the shire court at regular intervals, and hand over any person in their tithing who the court had summoned; if they did not, and could not swear on oath that they were not involved in helping that person evade justice, the remaining people in the tithing had to pay the damages incurred by the actions of that person. Since this created an incentive for each tithing to enforce standards of behaviour among its own members, the chief pledge of each tithing was effectively obliged to police behaviour in the tithing.

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