VOLUME 61

These five essays on issue of law and order grew out of the author’s earlier research on local crime for his book on Bedford Prison (BHRS vol. 56).

The first essay recounts the riots following the enactment of the Militia Act 1757.

The second is a short biography of the Rev. Philip Hunt, rector of St Peter’s Bedford from 1799, who accompanied firstly Lord Elgin to Greece, and secondly the 6th Duke of Bedford to Ireland as his secretary and chaplain. Following his appointment as a justice of the peace in Bedfordshire, Hunt concerned himself with the running of Bedford prison and penal reform.

Samuel Whitbread II is the subject of the third and fourth essays. Appeals to him from prisoners awaiting transportation leads to a discussion of the conditions in the hulks. The unfortunate consequences of his attempts to raise the level of literacy of militiamen is also recounted.

Finally, there is a brief account of local law and order in the 1830s which led to the establishment of the county police force in 1840.