Working History — 1800-1830
Watchman's box
Before the creation of the Metropolitan Police force in 1829, local parishes employed watchmen to patrol the streets at night and keep order. Public opinion of parish watchmen was not high; they were often lampooned in caricatures.
This wooden box stood near Furnival's Inn in Holborn. It would have been used for shelter by watchmen. Furnival's Inn, originally an Inn of Chancery, provided rented accommodation during the 19th century. Charles Dickens leased rooms there in 1835. In his final work, The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1870), it appears as a hotel.
- Category:
- Working History
- Object ID:
- 93.213
- Object name:
- watchman's box
- Object type:
- Artist/Maker:
- —
- Related people:
- —
- Related events:
- —
- Related places:
- —
- Production date:
- 1800-1830
- Material:
- wood, glass
- Measurements/duration:
- H 2200 mm, W 990 mm, D 850 mm, 150000g (150kg) (overall)
- Part of:
- —
- On display:
- —
- Record quality:
- 100%
- Part of this object:
- —
- Credit:
- —
- Copyright holder:
- digital image © London Museum
- Image credit:
- —
- Creative commons usage:
- —
- License this image:
To license this image for commercial use, please contact the London Museum Picture Library.