The Blue-Coat Rebellion, the police of Galashiels have struck: the Inspector of Constabulary and a small Scottish Burgh
This article concerns an incident on 15 August 1874. That night the officers of Galashiels Burgh Police were instructed to extinguish the town’s gas lamps. The constables refused and the entire force was sacked by their Superintendent. The burgh was left unpoliced for around ten days. This episode h...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2025
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| In: |
Policing and society
Year: 2025, Volume: 35, Issue: 5, Pages: 675-690 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Keywords: |
| Summary: | This article concerns an incident on 15 August 1874. That night the officers of Galashiels Burgh Police were instructed to extinguish the town’s gas lamps. The constables refused and the entire force was sacked by their Superintendent. The burgh was left unpoliced for around ten days. This episode highlights three themes that all small Scottish towns in the mid-nineteenth century would have recognised; a drive for police efficiency, a significant change in the role of the constable, and the increasing centralisation of police forces. The introduction of the Inspector of Constabulary contributed to these elements, empowered to pay or withhold a government grant, depending on the ‘efficiency’ of the force while small establishments were encouraged to amalgamate with their county constabularies. This tended to promote a move away from the traditional Scottish model which embraced many roles in local government, all promoting the public good. This case study of a set of events that unfolded in Galashiels in the 1870s was reconstructed through historical research using archival and published sources. It highlights the link between the themes shown in the 1870s strike and the formation of Police Scotland; the establishment of both the Inspector of Constabulary and, over 150 years later, a national police force. These reveal continuities relating to issues of governance and organisation and facilitated a move in policing from the local to the centre. |
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| ISSN: | 1477-2728 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/10439463.2024.2438260 |