KEEPING THE PEACE

With no formal police force, maintaining law and order in medieval and Tudor England was very much a community affair

- RHIANNON DAVIES

In medieval and Tudor England, it could seem like crime was around every corner. People stealing food and small amounts of money were the most prevalent offences, but murder rates were many times higher than they are today, and gangs of weapon-wielding men might be seen marauding across the land.

Perhaps this is unsurprising in a country that had no formal police force. But that's not to say there was no way of maintaining law and order at all. In the early medieval period, policing was seen primarily as a community effort. Although an official known as the shire reeve would investigate major crimes and stamp out riots with the help of a posse of local men, the task of day-to-day law enforcement fell on villagers themselves. For instance, if someone saw a crime happening nearby, they would raise the 'hue and cry' - this involved shouting at the top of their lungs so other villagers would hear and join them, before they all gave chase to the felon.

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH