Constabulary

It is interesting to note that Little Gransden had a village constable at various times.

Branson Peter was recorded as the Constable in 1643 [Gleanings from Gransden].

This is an account of our quiet village life in 1750:

'At its quietest the mood of the period is well caught in an account by Thomas Dale, parish constable of Little Gransden, of his duties in 1750, ''We have no Popish recusants, no common drunkards; our Hues and Cries have been pursued; watch and ward kept; we have not been remiss in apprehending vagrants; we have no unlicensed ale houses or inns; we have no unlawful weights or measures; we have no new erected cottages or inmates; we have no young persons idle out of service; we have no ingrossers of corn no forestallers of markets; our town stock is employed for the relief of the poor; we have no profane swearers or cursers; we have no riots, routs or unlawful assemblies.'' Happy the parish with no history! At this point the century stands still. Yet this was only one point of calm. At many times during the eighteen century, most English villages were troubled by the kind of people and the kind of problems Little Gransden lacked' [How They Lived (Volume III 1700-1815), Asa Briggs, Foreword x-xi].