Manchester Market Police was a police force in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

responsible for policing markets owned by Manchester City Council, the principal market of which was Smithfield Market.

History

There had previously been a police force responsible for policing the Market, from the 1860s to c.1900. In 1962,

Manchester Corporation Manchester City Council is the local authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester is the sixth largest city in England by population. Its city council is composed of 96 councillors, three f ...

re-formed the force with 20 constables, under Chief Inspector Hargreaves (previously a sergeant with the

Manchester City Police The Manchester City Police (also known as the Metropolitan Manchester City Police and from 1842 to 1853 the Manchester Borough Police) was, from the early 19th century until 1968, the territorial police force of the city of Manchester, in northern ...

), and it started operations on 29 January 1962. The force took anyone arrested to the City Police station at Newton Street (now the

Greater Manchester Police Museum The Greater Manchester Police Museum is a former police station converted into a museum and archives detailing the history of policing in Greater Manchester, England. It was home to Manchester City Police and then its successors Manchester a ...

). In 1973/4 the market moved to new premises at the New Smithfield Market in Openshaw. It is unclear whether members of the force were ever attested as constables, but in 1996 they were "peace officers" with powers to enforce the markets bye-laws made under the Manchester Markets Act 1846. The wore a standard police uniform, with green and white

sillitoe tartan Sillitoe tartan is the nickname given to the distinctive black and white chequered pattern, correctly known as ''dicing'', which was originally associated with the police in Scotland. It later gained widespread use in the rest of the United Ki ...

rather than dark blue or black, and shoulder badges that read "Market Police". Hannon refers to the "Manchester Markets Act 1879", but no act by this name was passed in 1879. There was a Manchester Market Act in 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c.ccxix)

References

{{UK private and military police forces Defunct market police forces of the United Kingdom Manchester City Council History of Manchester

History

See also

References