Manhunts, murder most foul and sentences of hard labour: The colourful history of Leyburn Police Station

MANHUNTS, murder most foul and punishments that definitely don’t fit our present-day idea of justice. These were all in a day’s work for generations of police officers working from their base in the small market town.

Plans for a new station were proposed in January 1877 to replace an existing building. Premises were bought for £250 and costs set at £1,630 6s 5d, (£200,000 in today’s money). By August 1878 the station, which also acted at the court house, “had been completed in a satisfactory manner”.

Charged with enforcing Victorian values across the district, a team of rather strict-looking constables, all sporting fine moustaches, were overseen by the God-like figure of the Superintendent.

Much of their work was routine, with severe punishment the norm for either sex. In November 1893, on her 28th appearance, Sarah Handley was given three months imprisonment, for breaking windows in the workhouse.

Victorian policemen were not immune from having to deal with anti-social behaviour more common today. On duty at Middleham Fair, PC Pinkney broke up in a fight. On arresting one man, several of his companions joined in and the officer was struck on the head. The public came to his rescue, detaining the two miscreants who both received several weeks in prison with hard labour.

Although white collar crime was rare, in July 1883, Mr Beetham, manager of the Darlington and District Bank’s Leyburn and Hawes branches, spent time in the cells after misappropriating his employer’s money.

During one cold winter, two prisoners described as "vagrants" were held at Leyburn. Given fresh clothes, the men ungratefully tore them up. In what would be deemed a national outrage today, they were kept naked in the police cells for 25 hours. Two months imprisonment with hard labour swiftly followed.

Dealing with the Victorian equivalent of cold callers was a no-brainer for the magistrates. Described as a “tramping labourer”, Paul Murphy received 14 days imprisonment with hard labour for hawking without a licence.

Out on a cycle ride to Leyburn on a hot summer afternoon Miss Florence Truman and her sister were sheltering under a tree. Their brief respite was interrupted when William Edward Straffen engaged them in conversation then bizarrely pulled out a revolver and shot at them. Swiftly apprehended, he was later discharged at York Assizes.

The new century saw a dramatic chase. Charles King and William Wardell, of Richmond, were arrested by the police for poaching near Constable Burton. Pursued by four gamekeepers, the poachers pointed their weapons at them, threatening to shoot. The keepers sensibly stopped the chase, as the men’s identities were known ensuring they were speedily apprehended.

In the 1920s, Leyburn found itself at the centre of a nationwide press frenzy. Arrested as an absentee, 23-year-old Private Arthur Leslie Raveney was being returned to Catterick Camp when at Constable Burton, the driver heard a noise and pulled over. Private White, who was charge of the prisoner, had been killed with his own weapon and Raveney escaped over the fields.

Officers from Leyburn Police Station in 2021

An extensive manhunt including police, soldiers and “wireless equipped aircraft” located the military fugitive near Newton-le-Willows. Taken to Leyburn Police Station, he was later convicted of murder. Pleas for clemency were turned down and he was hanged.

A local beauty spot was the scene of a tragedy in August 1937 when the local bank manager was found dead at the foot of an 80-foot grotto on Leyburn Shawl. His body was discovered by a police search party after he had been reported missing from the bank.

A contrast to earlier years, no proceedings for drunkenness ensued in 1936, 1937 and 1938 – a very sober society indeed.

Chiropodist Francis Curry had a rather costly day out in the Lake District. After stealing a car from the Market Place he was stopped by a constable in Kendal. Not satisfied with his explanation, the officer took him to the local station pending the arrival of the Leyburn Police. Admitting to drinking, Curry received nine months hard labour.

Leyburn’s Police also came in for criticism from time to time. In July 1934 the body of a three-week-old baby girl was unearthed at Middleham. A local man and a “married woman”, were charged with her wilful murder.

Accused of “underhand behaviour”, during the trial, Sgt Whitehead gave evidence he overheard incriminating conversations between the prisoners and visitors at the police station. Both were convicted of murder; the man was hanged, the woman, initially sentenced to death, was reprieved.

In another remarkable case, after a Leyburn bus ran backwards, alarmed passengers were forced to jump out. The bus was only stopped by another driver jumping on to the vehicle and applying the handbrake. Accepting it was an unavoidable accident, the Bench dismissed the case.

The two World Wars swelled the local population, putting pressure on the local constabulary. With thousands of soldiers camped across the district, drunkenness and assaults were common.

Standing on the High Street Leyburn Police Station

Soldiers weren’t the only military personnel in trouble. After chasing sheep, an order was made at Leyburn Police Court for an Alsatian dog brought from France as an Army mascot to be kept under proper control. Lord Bolton, Chair of the bench told the dog’s soldierly owners: “You may like the dog, but the sheep don’t.”

For the one and only time, Leyburn was attacked by the Luftwaffe in 1941. Failing to find a suitable target, an enemy aircraft jettisoned three bombs. Several houses and shop windows in the town were damaged. Witnesses recall a bomb crater guarded by a zealous constable who told them in no uncertain terms to “keep away”.

Administrative reforms down the years have seen officer numbers dwindle and prisoners have not been taken to Leyburn for many years.

A surfeit of modern communications means a manned police station is no longer needed, with staff and facilities being transferred to the nearby fire station. But, tragedies and tomfoolery will always take place, and the thin blue line will still be ready to respond when called upon.